A Tradition of Excellence

My family has plenty of traditions. I'd like to think that the women in my family have legacies, things we leave behind, ideas, thoughts, visions, dreams, and hopes that we pass along from woman to woman. It is these things that make us a unit; these values that keep us close-knit even when the world would like to break us apart; it is this connection we have to each other that reminds us who we are and what we stand for.

Some of these traditions involve recipes, and delicious food. Some involve morals and beliefs, even our mothers' conventional or often, unconventional wisdom. They involve sitting around drinking coffee or mixed drinks or even wine and sharing the same (sometimes embellished) stories time after time. And some are more serious, not necessarily suggestions, we pass along to each other--but expectations. Like education.

All of our younger generation have attended ASU; our time at Arizona State was not only invaluable, it is something we all share, a love and time honored tradition. Being a Sun Devil meant so much more than getting a piece of paper after 4 or 5 years. It was something to be proud of. It represented toil, triumph, accomplishment. Being a Sun Devil was just as much about our hearing our mothers' voices in our ears whispering, "I know you can do it, mija," as it was our own perseverance and patting each other on the back or proofreading essays late at night for one another.

So when my youngest cousin, Priscilla (our baby!) started her journey as a Sun Devil this year, you better believe I was thrilled that she was carrying on our family tradition of excellence, at one of the finest universities in the country. She loves college life; and what's not to love? After visiting her at her dorms with April and my nephew Alex a few weeks ago, I saw all the changes happening on campus and all the developments, and it is truly beautiful. It made me even more proud to be an alumni.

It also, for some odd reason, gives me chills when I walk into Victoria's Secret to go shopping for all my sexy lingerie and found a whole wall devoted to ASU PINK merchandise. The new collection, from Victoria's Secret PINK line, is totally cute, reasonably priced, and adorably feminine...such a great way to show your spirit at an ASU game, or running around town.

One value the women in my family have passed along is pride. Having pride in one's work. Taking pride in the work you do in your community. Strengthening relationships and bonds within the family, so that our familial pride shines through, no matter where we go. Having pride as a woman to walk out of a potentially damaging situation in the workplace, or in a relationship. And having pride in all the big and even the little accomplishments we make day by day. I had that pride in myself before I even left for college at Arizona State University, but when I emerged as a college educated woman, I think I not only learned first hand what having pride really meant, I exemplified it.

Watching a DVD Priscilla created for a class that was about leadership, and passing along those values, prioritizing education as a means for achieving your goals, and hearing how she plans to pass that along to my nephew Alex, and hopefully, to my children, someday, too, meant the world to me. It meant that traditions are alive and well, and as those of us who've gone out in Maroon & Gold know, we do tradition better than anybody.



Buy your own ASU merchandise today at Victoria's Secret in the PINK collection; visit Superstition Springs Mall, Chandler Fashion Center, or San Tan Village for the best selections, or online at www.victoriassecret.com. Go Devils! ;)