Open Mic, Traditions, and South Africa (feat. Anje Nel)

In this episode of the Created to Be Podcast, we’re talking all things traditions—how they start, why they matter, and the funny ways they become “our thing.” We recap an encouraging open mic night, celebrate the ways God is moving through community, and share some end-of-semester highlights.

MSU Track & Field athlete Anje Nel also jumps in with stories from growing up in South Africa, cultural surprises in the U.S., and her family’s Christmas traditions (including a few we may borrow!). It’s a fun, uplifting convo about faith, family, and finding rhythms that shape who we’re becoming.

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Transcript

Speaker 0:00

I mean the tradition can be not the actual thing we're doing, but the tradition can be we're doing something together.

Speaker 3 0:13

Welcome to the Creative To Be Podcast. We're back for another week, and everyone is here today. Let's go. So we got Justin with us.

Speaker 4 0:21

Yo.

Open Mic Night Recap

Speaker 3 0:22

Darius. Yes, ma'am. And Brandy Morgan. Hey. And we've got a special guest coming later. We're going to leave that a little elusive right now. Uh you'll find out later, but it's going to be a good show. We're going to talk about traditions today, which would be fun. I think that we often think about holiday traditions when we hear that word, but especially this time of year, that's kind of why I picked that topic. But there's a lot of other traditions that go across all kinds of categories. So we're going to kind of get talk about that. Might take us a couple of weeks to get through this. I would love if people would send in their Christmas stories or any traditions, any sports traditions you know of. I would love to hear some of those because we can talk about them. That would be awesome. But before we do that, uh we had a great week at the huddle this week. We had an open mic. I was just going to open the floor for anybody that wanted to comment about their thoughts about that. I have a few things that I saw that kept kind of coming up through some of the stories.

Speaker 2 1:13

But I think it was really good just because we got to see and hear their hearts and like how the Lord's been transforming them, whether that be the last six months or the last couple years. And even just to hear stories of kind of where they've come from because a lot of them were outside of my sport. So I had never really even met them before. And several of them I like just saw how I could see myself in their stories throughout too. Like, you know, I don't know. It was just a good time. Like I I feel like any time we can hear from each other is so awesome and powerful.

Speaker 3 1:46

And they sit there throughout the semester, you know, and they ha meet in these small groups and stuff, and you never, you know, only a small group of people are gonna get to hear some of those stories. Yeah. So it's fun for everybody. Any comments?

Speaker 1:58

I was gonna say I uh on top of what you all have said, I enjoyed the vulnerability. Um, the boldness, the courage that it took uh just to get up there and share um personal things. You know, some share some things that were really personal. I really was encouraged and inspired by that because I knew uh when I was at that age, that's probably something that I wouldn't have done. Um, but I felt like that spoke to trust. Uh it spoke to the community that has been built. Uh, and then it also spoke to the growth of their personal relationships with God. And then almost it almost felt like a family vibe, like uh the family just sharing a little bit of what's going on in each other's personal lives. And so uh you could tell as time went on, people were more and more comfortable. It didn't seem pressured. Uh so that was I really enjoyed that aspect of it, you know. And then it helps you to respect people's journey when you see what they have had to walk through. So yeah, and Justin, you always like those nights.

Speaker 4 3:01

Oh, it's my favorite. Yeah. It's my favorite. What do you like about it? I don't know. You just never know who's gonna get up and share. And uh you always hear something you didn't expect expect to hear. Somebody takes a bold step and shares or something, and I just I love that. And you don't know what's gonna come out. And so sometimes that scares people.

Speaker 5 3:17

Um, especially especially leadership.

Speaker 4 3:20

Um, you know, but it's it's great. It's formative, it's it's uh in a lot of ways a kind of a stake in the ground moment for people. And um, anytime we can set that up and give them space to do it, that's that's a win.

Speaker 3 3:32

Yeah. So I took a few notes and I feel like that there was, you know, a consistent theme across multiple stories of just their identity, a lot of identity stories, a lot of, you know, though that kind of moment or moments where, you know, you you think, okay, all of this, all that people are telling me I gotta be this, this is the demands on my life, and just making that decision of I'm just gonna be me.

Speaker 2 3:56

Well, and on that too, like a lot of things that kept coming to me was they were it's like they were actually taking their faith as their own. Yeah. Instead of like something that they had were told they had to do or whatever. Like they were figuring it out with them and the Lord, not with which I know community is good.

Speaker 3 4:13

You know, like making it their own instead of which, you know, this has been a new thought, which could be a whole nother podcast. So we'll just put a little tag by this. But I have been kind of thinking about how I've never really communicated with college students until honestly the other night after open mic and having some other conversations, that some of the struggles that they go through, like, yes, they could be spiritual in nature, but I do think that a lot of them are actually just it's going from being a child to an adult. Like part of it is like, I hate to tell you, but this is just maturing. Yeah. Like it's just hard. And I think that for me, that's kind of like a new thing I'm thinking about as I meet with students because I think that it can feel like if it's a problem, but it might not be a problem. It might just be like literally, this is what it means to grow up.

Speaker 2 5:00

Yeah.

Speaker 3 5:00

And I don't say that enough, probably for people to kind of interpret help interpret their situation that they're walking through. But anyway, that's just something that I would like to maybe that's another topic.

Speaker 5:11

Yeah, I think that's a good thing to help them see because uh half the battle is knowing. Yeah. You know, and you said problem, but I'm like, you know, when you hear them, sometimes it's like you said, it's not a problem, it's process. Right. It's just like this is what it means to be human. Yeah, you're becoming, you know. Um, and so I I don't think that that's a a a bad way to look at it. I think that's actually a great way to look at it because and and and even with the understanding that's something that will be a continuous thing as life goes on. Things that we may see as a problem really is a place of development, right, maturity, growth, shifting of perspective, you know.

Speaker 3 5:50

So so no, I think that's just part of life. And so I think that to put it in that category was kind of helpful for me after I was listening to everybody and like thinking on this thought was like, oh, I should just probably tell them. Yeah, it's just part of growing up. Like you're gonna mess up and you get to evaluate that data of like the decision you made, do I want to do that again? Yeah, you know, and like that's just part of it. Um, doesn't necessarily mean something's wrong with you. Right. Just think that relieves a lot of pressure too. Yeah. It's like, oh, okay. Yeah. So anyway, that's just a thought. One of the things that I have written down, Manny Meevo, shout out to Manny. She's great, she's so fun. But she said, I've never heard this phrase before. She said, 10 toes down. Living life. She said that. I was like, yes. I love that. Uh and she was just saying how she's been so happy to come to FCA and how she wants to encourage people to just make it part of their weekly rhythm and how much of a difference she's seen in her life to live 10 toes down. Like be fully in the middle picture of just like that. So anyway, that was a that was a fun thing. But I saw lots about like the Lord will give you grace and strength, finding identity in Christ. I mentioned at least the ones that I wrote down. I don't think I missed anybody, but that we had 17 people share, which I'm pretty sure that was probably a record for an open mic night.

Speaker 2 7:07

Yeah, and we had kind of a smaller crowd than usual. So majority. No, we had a pretty yeah, 17.

Speaker 7:13

Well, this year I told I told you all at the very beginning. I just felt different about this year. And the crowds have been so big because the crowd that we had last, with everything going on, it was more like that crowd was almost like the normal crowd last year. Right. Like the crowd this year has been like up there.

Speaker 3 7:34

Yeah, I was pretty impressed with how many showed up actually on Monday. Yeah, that huddle has been pretty small in the past.

Speaker 4 7:39

Yeah, and it was also fun. You know, we had the one window to get golf, to get a dinner for golf. And so um guys and girls golf team got a dinner out at the um Clement's house, which was awesome. And so Jason Stoker got to lead all that, and it was a great time for them.

Speaker 3 7:54

Yeah. Which I was saying in our staff meeting how I loved how to know that we were over here on campus doing this, and that there was also ministry taking place somewhere else. And so with our staff, that can happen now, which is really cool. And I think about that whenever we're dispersed, like if there's a basketball game going on and Darius can't be with us doing something, we know he's over there. Or you know, same with the softball stuff you've been doing. Uh so it's it's pretty cool.

Speaker 4 8:17

FC is more than Monday night.

Speaker 3 8:19

That's right. Watch out for the real on Instagram coming before the end of the year. Yeah, a little spoiler spoiler alert. Um, okay, so before we get into our stretch topic, Justin, you want to quickly touch on end-of-year giving?

Speaker 4 8:33

Yeah, uh, man, just the invitation is there um to support. We have a lot of different spaces, uh, trips coming up and uh and different projects. And so if there's anything specific um that you feel led to give to, like the college getaway we have coming up at the end of January, scholarships, fuss travel, um, end of the year. I know as staff we are all um trying to continue to raise money for our own personal budgets as well. And so we've also got Bibles uh and resource need as well. Some some may feel led to give to those things. So um lots of opportunities of support, and we have an amazing staff. Um we can have a whole podcast of all the things, a lot of things of just what's going on and and how God's using each one in these different spaces. So to have eight people serving on this campus is awesome, but it does take funds for us to keep going.

Speaker 3 9:23

Okay, so speaking of funds though, an increased need, I would say, is money for or giving for meals. We have increased meals dramatically over the past semester.

Speaker 4 9:37

Speci specifically for the smaller teams as well, just to be able to bless them.

Speaker 2 9:42

Yeah, I think it's awesome too, because that's a more like genuine sit down, have a conversation, like bonding within that. And that's what I said son softball, I think. Yeah, sit softball was like look around the room because the people that are here for you are the people that are gonna show up when times are tough. Or like just creating that culture before things get hard or you need someone.

Speaker 10:04

And I like it too, like when you s with with you was talking about the meal piece, because I feel like it helps some of these sports teams who may not get a chance to come to feel the reach of FCA through our giving to what we provide. Because there's it's a it's almost like a conversation starter. Who provided these? Right. LCA. Okay, who is LCA? Well, you see me, you see Justin, you see Bethany, Brandy, Scott. It starts to kind of uh plant a seed of okay, so what do you what all do you you do on a more on a more personal level? So uh I say that to encourage the giving because it helps us to be able to touch so many different areas in so many different ways that uh no small, I mean no amount is too small or or too great. You don't you don't know what this is leading to. And so it just helps us to be the best version of ourselves, but also it helps us to be able to introduce Christ, introduce the the mission of FCA, and just introduce a lot of the things that we're doing that some people who we may assume know, they don't. So, you know, I think that's a great thing that that that we're doing.

Speaker 3 11:20

Yeah, so an example of that is like, you know, we've had businesses donate for a Monday night. We've had Juva, we've had Bops, we've had Insomnia Cookies. Um, we bought pizza this past week, but like if somebody wanted to sponsor a huddle, that works really great. Um, but we've also had churches host us, so like Pine Lake allowed us to come in there and we brought Chipotle, but the so FCA provided that, but we had that space for the cheer team to come. And then sometimes families will host the meals or whatever. And so there's a wide variety of ways if anybody wants to just straight up donate and know that's where their money is going, or if you have a business and you want to get involved in some way to provide that, there's plenty of opportunities. So it's it's well beyond just the typical write a check, but we also do have, you know, fundraising efforts for staff as well, and that can also go to that. So anything else you want to say?

Speaker 4 12:09

No, that's it. That's it. I I mean those meals help us uh break down any kind of walls or uh with some of these teams and just relationships. I think everybody has a perception about maybe who we are in some ways, and it's just a way for us to eat and be like, hey, we're normal.

Speaker 3 12:24

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4 12:25

And we're here to support you no matter what you believe or what your background.

The Stretch: Traditions

Speaker 3 12:28

I think that's an easier yes for somebody to come to that might be hesitant. Yeah. Like, oh, it's just meal. Okay, I'll I'll go show up to that. Yeah. So, all right, so stretch time. Last week we talked about rivalries and included a few traditions that kind of are around Thanksgiving holiday, mainly all these football, especially you know, football rivalries, and we went into the egg bowl. Sorry, Darius, we didn't get the the W like we had.

Speaker 12:55

It started out so great though. It's like seven to seven. I'm like, we end up and then the air got sucked down to the balloon pretty quick.

Speaker 3 13:04

Yeah. Maybe next year. There's always next year. Um, but I was thinking about because we're in this holiday season, what could we talk about on the podcast this week? And since we just came through Thanksgiving looking forward to Christmas coming up, um, I just thought let's talk about some traditions, you know? And so what makes a tradition? Anybody want to take a stab at this?

Speaker 13:24

Consistency. Okay. Consistency makes a tradition.

Speaker 2 13:28

Um I was gonna say though, like at my house, if you do it more than once, it's kind of starts. Yeah, take it on life. Like I've noticed my kids are like, wait, well, why didn't we do that? I was like, I didn't know that was a thing. Oh for your kids. Yeah. Like the holidays or any day. Um circuit. Well, okay, so this is kind of silly. But today, state championship game day for my family. And normally it's not here. It normally is at Southern Jackson, so we skipped school. We didn't get to skip school today because it's at Mississippi State. And my youngest cried for 30 minutes before school because like to him, it was like something we did. This is permanent. Yes. And so I was like, but no, son, like we're literally five minutes from where we're going. So I feel like you know, they can hold you accountable.

Speaker 14:15

Well, we're really gonna pray that y'all continue to go to the state championship because that seems to be a tradition. It is, and then this is the thing. If he cried today, and if they don't play at all and school is not out, I don't want to see where he made it. No, Joe, he's like, we always win that. Yeah, yeah. That's pressure. We want to keep him from crying. So we got to make state. But but uh so one tradition that we do, well, and it's not a family thing, it's more a community thing. So it's a uh we have a uh a lot of great musicians and singers uh where I'm from. So one of the things that was started a few years ago, uh, it was a guy, his name is Jermaine Morgan. He's a professional uh musician of basis. He he's moved from here to Atlanta or Nashville once. Um he he I pray he don't be mad at me for not knowing. But it's one of those. But he does a lot of great work, but then he's also have opened the doors for a lot of musicians who don't have the opportunity like him. So what he has done the last uh maybe six, seven years is uh he he we come together as singers and musicians and we play music, but he has people to come and bring canned goods and have them to bring or money. And what happens is so he takes the canned goods and the money to give to less fortunate, but while we're there, he's bringing in other professional musicians, uh, and it's for professionals, aspiring musicians, aspiring singers, and we play together, we sing, and then he gives us insight and have other people to give insight to help people who are trying to grow their brand, grow their music. So it's like it's it's it's tending to music, it's also helping us to understand the importance of giving and giving not to the less fortunate, but also giving to people who may not know. Um I mean, and and it's amazing because it's it's technically free. So you got a lot of people getting access and information to professional people without really having that pressure of paying nothing. And that's his way of not just giving back to the community, but coming back home and kind of letting home know. And so that has become such a tradition where people look forward to, and he do it on um, well, he's done it on Thanksgiving night, and then there's times he's done it on the night before Thanksgiving, but it has gotten to a point where people really look forward, and it may it may be somebody you hadn't seen in years, right? And they just show, you know, so that's that's a traditional uh thing, like you said, the consistency, um, and then you know, having something to to not just look forward to, but something to do. Um, and so I I feel like that's what kind of helps uh with tradition.

Speaker 3 17:01

Yeah. What do you think a tradition is, Justin? Or how does it come about?

Speaker 4 17:06

Yeah, I I have grandparents.

Speaker 3 17:08

Yeah, family. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4 17:10

I mean, this is the way it's supposed to be. We're gonna go and do this. Yeah, this is the way. So that's kind of what I think of.

Speaker 2 17:17

Yeah. What do you feel about breaking traditions? What do y'all feel about breaking traditions?

Speaker 4 17:22

Uh I think there needs to be a good discussion about it. But you know, I'm I'm all for it. Like Bethany just started something like, I don't know, three years ago. We're like, let's do tamales for Christmas.

Speaker 3 17:31

Oh yeah.

Speaker 4 17:32

You know, and now it's like we're gonna do tamales for Christmas until turn on like um Hispanic like Christmas music.

Speaker 3 17:40

You know, get that going. Get that vibe. Hopefully, that's not offensive to anybody.

Speaker 4 17:44

No, you have a good time with it. We do, we do, and everybody gets involved.

Speaker 3 17:47

And it is really funny because Justin, he was when I first did it, I got the idea from a cheesy, like romantic chick flick Christmas movie. And the family was Hispanic that made the tamales. Yeah. So I was like, that is a great idea, you know, all this stuff. And so then I'm making it. He's like, why are you making tamales for Christmas? I was like, it's so brilliant. You don't have to cook. Like, if somebody needs food, it's in there. They can get it. Like, I love this. And he was like, Yeah, but they were a Hispanic family on that, like, we're not, Bethany. And I was like, I'm gonna embrace this, I'm gonna do this. And then I found out we traveled to Texas that Christmas, and I mentioned to a friend we did tamales and chili at Christmas. And I said, This is the best thing I've ever done. Like I just tell him, go to the fridge, you know. And she said, Oh, yeah, that's a thing around here, like in Dallas. And I was like, So it's a Texas thing. We're going back to the city. Here comes Eric that it just come, it just came out. Just the movie prompted me. Uh no, so I just, you know, what it for what it's worth, website definition here. A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning. Symbolic. Or special significance with origins in the past. So different types of traditions. Okay, so I thought about these are the ones I thought of. There could be more. That's why I'm saying that like that. Religious tradition, family tradition, sports traditions, holidays, and then like seasons. Like you might in the summer, we always go do this. In the spring, we always go do this, you know? Uh so are any of those interesting to y'all? We don't have to talk about all of them, but we can talk about.

Speaker 19:26

I know I have a few for sports that are pretty funny, but I do know it's a big tradition uh around the season of winter is for people to go hunting. Like that's a opening day. Yeah, yeah. I know it's that's a I know people that's a real, like a real thing. Like they before it gets here, they already shopping, getting their outfits, getting all these different things together. And when that time comes, it's like, you're not going. And I'm like, no. I don't do that. I don't yeah, I'm I'm not a hunter.

Speaker 3 20:00

When you think about traditions, when I've thought about this, I'm like, how much of our life is really made up though of traditions?

Speaker 20:06

It's probably more than you we think. And then some things are tradition that we don't know is tradition until we try to stop it.

Speaker 2 20:11

That's what I was asking about right again.

Speaker 20:14

Yes, because that's what and that's when you said that my mindset went to this. I feel like some things need to be broke. I just feel like some traditions that we do, I feel like it's a level of us trying to hang on to the past instead of embracing the new and the present. You know, because some things we we do, and I don't think it's always wrong, but you say symbolic when the symbolism of what we're doing starts getting lost to just we're doing it just to do it. And and now you have like, Brandy, you have children, y'all have small children, like we can't even tell them why. Why we're doing it. We're just doing it. It's like I feel like it's okay to create a new tradition that they could be a part of, that they could, you know, and I feel like it'll it I feel like it even helps involvement because like what I've seen with some of the traditions we have done in the past, over time we keep doing them, but people start losing interest. They st the attendance starts. That was my next question, is like, how do you know it's over? Yeah. When attendance dropped, like when we was like only once. Yeah, it's like we already tried to do it. They doing so we're doing something. It's like, okay, it's time to do.

Speaker 3 21:28

Okay, one thing that I noticed about both my family and Justin's family is that without knowing it, certain holiday traditions really did revolve around one central key person in both of our families. But we didn't know that until they've passed. So it was my grandfather and then Justin's mom. And for I'll speak for mine, you could speak for your family. But the I didn't realize my grandfather did not get like he did not say, Hey, we're meeting at this time, this day, but he always cooked steak. So it was like we just knew we're going to my mom and papa's for whatever holiday it was or even birthdays and stuff like that. So he didn't even have to communicate anything. It was just known we're having steak. And then whenever he passed, it's like we're still trying to figure out what do we do on holidays? Like it looks different every single year. And it's just, it's just interesting because it is there is this like gap or space of like we don't really know, you know. I mean, and the goal is to just get together at this point, but we really don't have anything established.

Speaker 2 22:29

And that was in 2019, and so we're still kind of well, that's especially if you don't have like some intentionality behind it. Like that is that's Brett's growmothers. We always went there for every holiday, every Sunday after church. And when she passed, it was like now what? But then his aunt was like, Y'all coming to my house. And so now, like, that's what we do. She kind of just shifted it over. Yeah, but you gotta have that person. Right. You know? Right. It's crazy. And she was like the perfect one. Like we just all were like, Yes, ma'am. Yeah, we're coming. Yeah.

Speaker 4 22:56

I don't know. Do you want to speak for your No, it's similar. I mean, host sites change, decorations, things that typically go up at certain times.

Speaker 3 23:04

Um a lot of stuff up in your yard at Christmas. What did you have at Christmas that was kind of traditions that y'all did as a family?

Speaker 4 23:13

Uh I mean, day of stuff, but I think and then Christmas Eve things, just where we're going and just different things that we'd be eating. Yeah. And all that, but not not anything super crazy beforehand outside of just decorating.

Speaker 5 23:27

Yeah.

Speaker 4 23:27

Mom had plenty of things. She had all the Santa Clauses. Yeah, talk about how much stuff that y'all would have to bring down. Santa Claus collection. It's impressive.

Speaker 2 23:35

Like out front or in the house or butt in the house.

Speaker 4 23:38

In the house, yeah. We didn't have any of the crazy stuff outside. It was lights, it was clean outside, you know.

Speaker 3 23:43

But there is something about eat on the outside of it chaotic on the inside.

Speaker 23:47

I I you know, and I don't mean to be a uh a Debbie Downer right now. But when he began to talk about decorations, my mind went to the tradition at my grandmother's house. And we she had decorations in and outside of the house. And how early did she start with putting all this stuff up? I mean, we would normally get the phone call. We would so you had to help. Had to.

Speaker 2 24:15

Okay. And that's I feel like those days though, it was like not before Thanksgiving. Right? Or did she put up before Thanksgiving?

Speaker 24:22

No, that's what I was gonna say. Normally it would be before Thanksgiving, but it's like the week before, like it was like right at Thanksgiving. But it was just the dread of going to the storage building, grabbing all those boxes. And how many people are helping? Now, so you probably got about it should have been nine, ten, but because we literally stayed right next to her, the bulk of it would be on me and my brothers. Yeah. And she would do it inside and outside. So outside, you got Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the three wise men, the uh the star that they pointed to to show which direction he was going, the hay, the horses, like the Christmas, and then that's not including the Christmas lights, the little Christmas. I think I am. I think look the Christmas tree, the Christmas bowl, like I mean, like, and and that's not including the inside. Then when you go into the house, she had a little thing set up with like a little choir, a preacher set up, like he's preaching to the choir, like a whole little, and then the Christmas tree itself and all of the things. And then I think what Gabby Did she do anything? I mean, she was oh, she was the overseer. Okay. So if it had to be right, like it it had to be. And then it was like the little lights, like we had a bunch of little lights to set up to point to them at night. Because these are decorations, so you gotta have the lights that point to them to illuminate them. And I think what Gabby is, because after we do all that for her, we got to go back home and do it at your house and do it at home. Now, my mom didn't do a lot of the extra, like, you know, Jesus and all that in the front, but we had to, we had Christmas lights, and then of course we had to put the Christmas tree up. And I'm saying this, I like the look of it, but I did not miss when I got old enough and didn't have to do it anywhere. Right. Like I I did not miss that. So, but it was a real, I don't know if she was trying to get Best Yard in the neighborhood or what, but it was a real Have you ever watched Great Christmas Light Fight?

Speaker 3 26:31

I have seen that. Have you seen it? Seen what? Great Christmas Light Fight. No, I haven't seen that. Hey, it's an ABC show. But look it up. Yeah, it is. If you think, I mean, I and I honor what you did, so I don't know take away from that too much. I would hate to get a call from one if you're in a family like that. Like, I'm sick. It's time. I know. It's time. And then kids are like, because Justin put lights on the roof, they're like, we should be. I'm like, we're not even close. Right. Like, this is not even, not even that. Okay, so do you think that traditions make you feel like comfort? These are some of the things that an article said that they can bring comfort, but then like they are also these social contract uh constructs, and so they can be shaped by like the agreement of everybody. You know, if the agreement was that lights weren't a thing, people wouldn't be doing it. Like so much stuff is upheld by just we just agree that this is a thing. So do you think that those are that's like a comforting thing or like can be a like hold you back kind of thing?

Speaker 27:33

I feel like that's a personal thing. So it depends on the family, it depends on the individual. I I do believe traditions a lot of times um go what I've seen go over well or they go over better when people are more so personally invested and internally convicted of their tradition. Like when you do it and you're really not overly worrying about what everybody else has to say, like this is our thing. Yeah, I feel like they go over better and they are more comforting because it's like I'm not trying to find me and somebody else, or vice versa. No matter what they like, I said some people Christmas advice are not a thing, but for some people that's a that's a big thing. Well, I feel like when it's personal, if it's not your thing and somebody does it, it doesn't bother you. And then if you do it and somebody else doesn't like it, it doesn't bother you. Like I feel like so when it's personal, it's more comforting now. But if you're a person that's always looking out and wondering how everybody else feels, then I feel like you're just opening the door for a lot of unnecessary, you know, things like this is not fun or this is not.

Speaker 3 28:43

Yeah, or like pressure, like you don't have to do all that. Yes, yeah. Um, so uh research also shows tradition can boost or reduce happiness depending on the context. So I guess if it is something that you enjoy, like I do think that there's things it's good to have something to look forward to. Yes. You know? So and that can change depending on you know where you are and your family and whatever. Like you're like, okay, at least we're gonna get to do this. I think that it does upset my kids when I change those things. Yeah. Like if I decided forget the tamales, forget the chili, like I'm going a different route. Like Abby would probably, even though she complains a lot when we're doing it, because it's kind of like a long process, but she'd be like, We're supposed to be making tamales right now. Like, what are we doing? She's my number one tradition person. Like she is serious about that, which this says strict adherence to tradition may limit growth and adaptate adaptation and changing in the world. Good example. Yeah. But like you said, Brandy, sometimes you do it once and the kids are like, What? Yeah, you didn't even know. I do have to think. I do think as a mom, I will think if I say I'm doing this, can I sustain this? Yeah. Because once I'm I don't know, I think about that. I just throw it out there and I'm like, oh, stormy. I know. I'm like, they're gonna get upset. Now, like this year, normally I do Christmas pajamas and an ornament before we get our tree or the night that we get our tree. And this year we were, it was a convenience thing, it was an efficiency thing. We were going to a friend's house in Columbus and we were gonna pass by Hobby Lobby. So I said, how about y'all picked your ornaments this year? What do you think about that? And so maybe we'll do that.

Speaker 30:15

And they actually picked different ones than I would have picked for them, but I think this is great because I feel like what makes it bad is when we're we're replacing something with nothing. Like if you say we we're just not doing it. We're not doing Christmas ornaments anymore. Yeah, yeah. So it's like, yeah, I but I feel like if you replace it with something, the tradition cannot, I mean, the tradition can be not uh the actual thing we're doing, but the tradition can be we're doing something together. Yeah. Which could because like even when you was talking about, like we're creatures of habit. Yeah. And sometimes um the habit protects areas where we don't want to be vulnerable. Uh-huh. So if I've learned like when I'm open to doing something different, it's like, man, I didn't know I was gonna enjoy this. Yeah. You get what I'm saying?

Speaker 3 31:06

But if we set up to do the same thing. So So if you had like, you know, a hot chocolate bar and some Christmas music going, and then you had to set up decorations, would you be?

Speaker 31:15

I think I would have looked at it a little different. I I mean, I I do, because what starts to happen is you start looking at it as work. Yeah. And not as because uh it was a it's a young lady that comes to FCA. She was excited Monday. She showed me her uh the decoration her and her family done together, uh-huh, and it was super nice. See it. Yeah, it's super great to excuse me. And so she was excited. So now you gotta think, she's excited about something that I dreaded. Right. So I'm like, so what? And I asked her what was the excitement, and the excitement was for her was to uh of course the look, but she liked spending time with her family. It was a way for them to bond. You give them so it's like her perspective on it was completely different from mine. So what I'm saying is, like you said, we at a hot uh to hot chocolate bar. And so we're gonna work, y'all, but let's do this, let's kind of mingle, let's kind of I felt like over time I would have been a little better about it because you you don't see it as work, you see it as a tradition, you see it as fun, you know. But the way I saw it is I need you to go to the storage and get that big box in. Right. Yeah.

Speaker 3 32:22

And it's fun whenever you can kind of borrow traditions, because I don't mean to be culturally like rude by stealing somebody else, not stealing, but taking somebody else's, but you see this on like a movie, or you see this and you just like try it. You're like, what if that'll work for us? You know?

Speaker 4 32:35

There's plenty to find on cheesy Christmas movies that Bethany makes me watch every year.

Speaker 3 32:40

Which we haven't done yet, which has become a tradition.

Speaker 4 32:43

A tradition.

Speaker 3 32:44

A little bit of a tradition.

Speaker 4 32:45

And I guess I kind of like it.

Speaker 3 32:47

Yes, because it's a good idea. He gets way too into the movies. He's like, he's like in the storyline. Like he's like, this is not logical, you know. And I'm like, dude, you just gotta laugh about it. Like it's so bad that that's what the point of it is. Yeah, it's really, really bad. Yeah. That's how you know it's a movie, huh?

Speaker 4 33:03

Yeah.

Speaker 3 33:04

Yeah. I have several traditions on my list, but I just had to mention some of these sports traditions because they're wild to me. Like cow cowbells is a tradition, which has another, you know, we could get into that story of how that happened. But I had an experience at Indiana University that was wild. I went there to watch Caitlin Clark Clark play, and it was completely full, which if if you've ever been there, I mean, it's called the Cathedr Cathedral of Basketball, holds like 17,000 people. The way the gym is set up is so different than anything I've ever seen before. So that in itself was pretty crazy. Assembly hall. Is that what it's called? Right. Okay. So then they play this video, and it's of this woman coming down a hallway with this like mop broom situation, and she's singing, and everybody is going nuts. And I was I was clueless. So thankfully we had some very gracious Indiana fans around us. And this is what it is. It's called the Martha the Mop Lady. Martha the Mop Lady campaign. It featured a cleaning lady named Martha Webster. She'd been a staple before Indiana basketball games for decades. So I believe she would come out there and actually sing. She was an opera singer and she would come and sing on the on the court before the game. And now they she was like, took a break for, I don't know, 20 years or so. And she would sing Indiana or Indiana, and now they've made it into a video. So they play the so they brought Martha back, but not in the way of like how it used to be. But I'm telling you, people went nuts over this. So look it up. It's pretty wild. Then the other one that the kids helped me, they were like the dotting of the eye.

Speaker 4 34:43

Oh, at the Ohio State. Yeah.

Speaker 3 34:45

Yeah, which I had never seen that before either. So we watched that last night, which was pretty incredible to watch the family thing too. There's been a couple that have three what, three members of a family that I mean I think it's like that one of the guys who did got to be the one that dotted the eye, like I think he might have quit sports in high school to focus on his ability in the band so that he could be the person. Yeah.

Speaker 35:10

Is that the one they do during during the Michigan Ohio State game?

Speaker 4 35:13

Or just in general?

Speaker 35:14

I think they do it every game.

Speaker 4 35:15

Yeah, every definitely definitely every home game.

Speaker 35:18

Yeah, yeah. Google it. It is something. I've s I've seen him do it, but mostly, I guess, during that game, but that's because you you down eating. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3 35:26

Then the other one we looked at was, oh, Eli knew this one. He said, two bits. Do you know this? It was at Florida. I think the guy has passed. But this guy would get out there with a sign that said two bits, this older man, and he would start a cheer, and he was like, Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar, all for the gator, stand up and holler. Again, another one the crowd just went wild about. One that y'all might know that um Greg McElroy talked about on one of his shows was the wave at Iowa.

Speaker 4 35:56

Yeah. Yeah, the wave to the children's hospital. Which is great. Overlooks the stadium.

Speaker 3 36:01

Yeah, I didn't at first in the video when he talked about it. I didn't know what he was talking about because he just had the it just showed a video of the fans waving like to one direction, and then you see that it's the children's hospital. So that's pretty cool. Are there any he talked about the Clemson, the rock thing when they calm down?

Speaker 4 36:15

Virginia Tech plays inner sandman. That's like the big thing that they do for the welcome. Um uh Wisconsin does a jump around, the whole stands. Everybody in there jumps.

Speaker 36:25

Wow.

Speaker 4 36:26

So what jump around.

Speaker 36:27

You know, Notre Dame got the hit the thing after they walking out, play like champions. Play like champions. Yeah. Now Duke, I'm a I'm a big Duke basketball fan. They used to have one, now they cut it out because it just started getting a little. But they had a guy that was the speedo guy. And when they shoot free throws, like he would be in the middle of the crowd, and when the opposing teams go to shoot free throws, he would just fear in a speedo, and it would be a big distraction. Um, I think Wake Forest has like the little uh, I don't know what you would call it, but it's like a little uh like a spinning type of thing. But if you look at it, it's very like it's almost like an hematizer. You know what I'm talking about? Hypnotize wheels. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So like those are some of the things I think about uh when you start thinking about like uh sports traditions.

Speaker 3 37:21

One of the things I noticed this year when Texas played Texas AM in Austin after the game, they kept the cameras rolling and all the they always sing the eyes of Texas after a win. I don't know if it's every game or just wins, whatever.

Speaker 4 37:35

But every game.

Special Guest Anje Nel

Speaker 3 37:36

The entire stands was involved in that. And I was like, man, to be on that field would be a really cool moment right now because of just how just collective. So, anyways, it's it's traditions are everywhere. You'll probably start noticing them more. We'll probably have a part two, but we're gonna transition to another segment because we have a special guest today, our first special guest of this season, Anya Nell, is with us today from the track and field team. What's up, Anya? Hello, I'm excited to be here. And we have a great accent. This is great. Y'all get to listen to her. We're gonna ask her some questions because I thought about inviting Anya on since we were talking about traditions, because you were from South Africa. Yeah. So you gotta have a lot of traditions that we probably don't even know exist.

Speaker 1 38:21

Um, yeah, I feel like it's there's a lot of traditions and it's a lot different in many ways. But um I feel like because we're such a diverse country, we have like 11 different like official languages we speak. Um how many of those do you speak? Only two. Okay. So Afrikaans is my my home language, and then English we learn in school as our second language. Because if you cannot communicate with the other person as had as another, then you communicate in English. So I feel like that helped me a lot, like transferring over here and obviously um studying in English and stuff like that. Um but I feel like if I have to mention like mention one like big thing or tradition I would say in South Africa is we have a special holiday and it's called National Bray Day.

Speaker 4 39:13

Oh yeah, brai.

Speaker 1 39:16

It did it did change. The name later changed to um Heritage Day. But it is um it was to celebrate like the different div different like diverse cultures in our um country. But um bray is actually what it if if I have to like have an equivalent to it here, it's like barbecue, but totally different. Yeah, it's like the closest it's it's if I have to like create a picture for you guys who even don't know what it is, but um it is it's I remember digging a hole wherever at Andes.

Speaker 4 39:53

Is that what that was for? We dug not super deep, but anyway, continue.

Speaker 1 39:58

No, so you can do it multiple ways. But the biggest thing is it's an open f um open fire and it's with wood. So like when you um like cook your meat over like wood and use the coals, it has different flavors and stuff. So the meat tastes obviously a lot different. But it's more like an a day experience. So it's more like so you have this fire, so people stand around the fire, so you wait until um the wood like burns down, so you get the coal so you can actually like cook the meat. And then it's like this whole experience. So when you say you go to friends and you're gonna bry, it's more like it's it's a whole like thing. It's not just about like the b yeah, the eating and stuff like that.

Speaker 40:38

That's kind of sounds like a um which I'm pretty sure Justin would know being with us being originally from Mississippi, like a hog killing. Like with a hog killing, they take this big old hog and they gut it. Um but it's it's a thing, it's not like you said, it's not just about the eating portion, but it's the whole process of uh killing it, like you said, with the with the fire, uh and doing it outside. Um it's a good good time. We fellowship, we talk, and then it gets to the point where like once they get all of the meat cooked, um, it's kind of like an open bar, if you will. People just coming grabbing certain meats and making some people make sandwiches, some people just take meat home. Like it was it was it was a real community thing. I'll say it like this.

Speaker 3 41:29

So when you begin to talk about that, that's kind of where my mind kind of That's why I wanted to ask if it is like more community, or do like just families do this, or like a lot of people gather at a time.

Speaker 1 41:38

It's I feel like everyone. So I feel like also the biggest thing is also with rugby games. So I feel like it's it's a big thing, like you buy and it's rugby, and I feel like that's the one thing having so many diverse cultures and like everyone still has their like own thing going on, and but I think that's the one thing I feel like the whole South Africa would understand. Are there any other traditions unique to the country of South Africa? Um It's hard to say. I feel like there is a lot of traditions, but I feel like within um within like your family or like your certain group, there's also like a lot of traditions. So um I don't know, I would just say like the biggest thing is like when you go, you need to know like what is brain, like rugby. We're very, very big on our sports. So obviously we have different sports. We have um rugby is our big one, then cricket, and then netball and um field hockey. I feel like that in schools, that's our like biggest sports. But also to think about yeah, so like I know nothing about any of them. Right, and like coming here is so different because you you obviously have your individual sports too, like track and swimming and stuff like that. But I feel like that's our biggest sports. But we're very, very big on big on our sports, and we're very, very passionate about them.

Speaker 4 42:56

Did you mention before field hockey?

Speaker 1 42:59

Napal? Napbalball. Netball. So if I have, if I have that X, that's that shit.

Speaker 4 43:08

I have not heard this. You know netball though. I've never heard netball. Yeah, okay, okay. So you guys aren't familiar. Well, you can explain it because I don't.

Speaker 3 43:14

Didn't they just put that? Is that in the Olympics now?

Speaker 4 43:17

I think so. What did they put in there?

Speaker 3 43:20

Is netball like basketball with the basket, or is it it's like the basket? Handball.

Speaker 1 43:24

I'm thinking about handball incorporated. They put handball. Yeah, I don't think netball is in the Olympics yet. Yeah, no, you can tell.

Speaker 4 43:31

I just remember a great debate about American football and rugby when we were there, and they were just trashing American football. Oh, yeah. And it was so entertaining. That's so funny.

Speaker 1 43:40

Because it's so different, because they are thinking like because it's way more contact, and you have no gear. Right. Like it's full-on, like it's it's painful to watch.

Speaker 43:52

But I'm just thinking about times I was playing football, what we consider football in the backyard with just neighborhood kids, and you getting hit with no equipment, and then I'm like, these grown men are willingly signing up. Like that's so, and Justin, you make a hip with this, you you know, Anya, you can as well. Like, what is the I guess the goal of rugby? Like, how do they what we would consider a touchdown in football, what is like how do they keep scoring rugby? Like, what is the the dynamics of that game? Because to a person that don't understand, even with a lot of the sports, because that's one thing I noticed with people in different countries, the sports that are relevant in those countries are not here. You know what I mean? So when you say football to somebody in another country, they think soccer. And so I guess how what is the the aim of that game? Because it to me, it just looked like somebody picking up a football and knocking somebody out. Like that's just what it looks like.

Speaker 4 44:54

So trying to get that ball on the other goal, you know. Yeah, I feel like there's some kicking involved in the well, a little bit different.

Speaker 1 45:00

Um it's the same. Like you when you get touchdowns, like our touchdown, but you have to physically when you cross the line, put it on the ground.

Speaker 5 45:07

Yeah.

Speaker 1 45:08

You cannot like just go across the line and you can't you have to actually physically put the ball on the ground. Does it count the same? What's the points? Um no, it's five points, and then right after that you get to like um kick the ball like through the um So kind of like an extra.

Speaker 4 45:24

But it's off to the side.

Speaker 1 45:25

I was about to say, is it? Yeah, depends on where you where you put the ball down.

Speaker 4 45:29

And if you angle it, it's more points or something, right? Depending on where you want to put it if it's straight on or no, you get the same amount of points.

Speaker 1 45:35

So after you have like the touchdown, so you have you get that extra two points if you go over. And then you also get penalties inside.

Speaker 45:42

So if you you said you have to put the ball down, right? Yeah. So like like people could see us. So when you put the ball down, because I'm just trying to make sure I understood it right. Yeah. You have to kick from where you put the ball down. No, no.

Speaker 1 45:59

So it's still like further back. Yeah. It's just it it depends. It varies to be honest. I'm not completely sure like how they about how they do that.

Speaker 5 46:07

Yeah.

Speaker 1 46:08

But um, it depends like from which angle you kick it from where you put the ball. Like where you actually detect it.

Speaker 46:14

I guess I was the reason why I was asking that because it yeah, I wanted to know that because I I felt like that would make it a little more complex if like just say I got a kicker who likes to kick from the right side and I got a touchdown on the left, I have to think about how can I maneuver across the field. You get on to the teammates. Yeah, yeah. So so that's why I wanted to know. Like, I, you know, it's like I said, I overlook my ignorance. I'm no, no, no.

Speaker 1 46:39

Yeah, no, it's people aren't familiar, that's what I'm saying. Like, it's uh but yeah, that's why that's like that's our biggest like passion, like also because it's like international. I feel like your football is national, but like it's still so big in the culture. But like for us, it's just competing against other countries. Yeah. And that's like also within the country, you have your different teams. But I feel like when we like win the World Cup and stuff, we go crazy. Like we're so like we're so proud of just like if we you get that boxer from um like Dickers also like um like fighting all across the world and stuff like that. So we're very, very proud, but very humorous too. We're we have a really good sense of humor. We make like jokes about everything. So like, yeah, I feel like we're all around, but I feel like that's we also have a word in South Africa called Ubuntu. And say it one more time. Ubuntu.

Speaker 47:34

Ubuntu. Ubuntu.

Speaker 1 47:36

Now, just to get like trying to make sure I got it.

Speaker 47:40

I gotta say it like that. Okay.

Speaker 1 47:42

So like I I'm trying to find like this specific thing, but like it's like a phrase that's like I am because we are, and like that just shows about like the unity. And it's like they say it's like a philosophy or like a worldview that emphasizes interconnectedness, compassion, and shared humanity.

Speaker 3 47:59

So isn't there something like that too? In I was listening to uh what's the guy's name, the quarterback who was on college game day for Oregon.

Speaker 4 48:07

Marcus Mariota.

Speaker 3 48:08

He was talking about there's he kept throwing out these words from Hawaii where they have words like this. And I was, I mean, I it caught my attention because I'm like, we don't I don't know of a word that would show yeah, this cultural like connectedness. So it's really cool. Yeah.

Speaker 4 48:24

I mean, for Texas, it'd be come and take it to the flag.

Speaker 3 48:29

Yeah, but I feel like a lot of people in the South just say that.

Speaker 4 48:32

Yeah, maybe I'm just starting to think of Texas. I mean, maybe like um everything's bigger in Texas.

Speaker 3 48:38

Don't mess for Texas. Sorry, I feel like I took away from what you're saying. But it just made me think like that did stand out to me from whenever he said that on college community.

Speaker 48:47

But does it seem like other countries just take certain things a little more serious and a little more personal and prideful as a country? Because like when I'm hearing you talk, it's you get what I'm saying? It's like it's not that I I'm saying being American, we don't take those, but it's like the way you talk about it, it just seems a lot uh more prideful. It's a lot of conviction behind it's like it's a responsibility to be able to know this or to be able to, you know, move like that. And I feel like like across the whole country.

Speaker 4 49:24

Yeah, it's across like not in a right, not in a search section, you know. And so when it comes to world events, like world things, we as the states, we just I don't know, you think about the big things that are at but sports that are played across the world. Soccer is a big one. All right. Um, we're just not very good. And uh and then as a whole, as a country, we're just not as engaged. We show up for World Cup and we're like, go team, but then we're like, we're not good, you know? And we file I'll follow the girls. The girls do a great job. Um, but like you think of rugby. We are just we don't know rugby, we know American football, and that's our thing. And so we're like, ah, you know, so we're gonna be prideful about the thing that we made. Or did we even make it? I don't know. Um, it just seems like some little like cricket world thing. Yeah, we just aren't a part of it. There's a lot of things that the world is a part of that we are just kind of like, eh. We don't know about it. We got our own thing. And so um I think it's a little bit on us.

Speaker 50:18

Yeah, maybe we miss out on them. Maybe we miss out. And I think too, is is we are great sports-wise, in where we put our focus. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Because it's like we don't really like you was talking about rugby, uh, even soccer, like it's almost like no offense, but those sports are kind of looked down upon here. Because it's like if you can run and do all of that, you need to play football or run track, you know, or something like that. So uh to hear you talk about some of those different things, uh, those are like it just I it just so things I think about because it's like even for some of those sports, for me to not even be knowledgeable of those sports, I'm like that a majority of the world plays. Right. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. It's like we we it was like, why I don't know that. Like I I almost felt some type of way like I felt small. So thank you, I for coming here and enlighten me, enlightening me on some of these sports that I really need to, you know, I got I gotta come up. You know, I'm like netball and uh field hockey. Yeah, like what is field hockey? You don't know field hockey? They got it here though.

Speaker 1 51:30

So see, see, that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 4 51:31

It's hockey without ice.

Speaker 1 51:33

It's it's on it's on I don't know if you probably don't even know what I need to experience to lacrosse or no.

Speaker 3 51:39

You got like a little stick. I mean a stick has got a little bit of I don't know.

Speaker 1 51:42

It's the brown ball. It's hard to explain, but it's almost works exactly like soccer, but you have a stick and a ball. The field looks the same. I don't feel so bad. It's just but it's yeah, I don't know. I do know lacrosse. Yeah, oh we don't we don't have that.

Speaker 4 52:01

I think our issue is I think we just lack national identity because we're in a lot of different things, but our focus is not fully into one.

Speaker 1 52:09

Yeah, I think that's part of it.

Speaker 4 52:10

Like for the Olympics, we'll show up. You got the state, you represent states, we'll cheer you on, like doesn't matter what it is, curling or whatever, you know? Yeah. Um break dance, which I think they got rid of that, whatever. Boy, that was funny. But like um break dance. Uh that's a sport. Yeah, and then somebody made it and wasn't even a break dancer and just did a break dance. I didn't know. Oh my gosh. Okay.

Speaker 3 52:33

Um that's a clip you need to watch.

Speaker 4 52:35

And she may have been she may have been from South Africa.

Speaker 1 52:40

Oh my god, we're gonna do it.

Speaker 4 52:42

We're not taking credit now. No, but we do lack national identity, and I I think it's just because we're big and we have our own things, but I just think it's deterioration of the states. Because we used to be, I I think so. I mean, I'm only 40, but I feel like we were more um nationally supportive. Um, I just think we've lost a bit of that.

Speaker 1 53:01

I would just say, like, I think you guys grew up in this because America is so big. I feel like you just grew up in like being competitive within states. Or like you guys say like different teams. Like I feel like the collegiate levels were like started and got so more intense. So it's like just within the country, there's so many, like you're so passionate about your team, but it stays within the country. Yeah. Yeah. For us, it's like our our country is probably just not as big. So it's like But as an athlete, wouldn't you represent South Africa to go, would you travel to other countries? Yeah, so I would when I when I compete internationally, I would uh like wear my South African jersey, so I compete for them. Although I study here and everything. Yeah, I feel like it's yeah, such a different like concept.

Speaker 53:43

Yeah. As a as I got to ask you this, uh, and I don't I don't mean to segue badly, but I have to ask you this. As an athlete, uh is there a sense of pressure knowing that you come from that country and you want to represent your country well? Is there a pressure that comes with it?

Speaker 1 54:00

To be honest, back home I have a really, really good support system. So it's like they're already like everyone is already so proud, just like for yeah, representing here and stuff like that. But for me, I put that pressure on myself because I really do want to make everyone proud there because I know what it feels like when you see like a South African competing on like a big stage.

Speaker 5 54:25

Yeah.

Speaker 1 54:26

And it's like you feel that pride for them. So I really want to like I put that pressure, but like a healthy pressure on myself because I want to be that person for them and represent them well and like just like spread the word of like how proud I am of my country. Yeah. And like, yeah, like share about like what we do and all the different stuff. And I feel like that's a really big honor, actually.

Speaker 54:49

Wow. See, yeah, I wouldn't know anything about that. I think the most pressure I've had, a free throw at a church league basketball game. No, but but no, that's it's very interesting to hear you say that because um, like to see what type of person you are, and then you can tell when you're talking about your country, uh, the smile, the you just light up, you know, and I think that that is a a great thing for us to see uh so because I know with all of the distance, not being able to be at home as much, uh, but you wear like being here so great and so well, you know. Um so it is it's good to kind of get a little bit to know, you know, know you past uh what we kind of see through huddles. You know, you do great there, you're always being a great example, but to kind of hear a little bit of the athletic side and the side of pride in a good manner, you know, uh that's it's just great to kind of be able to witness. So thank you so much.

Speaker 3 55:48

Well, one thing that you said the other day that struck me that I was I haven't even considered was the fact that it's like summertime. Oh, yes. During Christmas, right? Yeah. So we have these songs in the States about, I guess they originated here, I don't know, about white Christmases and all this stuff, which I've actually ironic story is that I'm from Texas and the day, Christmas Day we flew to go to our friend's wedding in South Africa. The only time while I've been alive that it snowed on Christmas Day in Texas was the day I was on the flight to South Africa. So I have not seen a white Christmas since I've been in the States. I remember that. But it does get cold, but it's just kind of funny because we sing these songs, but in some places in our country, people aren't getting snow on Christmas. But when you said summer, I thought, I wonder what are some of the traditions, some of the traditions that y'all have at Christmas. How is it so different? Because we relate it to snowmen and like all things, warm things.

Speaker 1 56:43

Yeah, it is a lot different, but I feel like here they hype up, it's like hype it up so much. Like it's so effactive. Like as soon as like after Thanksgiving, it's like lights and everything. Back home, it's because it's like summer, so everyone goes to the beach on summer vacation and it's like hour-long um from like break from schools and universities and stuff like that. Um for us, it's always we always go to the beach. So usually when I was growing up, we would go to Mozambique. That's just like the country um like just across the border. Or um, yeah, we would I feel like it's mostly going to the beach, but it's like I don't know, it's totally different because I feel like we don't we don't make Christmas such a big thing. It's literally just that Christmas Eve, it's Christmas. Do you all change gifts and everything too? Yeah, so so that's also a different thing. Um what we do is I feel like back home, which is also different here, is I feel like most of the people, but or everyone like I know is we don't do Christmas gifts on Christmas Day. So we have like Christmas Eve where you have a big family dinner and then you do the gifts, and um then Christmas Day, it's like a beach day. We go to church every like in the morning, of course, and then um we have a beach day, and that's just like yeah. It's not it's not it's not it's not a it's not a like a big thing, like and I feel like it's so different here. Like I I've grown to like like um how everything is so festive here because like Christmas movies and yeah hot chocolate, it's like cozy weather, you have to snuggle even if it doesn't snow. But then it's like it's so different back home because it's like summer, you you go to the beach, it's hot, yeah.

Speaker 3 58:31

What do you all eat for your dinner? Like what are things that would be Christmas dinner worthy?

Speaker 1 58:36

I would say we do s we also I would say it's like pot roast or um yeah, like green beans and I would say it's the closest thing I would say that the dinner is would be the same as it would be here.

Speaker 5 58:50

Yeah.

Speaker 3 58:51

If I have to cook it. Are there like it's not are there like cultural Christmas things? Like we have, you know, the um peppermint mochas start coming from. Christmas cookies. Christmas cookies. Yeah, there's a gingerbread man type. We have all these like food related things. Are there anything that's like that's Christmas when you're in South Africa? Candy cane. Candy cane. It's a big one.

Speaker 1 59:12

No, I I feel bad to say that, but I don't like it. It's probably a good thing, Anya is probably good. Well, probably it's just my view of like looking at it though. But like for us, it's not I don't think there's like specific things that's connected to like it's also just like a big dinner, but it's not like specific stuff at the dinner. Like me and my grandma also used to bake cookies for like um when we go to like the beach and we have like stashes, like boxes and boxes of like cookies. What are the cookies though? Are they like in shapes or are they just certain cookies? We can we do shapes too. What's up? It was like circuit cookies, sometimes we would do gingerbread cookies, it would be um what other cookies would be. Like Christmas trees? We have ones, but it's not like you decorate a mess that's not like a big thing. Like I feel like some people do, but it's like because what because of the weather, it's so hot.

Speaker 4 59:58

Yeah, so it's like doesn't matter, it's gonna melt.

Speaker 1:00:04

I think what she's kind of speaking to as well is what we were kind of talking about earlier. Personal tradition. Yeah. And then, like you said, cultural. Because I'm just listening to what you said. Because it's like I was just thinking about you was talking about how y'all do everything on Christmas Eve. Like to us, we would feel like the gift lost value if we opened it on Christmas Eve. Yeah. Like the same gift that you're going to open on Christmas Day. You feel like it's it's not the it's like some excitement has just dwindled. You know, and so I don't know. Because I mean you're you're like Christmas Eve, you're like, oh, but I get. Yeah, and then and then Christmas Day, it's like, you know, and and I I guess I think about that like when I hear you say that, because it's it's kind of just it just speaks to the the demographics of like the change according to demographics, cultural. And uh it's it's it's interesting to hear because it's almost like it's kind of it's reverse. How when you see us doing certain things on Christmas and you like, that's how it is when I'm hearing you talk like it's it's very interesting, like to hear, and even to try to equate Christmas holiday with being warm, with warm weather. Like it, it's like that's I can't now, but but when you said that I just uh I got a friend who's in Arizona, and the weather there is always hot. So when she was talking, like it made me think about her as you were talking, because that's how she said a lot of it is for them. Like when we're coming home to 50, 40, 30, she's going home to 70, right, 80, like you know, so I remember some 60 degree humid Christmases though.

Speaker 4 1:01:46

Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 3 1:01:47

But it is like kind of a disappointment though.

Speaker 4 1:01:49

Yeah, it's very right.

Speaker 1 1:01:52

Yeah. Exactly. But we do grow up, like obviously watching movies. So it's for us, it's like it's still Christmas movies, but it's like it's obviously in the movies it's snowing and everyone wants it to snow on Christmas, and it's like cold, and everyone has their own chocolate. So it's like you watch it, but like here it's like you get into that mood. But like back home, now that I think about it, like the Christmases, it wasn't. But I also grew up, my parents, like from the beginning. I never like believed in Santa and stuff like that. Because if for us, the actual Christmas day was real like it was religious, it was just supposed to be about the Lord, and um so we grew up like the Christmas Eve was mostly the big thing because that's the that's the good food and that's the presence, yeah, and like that that was the the like the fun part and that's family, but like on the day it was very laid back, not like that big of a thing because they wanted to make sure like that was made sure like we know why, like what is the day. And also not the Easter bunny and stuff like that. So yeah, we grew up like it was still fun, like you could still like watch the movies as as kids and like enjoy it with your friends, and like it's fun to know of, but like they they taught us like from the beginning, like what the real like big holidays was for. Yeah, and I feel like it didn't take any way anything away from my childhood, right? But I feel like that's just so different here because I feel like everyone, yeah, they grew up so different.

Speaker 4 1:03:17

So it's like you're in there's anything. You need this. I was also gonna ask you about Oh, it's uh it's Christ's birth. That's cool. Buy this, buy this.

Speaker 3 1:03:27

Yeah, but about but about gifts though, do y'all like buy gifts for each other? Is it one of those things where like you're making a Christmas list, like this is what I want, or is this just kind of like a Christmas exchange? Like, is the gift such a big deal?

Speaker 1 1:03:40

Yeah, no, the big no, no, growing up the gifts was still a big deal. You still had like your list and what you want and stuff like that. I think as we got older, um, because my sister's married now and like me, like I'm not always at home like with Christmas and stuff. So now present is like that big of a deal where we still try to give each other's presents presents, but like as a big family, you um it's like a big thing. You have your list and make sure like everyone gets to like multiple, like yeah, big things.

Speaker 3 1:04:08

So did you did you I I don't know how to ask this question. It sounds funny. Did you do Santa when you grew up? Did we do Santa? Yeah.

Speaker 1:04:17

I mean, we did, but we didn't. Like you have that one, we did not. So I wanna So we did what but we didn't like um we wasn't shunning it, but we wasn't also at the same time wasn't making it that big.

Speaker 3 1:04:32

Like did you get San gifts from Santa?

Speaker 1:04:36

Like we didn't we just knew we had Christmas presents. It wasn't like these came from Santa. Okay. Like, but that's why I say we did, but we we So did you believe in Santa? Like, where was it? I I I mean it wasn't, I I it's like I didn't I it was I don't know. I don't want to say I'm saying this, it wasn't like I didn't believe in Santa. Like, cause you have some people that teach that way, and when they see the man in the red suit, he fake. I don't like like I'm saying I we were never taught that. So it's kind of like that agenda north or south wasn't really pushed in my home. We had Christmas presents, and then we kind of knew you see, you see your mom, them coming in with all these bags. It's like we know who we knew what was going on. Now she did try to uh they did try to do the Santa Eating Cookies ordeal. Yeah. Like, you know, it's five cookies on a plate, and then the next morning only a half a cookie is left until you know I start staying up because you know it became a thing to open your gifts at 12.01. Oh, I didn't know about that. Yes, so so we would try to stay up all night and then when 12.01 comes, because we still, it's still to us, we're opening them on Christmas. Right. And so then you start being able to pay attention to the cookies and seeing, okay, ain't nobody came and ate these cookies, so I'm gonna kind of act sleek, and then you would see, you know, you would see your day head cut. Okay, that is hilarious. You know what I mean? But they so it's like they tried to make it, but it wasn't really shunned because you and then you also think my mom was a she's a uh kid kindergarten teacher. Uh-huh. So with us with school, we having to deal with Santa at school. That was a big thing at school. So it is so I'm I I I hope I'm being as clear as I possibly can. We didn't shun it, but we wasn't like heavy on uh yeah, Justin.

Speaker 4 1:06:29

I believe too.

Speaker 1:06:32

He was one of those kids.

Speaker 4 1:06:33

Yeah, I don't know how it uh made me embarrassed to tell.

Speaker 1:06:38

So when you so let me ask you this, when you found out, were you one of those people that was really crushed?

Speaker 4 1:06:44

Or I was like, uh, the Easter bunny too. Uh the tooth fairy, uh, all of it. You know, I was like, yeah. I was like, uh crap, you know. Goodness.

Speaker 3 1:07:00

So we didn't, because my mom was always like, look, we only have a certain amount of money, and I want y'all to know these gifts came from us. Yeah. Like we're not doing all that. This is funny. We were watching a baking show the other night, and the guy said that they used to leave a pack of cigarettes and what else for Santa too.

Speaker 4 1:07:17

Oh God, some drinks, some brandy or something, right?

Speaker 3 1:07:20

Some kind of is that not hilarious? Like that that was part of what they left and cigarettes.

Speaker 4 1:07:25

Yeah, because that's what dad and parents did at night.

Speaker 1:07:31

But you think about that, if you think about Santa on a sleigh with a cigarette. Smoking a heater. Yeah. And drinking a beer.

Speaker 3 1:07:43

Okay. And the other story that came to mind as y'all were talking, I think Anya, I think I shared this with you girls at an FCA thing. But when we were at Mississippi College, we used to do this apartment ministry thing where we would have we'd go out there every Sunday afternoon, have games, the students would play, and then we'd have like a little Bible story, some snacks for sure.

Speaker 4 1:08:00

Share the story.

Speaker 3 1:08:02

Okay. Shout out to Brennan Herman. Uh so, anyways, he, this student leader, Brennan, he dressed up as Santa. And he went out there, and there is this, and all the kids are like having a great time, you know. I don't know if we brought gifts for him. I don't know, but we definitely had Santa and we had like an elf, and like they're interacting with Brennan. It was the elf, the deep. It was Melissa. Oh, Robinson. Oh, Melissa, okay. Okay, so then this kid comes up to Brennan and he reaches up his hands and he's like, and Brennan, you know, he's just trying to, he's like, this is great. I'm making this kid's day, right? So he picks up this kid and then they kidding. He's like, oh ho ho, hello. And he's like, hello. And this kid reaches out and grabs the beard and pulls it down. And then Brennan his real name. Yes. And then all the kids, he's fake, he's fake, he's fake, he's a fake. I mean it was great. So crazy that Brennan was so shocked he dropped the kid on the ground. He was kind of a kid, he's only up, just dropped. He was probably seven or eight years old, but like that was I'm pretty sure that was the mission of that kid, was like prove to show not the real Santa. So I don't think we ever did that event again, but it was so funny. And I did have it on video. I happen to guess this on video. So we went back.

Speaker 1 1:09:14

I feel like as kids, because everyone flies out on the like at their own time, right? So I feel like when you're kids and you're telling the others, like, no, it doesn't exist, and the other was on like, no, they no, he does.

Speaker 3 1:09:24

It's like a big the other day, and two kids were talking about it. I'm like, let's just not talk about it. Let's not.

Speaker 4 1:09:31

We get presents, and some of them would be given from my mom and dad, and then some would say from ho ho ho.

Speaker 5 1:09:36

And I'm like, oh man, all right.

Speaker 4 1:09:39

Wow. Yeah. Ho ho ho.

Speaker 1:09:43

Wow. Wow. Exactly.

Speaker 4 1:09:46

Wow. Don't even think about it. Just like, man, these gifts are awesome. Exactly. Doesn't matter how it got here. You didn't see anything. You didn't see anything.

Speaker 3 1:09:55

Um, Anya, are there any other traditions that you'd like to share with us as we wrap up today? Um you feel like we should know about.

Speaker 1 1:10:01

No, I I just feel like when I was, I feel like that's similar, is when we would um be at the beach, um, like obviously it's summer and stuff, we would still go out and get a tree. Like a week before all our kids would go out, drive around and look for a tree, and also like cut down the tree so we have some kind of thing. A real tree. Also So I was talking to my mother about like what type of tree we usually get. And she said, like, no, it's like the actual like Christmas trees. You get them lots, that's why we took so long. But for me, does I don't think it's like the exact same, but it looks very similar. Okay. But you do get them like we're where like we used to go and we would cut down a tree and try it. So I feel like that's that's something that's also like very similar. You put the presence under the tree, like that's still like a I think very normal thing. See, she opened up another question.

Real Tree or Fake Tree?

Speaker 1:10:53

Real tree or fake tree. Hey. Because no, because like I've seen people do both. And now that's one thing I was a little disappointed by because growing up I would think we had a real tree. And I would but what kind of start giving me is like how I'm sorry. I just heard what you said. Yeah, I would think we had a real tree. But but then I was like, well, how does my mom keep putting this tree in this bag? And and it's it is it's not losing branch. It's it's like this tree is indestructible. Yeah, like I'm like, man, what what is she doing? And then because it's cut down, it's not being watered or nothing. That's like every year you have so I'm so I'm saying the thing when you all grew up, did you all actually have a real tree or did you get like a uh an imitation tree? Definitely fake. We did real.

Speaker 4 1:11:49

You did real. My mom really liked Fraser Furs as well. So that's the tree that I remember growing up with. And so, and my dad had this legit stand, which he just gave me, like last year. Oh, yeah, it is legit. So we have a real tree now. Since we've been here, we've done real trees.

Speaker 3 1:12:10

Because we got rid of our fake tree like when we moved one time.

Speaker 4 1:12:13

Yeah.

Speaker 3 1:12:13

But shout out to Judy Workman, my mom. She is an administrator and very efficient in what she does. So I don't think that we ever had a real tree. Like it was gonna be this is the easiest thing.

Speaker 4 1:12:24

It's very affordable just to get a fake.

Speaker 3 1:12:26

She can correct me on that. I'll have to ask her, but I'm pretty sure that's why we probably always had we did have a cross for a little bit there, and they would put like lights on the cross. We had that instead of a tree.

Speaker 1:12:39

I mean, yes, because we uh now I think well, men center, we've been doing a fake tree because of like uh where we live. And then I guess me just the maintenance of an actual real tree. Uh but I do believe if she had it her way, she probably wanted to do a real tree every year.

Speaker 3 1:13:00

We started doing that, and I I do feel like it it can kick kind of like that like hassle. Like, is it really all it's cracked up to be? But it the kids do seem to appreciate the tree. So we go to the tree farm, we all pick the tree, and then they go out and see that's see that's the thing.

Speaker 1:13:14

That's like a you you make an actual full now it's a new tradition.

Speaker 3 1:13:22

Oh, we'll wrap up. But this is the thing that Abby, this is a this happened this year, okay, guys. We when you get out, this is in Amory, shout out to Worthy Tree Farm. We go out there past like three years, and we uh in the past you show up and you find you're like, oh, this is a beautiful seven and a half, eight foot tree. That's what we need. Already tagged. Somebody's gotten it. So it's just so like you go, oh, this one's perfect. Someone's already claimed it. So basically, they'll either come out there opening day and go ahead and tag their tree, but they won't take it home. Or he said that only like five to ten people actually call in advance. It's really not that many people to say, hey, pick my tree for me. So this year the tree farm was opening at what time? Seven on a Saturday, November 22nd. And Abby was like, We are getting up at six o'clock. I'm only getting there by seven. So I happened to just, I normally sleep at like I, but I just like woke up at like four something, I think. It was ridiculous. So I ended up like, I was like, I'll go ahead and cook some breakfast. And then so when it got like 5 45, maybe, I went into Justin and I was like, Hey, uh, it's almost six o'clock. And what did you say to me? I said, No, get out of here.

Speaker 4 1:14:34

I said, I'm not, I don't know what it was. I was really tired and I was sleeping hard. And I was like, I don't want to get up right now for this.

Speaker 3 1:14:41

So then I was like, Well, you you're gonna have to answer to Abby when she wakes up. And sure enough, when she got up, she let him have it. Why do we not get up? Why do we like it? She takes the balls laid. Yeah, she was serious about it. So it's just like, I'm just saying, the it used to be like, okay, let's go get our treat. Now the tradition is getting a little bit more detailed. Like, okay, we have to be there on this day at this time. And so we did get out there by like nine, and we were able to get plenty of options. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 4 1:15:10

A week in advance before what we've been to.

Speaker 1 1:15:12

Right. That's what I'm saying. It keeps backing up. I want to know, just for curiosity, first is isn't Christmas trees very expensive? And like what do you do after? Like with the Christmas trees? These are ten dollars a foot. So ours is ours was that.

Speaker 4 1:15:25

Fraser furs are more expensive than that. But the the cypress, the cypress tree that we have is eighty dollars.

Speaker 3 1:15:31

It's just ten dollars a foot, so whatever you Oh, okay. And so once it's over, what do you do with it?

Speaker 4 1:15:36

You're not supposed to burn it, but Well, I mean, you're a lot of people actually take it and they throw it in um a pond or a lake because the fish, it's the fish love it.

Speaker 3 1:15:46

Really?

Speaker 4 1:15:47

Yeah, they'll make homes around the branches and stuff.

Speaker 3 1:15:50

So um bigger cities, you're really supposed to there is like a way that you're supposed to like I'm not gonna say it's not recycle, I don't know the right word, but like dispose of it properly.

Speaker 4 1:15:58

Oh well, I mean I take mine to my backyard because I have a nice burn spot and just let it dry out and it's great fire starter. It is pretty crazy. It's amazing just how fast it lights.

Speaker 3 1:16:09

Wow. We'll have to Google that one. I don't know. Technically, there is something you're supposed to do, but yeah. Yeah. I was just curious.

Speaker 1:16:15

Yeah, they can't do it. Me too. Yeah, like I think that's probably why I don't try to get a real one because I'm gonna have to like what do you do?

Speaker 1 1:16:22

Like, I feel like you're everything is so much strict.

Speaker 1:16:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 1:16:26

You don't pay for it, you can just go find it and cut it down.

Speaker 3 1:16:29

You don't have to store it in a bag. Yeah, you don't have to do the storage part there, yeah.

Speaker 1:16:34

Right, and see what the real hours in the attic. So I have to let the ladder down from the attic. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 4 1:16:42

I remember all of that stuff done all the time.

Speaker 1:16:44

Really, my father-in-law, we tried to uh me and him tried to uh put it up there together. I help out because I be so I'm scared of heights, and then pulling that big thing all the way up that yeah, it's not it's not a good time for me. But for for the smile of my wife, I try to make it happen. You're gonna do it. I try to make it happen.

Speaker 4 1:17:05

Yes, dear. Yes, dear.

Speaker 3 1:17:06

Um also this is unrelated, but I just had to give Justin a shout out about something that we have talked about on the pod, and then we're gonna close because I know we've gone long today. But okay, there was this Darius, there was a clip of Coach Saban on the Pat McAfee show, and he said, baseball is basically boring.

Speaker 4 1:17:26

But listen, I just had to give a look.

Speaker 3 1:17:31

Let's say shut that mouth. He was like, baseball's basically boring, but and then he goes on to talk about how he used to recruit track athletes for fast because they were fast, but then he was talking about how significant the skills are for baseball players, the hand-eye coordination.

Speaker 4 1:17:46

Well, he said the corner I used to recruit track athletes to play cornerback because they were fast and they could cover guys that could stay with them and all that. He said, but they can't read the ball in the air real well. So he would start getting baseball players instead because the hand-eye coordination, they can read the ball in the air.

Speaker 3 1:18:02

And all the decisions a baseball player has to make. He said it's slow, but they're having to make so many judgments on the ball that I decided like that's who I need to go after, someone that had that in their background. So we don't know, maybe that closed the argument about what skills translate the best.

Speaker 1:18:18

And you know what? It's it's amazing that you say that with uh Mississippi State just having signing day yesterday, I was looking up one of the guys that they uh signed, and I just put his name in on TikTok, and the it was a video that was made of him, and the guy that was making a video was saying, if you want to get a scholarship in football track athletes, this is what you do. And he had the guy posting all of his track videos and the guy had been playing football, but once he started posting his track videos and it was showing his time and how fast he was, in a matter of three days, he showed how many scholarship offers he got in a matter of three days. Just by posting his track, uh his actual track, you know, uh moments. Or I I don't know. He was he was real he he did like I don't remember what it was, but he did like in 10.010.08, and it was real, real fast. So once he posted that and people knew he played football, it's like overnight. I mean, he was getting scholarships from some of the top places because of his speed. So I can, you know, I I'll give track some some uh some some some you know. No offense to Anya by any means.

Speaker 4 1:19:39

No, but no, I'll debate. No, see the debate was which sports skill set from a sport will translate best to other sports. Yeah. And so my d my answer is baseball. Not because I played baseball, but it's just because of all the other things. If you watch basketball player, football player throw a baseball, swing a bat, it is a train wreck. Alright, but if you watch a baseball play or pickle the basketball and shoot, or be able to throw a football or move around and play for like they can make it work. They're not gonna be as good, obviously. But they can fit based on the skill set that baseball brings them. They can jump in and most of the time play decent.

Speaker 1 1:20:16

No, that makes more sense. But I feel like speed, like it's so much different because even with like like um team sports, I don't feel like to be honest, like I feel like most track athletes don't have good coordination. Yeah. Also, like it I don't feel like just because you're fast is gonna benefit you in all the other sports. Yeah. You can't be fit, yeah, and that will benefit you in a lot of other stuff. But there each sport has its like specific like coordinations and stuff that you have to do better than just beat fast.

Speaker 1:20:45

Yeah. And and that's why I say like I and and I want to say this because I think this will do just as real good right now. We're not we're not gonna fight the baseball. Because when you think about like just a shortstop having to bend down and catch a uh a grounder, or an outfielder having to jump over the wall and catch, you know, or you know, a third baseman having to jump up and catch it and at the same time be moving his body to throw the first to get the guy out. Like, so what I'm saying is they having to hand eye coordination, coordinate, uh, uh contort their bodies for different things. So I could easily see a baseball guy being able to play multiple sports and the carryover not be as dramatic. You know, as as it relates to like with basketball, now there is a lot of hand-eye coordination and there is a lot of uh nimble feet, but then you start thinking about some of the other things that they may have to do tackling somebody, you know, it's it started being a little, you know.

Speaker 3 1:21:49

I also think that there's a precision with baseball, whereas like in basketball, if you make a mistake, you can kind of make it up or a teammate can make it up. Yeah. But like there's precision. So like even the judgment, like uh, do I want to take this risk to throw this pass down to someone that's cut into the lane on a fast break? I sure. Yeah, you know, because like we get back next possession. But if you do that in a baseball game, that could be several runs. So it's like you I I thought that the judgment argument was really good.

Speaker 1:22:12

Yeah, I just want to shout out Justin. Yeah, we shouted him out. We shouted him out at the baseball guys. Baseball guys, listen, guys, we give you all credit with no shade at all. Like we're giving you credit. No shade.

Speaker 3 1:22:23

Yeah, well, thank you, Anya, for joining us today, bringing a little bit of uh different, different perspective, different experiences to the podcast. If you had a good time, and we'll just we might roll back, we might talk about some more traditions next week, maybe get somebody else. Who knows? But we're always thankful that you listen and we hope that you'll come back and listen again. Thanks for listening to the Created to Be Podcast. To learn more about FCA at Mississippi State, visit www.msufca.org and follow us on Instagram at Hale State FCA underscore. If you would like to become a financial partner, visit www.fca.org slash donate to sew into the work God is doing through FCA at Mississippi State.