In my family, Easter is arguably the most important Christian holiday. It is a large part of our culture and family dynamic, and we always celebrate it with Lebanese-American traditions sprinkled in throughout the festivities. Living in America, far removed from neighbors who share our culture, it was imperative that my parents instilled a pride for my identity in spite of the distance.

The Saturday night before Easter Sunday, the kitchen would be bustling as my brother and I dyed hard-boiled eggs with obnoxiously artificial blues, pinks, and purples that soaked through the shell while the aroma of my mother's onion peel boiled eggs filled the house. The next morning our traditional egg-cracking war ensued, and we ate our fill of hard-boiled eggs. After breakfast we rushed to get ready for church, tensions running high as one of us always found a way to make everyone late for the service.

This year was the first time I spent Easter weekend away from home, and I found myself missing and appreciating those traditions even more. In college, we are exposed to different cultures and ways of celebrating. Going to a different Easter service at a different church surrounded by different people was not easy to get accustomed to. I knew my family was still dyeing and cracking eggs without me. They would go to church and take pictures by the garden without me. They would enjoy a family lunch without me. I realized that I took these small, but valuable traditions for granted when I was home. I began to regret my adolescent angst and my inability to appreciate those annual traditions, no matter how mundane.

Spending this important holiday away from home, however, taught me that independence in college and adult life is more than just academic and professional success. It's more than being able to rely on yourself for day-to-day needs. It's also about finding new and unique ways to carry on your family's traditions while creating your own. By leaving their country and family behind, my parents had to find ways to not only remain committed to their traditions but also pass on these practices to their children. I still observed the holiday the same way I would have if I were with them, which is a testament to their success in teaching me these customs.

Knowing that there was a community of students who would be celebrating without their families, but with each other, making it easier to shake this feeling of missing out. I felt proud of myself for having stayed true to my identity even without my parents' presence. I also am inspired by students whose high religious holidays always happen to fall during the semester with no built-in time off. I've met several peers who don't make excuses not to celebrate their holiday despite the distance from home. Within each respective community, college students from different religious backgrounds are committed to their faith and re-create their traditions among their friends and peers.

By wholeheartedly embracing the community I found myself in on Easter Sunday, I realized that traditions and holidays are more about honoring the people who gave them to us while finding ways to share these customs with others.