Word of the Day: Traditions.

Traditions, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, are an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action or behavior.

Traditions have always been a part of my family. We have always loved having special moments throughout the year where we get to hang out and spend quality time with each other. These traditions range from Thanksgiving dinner at grandma’s house to watching the Carolina-Duke basketball game all together to walking out on Christmas morning to presents from Santa. The traditions my family has upheld over the years have made us so close-knit.

Now, it might sound a little ironic to say, but my favorite family tradition is one that we don’t even do anymore.

Every year for 19 years of my life, my whole dad’s side of the family would head down to Ocean Isle Beach for a week for our annual O’Briant Family Beach Trip. For 19 years of my life this beach trip occurred, but it had been happening for decades, even before I was born, with my dad, his three sisters, and their parents.

During this beach trip, family time was the only thing on our mind. All day every day we would head down to the beach for hours and hours. We would pack snacks or run back up to the house to eat really quick, but as long as the sun was out, we were outside.

When the sun started to set, each of the individual families would take turns cooking dinner for all 30+ people in the house. After dinner, we would play cards, watch movies, hang out by the pool, and even just sit in the living room talking.

A little tradition within a tradition that we did was play our own version of Survivor.

My whole family has been obsessed with the show Survivor for as long as I can remember, so every year my grandma would act as the host, Jeff Probst, and would put on our own Survivor games throughout the week.

We obviously didn’t want to start drama so there were no eliminations, but at the beginning of every beach trip we would be assigned buffs for our different teams and would play a variety of games throughout the week, keeping track of who won and who lost. Towards the end of the week, the winningest team would advance to the finals where they would play a series of solo games. The winner of the solo games would be crowned the Sole Survivor of the O’Briant family beach trip.

Caleb O'Briant did you ever win!!?? haha

While it was always fun playing Survivor, and everyone got really competitive, I think the thing we loved most was spending quality time together and having fun while doing it.

Survivor, home-cooked meals, homemade ice cream made by my uncle, watching sea turtles hatch, fishing in the ocean, and so much more all come to my mind when I think of those next to perfect beach trips with my family.

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do our annual beach trip the past 2 years because our family has grown so big, with more and more of my cousins having kids and starting their own families. While this is sad that the trips no longer happen, I feel so blessed that my family, that I love so much, has grown so big. Sure, it stinks not being able to spend that week with them every year now that there are so many of us, but it makes the moments that we do see each other even sweeter, since they’re so sparse now.

It is kind of ironic that my favorite family tradition has come to a end, but the memories from those beach trips are forever engrained in my mind. Even if we never get to all go on another O’Briant Family Beach Trip, I am so thankful for the memories I have, which I will cherish for the rest of my life. My family means everything to me, so even if those moments will never be more than memories, I am so blessed that I got to experience them.