Sophomore Liam Stringer (left) and his dad, Tyler Stringer (right), smile together on the Balboa Ferry to the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach on June 27, 2011. Stringer said his dad was the most special part of his childhood. Photo courtesy of Liam Stringer
College is a threshold. A place where childhood fades softly into independence.
Between ocean views and crowded dorm halls, students learn to grow, change and carry the small pieces of who they used to be. The echoes of home and nostalgia follow them, tucked inside old trinkets, favorite playlists or the faint scent of something familiar.
“Nostalgia is a sad feeling, but nostalgia isn’t so much about wanting to go back, it’s almost like, ‘I’m grateful it happened,’” sophomore Liam Stringer said.
At Pepperdine, nostalgia lingers for students. Not as something to outgrow, but as something to hold gently, like a thread weaving together past and present.
The Role of Childhood Traditions
Childhood traditions are the quiet threads that weave identity across generations.
In her Pepperdine dissertation, “The Intergenerational Transmission of Culture Through Attachment-Based Parenting Practices and Their Effect on Child Neurology,” UCLA Neuropsychology Fellow Elvina Chow describes how the smallest rituals — such as stories told at bedtime, family recipes shared in familiar kitchens, the sound of a song on the car ride home — carry far more than nostalgia.
These rituals are the living pulse of culture, passed down not just through words but through tone, rhythm and care.
“When I would drive my brother to school, that’s when we really bonded,” junior Ava Walters said. “He is a bit more reserved, so getting that quality time with him to connect was so special.”
Chow writes that families are “cultural agents” who transmit traditions both explicitly and implicitly, through the warmth of daily routines and gestures of love.
“My family bakes Christmas cookies every year and we like to prank each other by making one cookie that tastes disgusting,” Walters said. “For example, we’ll swap icing for cheese and prank whoever eats it.”
What Chow describes through neuroscience, first-year Andi Barger lives through memory.
“My mom loves the smell of lavender,” Barger said. “So whenever I smell it, it just reminds me of my childhood and my love for her.”
First-year Andi Barger smiles for a photo as a baby in 2008. Barger said the smell of lavender always brings her back to her childhood. Photo courtesy of Andi Barger
The scent is more than nostalgia — it’s the imprint of attachment, a thread of culture and love passed quietly from one generation to the next.
The scent of lavender, for Barger, turns the science of intergenerational transmission into something tangible: a single fragrance that carries an entire childhood.
Personal Memories and Nostalgia
Students carry their childhoods in memories, mementos and the ache of missing those who shaped them.
“If there was really anyone in my childhood who was truly special, it would probably be my dad,” Stringer said. “He passed away right as I turned 18, and when I think of someone who really impacted my childhood, it would be him.”
Stringer, who grew up in Richardson, Texas, said his dad traveled often for work when he was a kid, but the time they shared in between trips made those moments and memories even more meaningful.
“He was probably the most selfless person I’ve ever met, and his selflessness showed my whole life,” Stringer said. “Even at the end of his life, he just cared about others more than himself, always.”
One of Stringer’s most cherished mementos from his dad is a sealed LEGO Death Star, a limited-edition set he keeps in honor of his dad.
Both lifelong Star Wars fans, Stringer said the gift symbolizes their shared passion and the time they spent together.
“Apparently my dad bought it new in 2008 and kept it hidden in his garage until my 18th birthday, right before he passed,” Stringer said. “I built it and keep it at home in mint condition.”
Alongside the physical memento from his dad, Stringer said the smell of the ocean reminds him of his father and the times they shared together.
“I spent every summer in Balboa with my dad and grandpa, and the smell of saltwater and seaweed takes me back,” Stringer said.
Similarly to Stringer, Barger also threads her childhood memories together with Texas and the ocean.
“I grew up for the first years of my life in Corpus Christi and I lived on the beach, and me and my family used to surf competitively,” Barger said. “It was a good way to hang out with each other and enjoy some friendly competition.”
Walters grew up north of Barger in a small Texas town called Abilene, where she enjoyed spending holidays with family.
“We did a fall fest called ‘Trunk or Treat’ where we converted a chunk of our car into a different theme for Halloween,” Walters said.
Junior Ava Walters (far right, sitting down) dresses as Alice from “Alice in Wonderland” for “Trunk or Treat” in 2011. Walters said her family goes all out for the holiday each year. Photo courtesy of Ava Walters
Walters said one of the most notable aspects of the fall season in Abilene is her high school marching band playing during Friday night football games and collecting a “mum” during homecoming season.
A homecoming mum is a large, elaborate floral arrangement made with artificial flowers and decorated with ribbons and cowbells. It’s usually worn to a high school homecoming football game, according to Texas Highways Magazine.
“The homecoming mums are so funny, and they truly remind me of how extravagant Texas is,” Walters said.
Carrying Memories Into College
These special childhood memories and nostalgia have found their way into students’ college experiences.
Stringer, Barger and Walters all make sure to keep their Texas pride with them in Malibu. From keeping the Texas flag hanging in dorm rooms to rewearing clothing passed on from generations, childhood nostalgia lingers.
“I wear my grandma’s boots and my grandpa’s old jacket all the time,” Walters said.
For these Texans, scattered across landscapes but tied by memory, tradition isn’t just a set of customs. It’s a way of staying sewn to home, even as they build new versions of it miles away.
“Nostalgia is the feeling of wanting to go back, knowing you can’t and realizing if you went back that it couldn’t be the same because you and the place have changed,” Walters said. “You are just as different as the place you left.”
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Contact Alexa McGlathery via email: alexa.mcglathery@pepperdine.edu
