We often categorize our lives into buckets of time when we felt or did certain things: “that’s when I was in college,” “that’s when I met my husband,” “that’s when I made my first million dollar deal.” As a young teenager I decided to catalog my life. I never wanted to forget how I felt and why I did the things that I did. I wanted to be able to analyze my brain and mental progress at a later date. I have a small box of journals, each titled “Chapter 1,” “Chapter 2,” etc, detailing my life from high school until now. When I read them today, I smile, feel embarrassed or blush.
Going to college was a feat. When you grow up on food stamps in an overwhelmingly restrictive environment with people whispering “you’ll never go to college” in your ear, a diploma seems like a pipe dream. But I did it, and thus far, my graduation day is one of the best days of my life. As I was graduating college, I had hopes of attaining a PhD. I screamed “PLEASE LET ME GET INTO GRAD SCHOOL!!!!” A few days later, I got my acceptance letter. That acceptance letter is tucked away amongst my items labeled “precious.” I am proud to say that I have the highest level of degree of anyone in my immediate and extended family.
That dream is gone now that I realized that graduate school was useless. I have moved on, but I still love that memory of the way I was. I was just as elated as when I got my first security consulting job. I had dreamed of being a security professional since I first began fiddling with modems. When I got my first offer letter, I promised myself that when I got enough money, I would buy myself a ring so that I could always remember that I could achieve my dreams. I wanted to carry around the reminder that I had the power to achieve what I wanted. I had a Tiffany ring picked out and filed away in my head, but for one reason or another, I never got it.
When I got my new job a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to buy that ring. I knew I wanted something unique: a statement ring. I looked everywhere but couldn’t find one that was interesting enough. I’m picky and I hate jewelry, so it was hard. By chance, I stumbled across a brand called Iosselliani in one of the fashion blogs I read. I was in love.
What I like about this ring is that it is ridiculous. It’s huge, it’s heavy, it kind of looks like costume jewelry. I love it! It is a melded conglomerate of five engagement rings. Bling, bling, baby! Wearing this heavy ring will be like carrying around my journals, remembering the outrageous goals I have made and achieved, marking this period of my life, and assuring me that I can do it again.
