Look Book

68 www.thejewelrybook.com t Before this Summer I never thought that jewelry had any importance in my life. Sure I wear jewelry almost everyday, but I never thought about the importance of jewelry. I have been working for Nicole at The Jewelry Book for the past few months since I have been home in Sonoma from Northeastern University. Through this job opportunity I've realized all the ways jewelry has marked beautiful and coming of age moments for me. In my own experience, jewelry marks both love and accomplishments in my life. Before I delve deeper I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ava and I am nineteen years old, born and raised in California. I think of myself as an intersectional environmen- tal activist, fashion lover, designer and artist, daughter, friend, sister, student, athlete, and plant based eater. I've always been a very independent and confident person, and I'm not afraid to speak out and share my thoughts with the world. I think that my ability to do this comes from my mother. My mom is a beautiful and courageous person who brings so much light to the world. She gave me my first piece of jewelry. It was right before entering high school, I was still in my awkward phase of not quite knowing my place. Was I a child? An adult? Somewhere in between? I was faced with learning about womanhood but still technically being a child. My mom wanted to acknowledge this transition in a way that would make me appreciate the change. I came home from school one day to find a small blue box. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace and a sweet note. It is one of my favorite pieces of jewelry that I wear often, and I hope to carry on the tradition if I have a child. After remembering this occasion it occurred to me all the times jewelry has marked other occasions in my life. I received beautiful jewelry when I graduated highschool, and it reminds me of the pride I felt when throwing my gradua- tion cap after four years of hard work. Wearing these pieces of jewelry reminds me of all I can do if I set my mind to do it. I think that the most prominent memory of receiving jewelry was from my first boyfriend. We had been dating for about six months and I was struck by the beauty and romance of being in love for the first time. One day he surprised me with a gift, I remember the day so clearly. The scene was straight from a movie; we were at the beach during sunset watching the waves rise and crash on the San Francisco Bay. I was enchanted by loving and being loved. I could tell he felt the same as he pulled out a small box. Immediately I knew it must be jewelry. I jittered with apprehension and excitement. I felt as if this was somehow a right of passage, like so many movies and romance novels I had read, receiving jewelry seemed like the ultimate declaration of love. I opened the box slowly and placed my eyes on a necklace. It was a silver necklace with a silver butterfly charm. Even though it was not something I would buy for myself, the fact that it was a gift from someone I loved made it beautiful. Despite feeling special, I also felt a tinge of guilt for not loving it, and some sadness that he didn't recognize my style. I also think that this moment was an important reminder to cherish the action, and place less importance on the actual artifact. While dating, I wore the necklace often because it represent- ed our love. Now it is tucked away in a jewelry box, but 30 years from now I may find it and memories of my first love, passion, joy, heartbreak will fill me with happiness and nostalgia for my youth. This gift helped me realize that jewelry doesn't have to be about the physical piece but rather the emotions and feelings it evokes in us. I've come to realize that it is alright not to receive the perfect gift from someone else, because I can buy myself jewelry that I like!!! I think that my generation is prone to be more independent, especially for womxn, as we are at a pivotal point in the feminist move- ment, because we have grown up knowing that we can be anything we want. We were given the encouragement to go Jewels What Jewelry Means to Generation Z By AvA Rognlien, Student At noRtheASteRn univeRSity

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