My First Charm Bracelet

I received my first charm bracelet for Christmas in 1986.  I was six years old.  My two older sisters and I all got silver charm bracelets with a Christmas 1986 charm on it from Santa Claus.  I thought I was such a grown-up because my mom had a charm bracelet in her jewelry box that we would always take out and look at the charms. So now I had one of my very own to add charms to.  My first charm was for AmeriFlora, an International horticultural exhibition held in Columbus, Ohio the 1990’s.  I have added a charm for each of the sports I played while in Jr. High and High School, a basketball, volleyball and a catcher’s mitt, the position I played in softball. Those bring back memories of practices, high school gyms and the camaraderie that you have playing on a sports team. I added a life ring to commemorate my first “real” job as a life guard. That charm brings back memories of afternoons in the sun sitting in the lifeguard chair and all of the good friends I made those hot summers.  I added a Goofy charm for my visit to Walt Disney World in Florida that I took with my mom and my cousin. My parents got me a sweet sixteen charm for my sixteenth birthday.  My sixteenth birthday was especially sweet because that is when I first started dating Justin, who now is my husband. I was given a gold disc engraved with OASC to commemorate my participation in the Ohio Association of Student Councils annual conference. One of the few times I traveled without my parents and the beginnings of my love of leadership.  I picked out a Statue of Liberty charm to remember my high school trip to New York City. It brings back the sites and sounds of the Big Apple and the fun I had with my best friends.  My mom and dad got me a Black Bear charm, the mascot of my high school and a class of 1999 charm to celebrate my high school graduation.

I have started collecting charms for my second charm bracelet.  It will be for college and beyond. My husband is going to make me shadow boxes so I can proudly display them not keep them hidden in a jewelry box.

-Maggie W.