This ring is a dainty heart ring that I bought from Pandora. My mom lost her original ring that symbolized the two of us and was very important to her, as a single mom who takes a lot of pride in her family. The reason why I bought this ring was because my grandma had a similar bracelet with the same small design. When I asked my grandmother about the bracelet, she told me that my grandfather gifted her this elegant bracelet the first anniversary after their divorce. To me the story behind the bracelet symbolizes my grandparents’ strength and ability to overcome the obstacles and continue to raise their family through hard times. My grandparents succeeded in building a family as a mixed race but African American-passing couple in the 1960s. At the time, the social norm wanted them to feel ashamed of their identity, but they felt nothing but pride. That’s something I love about my family: they not only choose to accept who they are but they live who they are and take pride in their ancestors and past.
As I mentioned before, my family is mixed race. One thing that I love about the Hispanic side of my family is that they take the idea of acceptance and try to spread it along with their love. I see this firsthand with my Tía Mary. Mary came from Puerto Rico on her own as a teenager without speaking any English. Though she had a rough start, Mary pushed through and still wanted to give back. She volunteers at a nonprofit organization to teach young kids and works at a group home for disabled adults with my mother. These two amazing women are the reason that I am where I am today, and I am forever thankful for them. Throughout my life, I have witnessed countless acts of my family’s kindness and generosity, acts that inspire me to be the kindest person I can be every day. My mother is the main person that comes to my mind.
Growing up, I have been through a lot with my mother, but we’ve always remained close. Through the ages of 8–14, my entire life was taken over by my grandmother. She developed Alzheimer’s, and, once my grandpa passed, my mom and I had to take control. I had to care for my grandmother while my friends were having sleepovers, and my mom was unable to go out with her girlfriends. All of this reminded me how similar in strength my mother and my grandmother are.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the same bracelet my grandmother had, but I found this ring. My plan was to buy the ring for my mom and my grandma… but my grandma passed before I could buy it for her. My grandma passed in June of last year (2019), and I bought the ring for Christmas. I saved up for a while to buy the ring. I wasn’t able to buy anyone else a nice Christmas present, but that did not matter because this was the thing most important to me.