“Sammie”

I am an only child. As an only child, I was extremely close to my parents growing up and this included being daddy’s little girl. My dad and I were the clowns of the family and we had a very special bond. Another thing my dad liked to do with me besides joking around was to go shopping. He was the type of man to wear Lucky Brand Jeans, Calvin Klein and Hollister t-shirts, and sweet smelling cologne. He tried everything he could to be “hip.” The one thing my dad was most passionate about was his jewelry. He owned gold necklaces including his favorite gold cross necklace, gold bracelets, and even a gold pinky ring.

It was my 13th birthday when my dad bought me my first gold piece of jewelry. It was a name plate that read “Sammie” and underneath my name on the plate were two hearts with two rubies in each. I wore the necklace every day in eighth grade because name plates were “in” at the time. It made me light up with joy every time I received a compliment. I also liked that people knew my name before I even had to introduce myself; although sometimes it would get creepy because I would forget I had the necklace on. After eighth grade, I would wear the necklace here and there, but not every day.

Four years later, it was my senior year in high school when my whole entire world took a turn. My dad had passed away of a heart attack. Since then, I wear my beautiful “Sammie” necklace every single day because it represents the man who impacted my life the most. I get to have a piece of him with me everywhere I go especially because he chose that particular personalized necklace just for me. Whenever I look through my pictures, it is almost as if he was in the photo with me just because I had the necklace on. The best feeling is walking into a store or at school and still getting a compliment on it. It makes me so happy to have this piece of jewelry around my neck because of the huge meaning it has without people even knowing it.