The Things We Carry by Kayla Holz ’24
There are many things that I carry with me on a daily basis. My phone, my backpack, my glasses, my rings. I can go on and on but there is one thing that sticks out to me and I can’t leave the house without. Something that I always carry with me, no matter where I am, no matter what I am doing, no matter who I am with is my gold necklace. It is always with me. Going to school, in the shower, and pretty much anytime you see me. There are no fun charms or pendants on it. Just a plain gold chain. But this small chain is part of something bigger. It has a past for which I will never fully know. Before I was born, my great grandmother passed away. And in her possession was a long gold chain that she used to wrap around her wrist for a bracelet. She wore it all the time and it was definitely her favorite piece. After she passed, her daughter (my grandmother) decided to go through her jewelry box to look for things she would want to keep. My grandmother found her long gold chain and suddenly the memories of her came back. She thought that it would be appropriate to split this chain into four. Hoping that her daughter and her granddaughters would some day wear them. And in fact we did. When my sister and I turned a certain age, my grandmother saw this as an opportunity to not only give us this piece of jewelry, but trust us with it. This chain was one of the only things that my great grandmother brought to America with her from Germany when she was a child. Her name was Louise, (which I now carry on as my middle name). Louise wanted to create a new life for herself, so she came over with her Aunt, leaving her mother and siblings behind. She has protected it everyday since. My grandmother wanted to make sure it was protected too. For me everyday, that is my special thing that I carry with me. I always forget that I have it on until it is not there (which would never happen). To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I took my necklace off. It connects me to my family even if I’m not always with them. My necklace is the one thing that I can always count on for being there for me. It gives me comfort when others can’t. I can’t really describe how it does this, but after having it for so long, it is now like a friend. But this friend can never leave me, never get angry with me, and will always listen to me. I will carry her legacy and pass this on to my children and maybe one day even my grandchildren. Maybe this will turn into their special thing that they carry, or maybe it will be thrown in a box and forgotten about. Whatever they decide to do with the chain, it will always have a story behind it.
OUTCROPPINGS • Volume 43 •
33
