Symbols Essay First Draft

          There are many symbols in my possession that define me. I believe that the few I have chosen really show who I am as a person, show my character, and show my morals. These items include my compilation of snow-globes, my ring, a University of Georgia picture, and my wooden cross.

The most obvious to see of my symbols is more than one object. In my room, I have an assortment snow-globes from every place I have ever visited, no matter if I just passed through there or stayed there for vacation. My snow-globes differ in size and weight and a few have music players attached to them. Other snow-globes I own are ones I have received from my family or for special occasions, like Christmas or Easter. These snow-globes are about family and the trips where I got them and remind me how blessed I am to be able to go anywhere at all.

            Other than the representation of the snow-globes being from places I have been, snow-globes also represent the memories I have of my family. One of the snow-globes I have is from my granddad and his wife, Joe, because I never get to see him. I never am able to see him because he doesn’t live near my Grandma and my dad’s parents in Georgia. Also because the relationship my mom has with Granddad is not a very tight or connected. This example of a snow-globe is an example of why I enjoy collecting snow-globes that exemplify who I am

            The one symbol I keep closest to me is my ring. I never take my ring off and I always feel empty when I’m not wearing it. It is silver with four miniature emeralds and a small diamond in the center. My ring was given to me as a present from my parents on my thirteenth birthday as part of our family tradition. All my cousins and my older sister got rings with their birthstone on their thirteenth birthday. Even though the stone I received isn’t my birth month, I still think of my ring as a significant symbol that represents me.

            To me, my ring represents more than just a remembrance of our family tradition for girls to receive a ring when they turn thirteen. My ring symbolizes my family and all the things our family represents, like our values, standards, and goals. My ring helps me remember that even when I am mad at one of my sisters or my parents that I love them and to forgive them.

            On one of the walls in my room hangs a picture of the University of Georgia football team picture from five years ago. At this time I was only ten years old and was the first time I had visited Stanford Stadium in Atlanta. This particular game was the "black out" where all the players wore black Jerseys against Auburn. This Game truly was an amazing experience to be apart of because I was able to see the fans in the Georgia stadium and get to visit the college town of Georgia. 

            Every since my first visit to Atlanta, I have known that Georgia was one of my top choices of were I would go to college. This picture represents not only my goals for my future, but my family’s history in Georgia. Both my parents are from Augusta and went to college at the University of Georgia. Once my dad completed medical school, he received a job offer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So my parents decided to move down to Louisiana with my older sister having been born nine months before. Whenever I think about the move my parents made to Louisiana I feel sadness because we had to leave our grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles who all live in Georgia. This picture gives me a reason to recall my family and think how I should cherish the time I am able to see them because our visits are so far apart.

            The most significant symbol I own is my wooden cross that sits on the desk in my room. This cross comes from my pastor, Father Toms, last year when I was confirmed. Religion is a big part of my life and I really am glad that I have the relationship I do with God.

            To me, this cross represents more than just my religion and my feelings towards God, by the commitment I made to Him. I renewed the commitments to God that my parents made for me when I was baptized as a baby. These commitment and my cross represent a key part of who I am and who I want to become in my relationship with other people, my family, and God. 

I believe that there are several more symbols that define me and who I am. But I also believe these four are of the greatest importance to my past, my present, and my future.