So many incredible and important events in my life have been commemorated by meaningful jewelry pieces - where they were gifts or conscious fashion accessory choices. My graduation was marked by a gifted pair of sapphire earrings from my mother, prom was made special by my great grandmother’s pearl necklace and my sixteenth birthday was commemorated with a second ear piercing. I hadn’t realized the commonality, however, until I began packing up my things to make a cross-country move. I had to pack lightly. I used an old weekly pill container - the kind that separate your medicines from one another based on what day you are supposed to take them - and placed the earring pairs I really wanted to take into the boxes. My necklaces and bracelets fit snuggly in a Ziploc bag, tucked away in my checked luggage.   Stardust Mesh Pendant My collection was small and I took almost all of it with me when I got onto the plane. Friends accessories, gifted to me to save from the sad fate of thrift store donation, gave me some of my favorite pieces, including a pair of glittery spider shaped studs and plain silver hoops. Others were pieces I had shamelessly thrifted, like the giant lightning bolt necklace I had gotten from my favorite local resale location. They all had a story. Some of them were more special than others, though. My grandmother's emerald earring studs, my mother's sterling silver Celtic style watch, a pair of shamrocks bought for my by an ex-partner I remained on good terms with.   Each combination of accessories I chose for a concert, a celebration, a wedding, a special night out, whatever - all of them were carefully curated to tell a story, share a message, or convey a special and specific kind of feeling. The moment it really dawned on me was the morning I was finishing up preparing for a job interview. It was my first interview for a non-minimum wage job. I didn’t have a word for the style I wanted to convey, but I went right for the imitation pearl studs and the hanging necklace of polished purple stone which made a subtle statement against the white of my silk shirt. That same night, I threw on a t-shirt, took out the studs and took off the necklace only to replace them with wild statement pieces for a concert I would be attending. Jewelry is a language I’ve been speaking all my life; I only realized its intricacies as I entered adulthood.