My parents haven’t been together for many years, and only my father has remarried. Things have settled down for me and my siblings, and being an extended family with step-siblings and a step-parent, is now no longer a tumultuous transition but a pleasant reality. Now that I am leaving college and watching most of my high school friends (and some of my college roommates, even) get engaged, I’ve been absolutely bombarded with images of engagement rings. People I haven’t seen since high school graduation are chatting me up to show off their new pieces of jewelry. In the span of four months, during my work as a barista at a popular local cafe, I heard about no less than three weddings. I saw three different rings. All of them were so unique to the couples they belonged to.   Maevona Eorsa Engagement Ring My parents wedding rings are a warm gold with interlocking shapes etched inside of the band. It was a very beautiful and warm design that evoked their youth - it made a lot of sense. My father and stepmother's rings, however, are cooler and more simple in their design, displaying only vague and subtle design work (although part of this can be attributed to my dad’s terrible habit of losing rings - he works with his hands and often has to remove it to prevent damage, but it’s no secret I inherited my clumsiness from him, and things tend to go missing). Beyond that, the strong unity for the design itself tells the story of it. After I started noticing this trend, I couldn’t help but think of my grandparents wedding rings, which are gold, well worn, consistently polished, and plain in appearance - all thematically representative of who they are as a couple and a unity of their value system and beliefs.   In a very real way, my dislike of rings in general - and of the concept of traditional engagement and marriage rituals - are also ways of identifying parts of who I am. I am nontraditional, someone who values commitment and the idea that we make our own relationship rules. This is further evidenced in my love of watching others celebrate their love with beautiful and unique jewelry, including diamond engagement rings and wedding parties. There is something to be said about tweaking the traditional so that it really reflects you - it’s very special to experience, even secondhand.