How come such a little thing can hold so much meaning and heavy feelings? Does it actually hold these feelings or is it my head attaching them to the only object I have reminded me of her, my Grandma? She died when my mother was only 9 years old, my mom had few memories of her. The stories that were told created this image I have of her, it concludes of my Grandma is one of the most caring and selfless people. She would give everything up to help anyone who needed it. I was honored to get her name, Claudia, but sometimes wonder why I was the one. I have three sisters older than me and my mother waited all those years for me to get her name. Why is that?

As I go throughout the day the cold, thick, silver ring sits on my left-hand thumb. I spiral it through my fingers going through each dreadful class taking it on and off. It smells like the jewelry cleaner I use on it each night, to make sure I take the best care of it as I can. When the sunlight shines through the dark classroom and hits the perfect spot, it has a blinding sparkle. My thumb has a permanent indentation on it because it has formed itself to the shape of the ring, making it the perfect fit. The design on the ring isn't just plain, it has beautiful lines and curves so when you spin it around your thumb it looks like waves crashing against the ground, or flowers swaying in the wind.

I was given my grandmother's ring when I was 9 years old, although my tiny fingers were too small to fill up the space within the ring. I was in the four walls of my mother's room, it was the date of my Grandma’s birthday. My mom said I was mature and ready. The room was dark, as I looked outside the clouds covering the sky, rain pouring down crashing against the house. It was a hard day for my family, my mother stayed in her room, candles lit smelling of white pine trees providing the only light in the room. The pillows were soaked with tears, blankets covering each spot of the bed. The low noise from the TV as it was playing home videos from when my mom was a child. Seeing those videos painted the image of how grandma looks, I have her eyes and smile.

From hearing the stories and seeing the few pictures my mom has of my grandma I have a very clear and descriptive image of her. She has strawberry-blonde hair, with pearly white teeth, blue eyes and wore big circle glasses that hung low on her face, 130 pounds and around 5 foot, 5 inches tall. People who knew her said I resemble her. We have the same freckle in our right eye, with the same smile and bone structure of our face. My grandma would help anyone, she was the most caring person anyone knew. People have told me that she was the mom everyone would go to when they needed help, everything about her was comforting.

From all the stories, pictures, and videos told about my Grandma, I feel honored to be named after her and be the one with her ring. My Grandma, Claudia, is a heavy sad topic on all my family's hearts, and her ring reminds me of all those feelings. It also brings so much joy and comfort knowing that I will always have something to remind me of her. Having this ring doesn't just make me happy but my mom as well, she is proud of me and says that certain things I do bring back happy memories she has of her.