(I'm not sure this actually counts as an essay...)
At first the colors are too bright. They’re super-saturated and clashing with each other. They look foriegn against my skin, and the tightly woven threads rub wrong against my wrist. I think that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to tie this bracelet on permanently. I was never one for unconditional permanence, and I’m not sure if this has any practicality whatsoever. It doesn’t match most of my outfits. It snags in my hairbrush. It feels like more of a nuisance than an accessory. I decide to keep it, though. I like how it makes me feel; like someone I want to be.
Soon the color fades. Only slightly at first. Of course it’s not what I wanted initially, but I like it better this way. I think the slight pastel vibe suits me better. Now you see it on my wrist and it looks like it belongs there. The stiffness meshes to the shape of my wrist. It’s comforting. Wrist in bracelet is like hand in glove.
Pretty soon it’s a part of me. I know each stitch like the back of my hand, because it is the back of my hand. I wouldn’t know my own wrist without it. It goes everywhere. It runs cross country meets in 90 degree heat advisories, and shakes hands with all the parents I have to meet. It soaks up my tears and my melting ice cream, but never stays dirty long. It gets yanked on by curious preschoolers and my neighbor’s crazy dog. I got it stuck on a nail on the fence on block over. It’s still intact. I’m still intact.
One day the ends start to fray slightly. They’re slightly lighter than the rest of the bracelet by now. They turn soft and the strings untwist slightly. I untwist them sometimes without even thinking about it. I pull on the ends walking into my math final and when you tell I’m not what you want anymore. I don’t think anything of it.
This bracelet is something always there for me to hold on to. Holding my hand like my best friend, it’s the only thing that I can count on to not fall apart. Bracelets don’t stop hanging out with you when they get a boyfriend. Bracelets don’t lie to your face like you’re too young to understand. Bracelets don’t let go. It feels more like a lifeline than an accessory.
And then one day it falls off.
Hi Tori,
ReplyDeleteThe format for your essay is unique in that the message is implicit and the reader has to be really paying attention in order to learn about you. For example, the comment about meeting parents implies your age and that you have obligations that require you to meet and talk to adults. This also suggests that you are polite and fulfill those obligations even when you don’t want to—leading the reader to infer that you are conscientious. Good use of description.
I really love this essay. To me, it kind of is everything I wish my personal essays would be. It reads like a story, and it kind of is - but it also incorporates conceptual reflection stuff as a personal essay must. I really admire how you describe the bracelets evolution through time, and through that your own changes.
ReplyDeleteI really like the story that you tell here. You keep the focus entirely on the bracelet, but through it you say a lot about both your experiences and your personality. You had a very nice tone throughout, and I enjoyed how the opening sentences of the paragraphs paralleled each other. Very nice job!
ReplyDeleteStarting off this essay, I kind of thought you were writing a poem. The language is very flowery and descriptive, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think I would've liked to see more of you and less of the bracelet though, but thats just my opinion.
ReplyDelete