What My High School Class Ring Means to Me

If you follow me on my Instagram page, you might have noticed that I posted about graduating from high school one year early. Yes, the person behind this blog is a high school student. A high schooler created the website and articles. If you saw my post, you saw a photo of my class ring. It has my name, my graduation year, and a garnet birthstone. I was so happy to receive it via mail, but my class ring means more than just a rite of passage and a closing life chapter. It also symbolizes my perseverance, strength, and progression through life’s struggles. My backstory is too long to talk about in depth here, but I will sum it up in an appropriate manner.

The thing about me is that I was a happy person. I loved to laugh, smile, spread joy, and be funny. Those are some qualities that I treasure about myself. But when I was in seventh grade, I had those qualities taken away from me. I was teased and I felt like I wasn’t valued at school. Names will not be given, but there were a few people who stuck with me the most. In other words, they gave me the most trauma and they stayed in my mind the most. They include a former teacher, a couple of former friends, and a boy who was obviously threatened by me.

With all of that came suicidal thoughts and a long period of trauma. It took me a year before I finally got real help. However, many struggles with motivation and self-esteem remained a while after I received help. I would question the purpose of school, the purpose of trying anything, and the purpose of my existence. But despite those obstacles, I kept pushing. I managed to maintain high grades, scoring all A’s and being in the top 10 of my class. I managed to do different activities and accomplish so much over the last four years. And here I am, part of the class of 2020 with a precious ring that I will treasure forever.

I didn’t think I would live this long and make it to this point of my life. It was a very hard journey, but I’m still here due to my own resilience. And I will not be leaving anytime soon. I have so much more to offer and dozens of years to live. I believe in me, and no one will stop me from succeeding. Not even the few jealous people from my old school could stop me. This is only the beginning of my empire. My class ring will forever remind me of that. You call it a normal class ring. I call it a symbol of survival.