If you look around my room you won’t find anything with much value. You’ll see dozens of books and magazines, an old laptop, and a fair amount of jewelry. It’s nearly all costume jewelry I might add. I haven’t had the opportunity to purchase anything real for myself. There’s only one genuine piece of jewelry among it all, a gold heart-shaped locket given to me by parents many birthdays ago. I remember when I first saw it in the box. I closely examined the roses engraved on the front, I rubbed my fingers on the smooth back. It was exactly what I wanted. I had recently become obsessed with lockets after reading a book where the main character had one. It was her prized possession because it held the pictures of the family she’d lost. And so I wanted one too, not because I had lost my family but because I wanted to keep them close. I was so happy when my Dad finally put pictures inside it. The gift was finally complete. On one side a picture of my Mom and the other side my Dad, it was perfect. I told myself I’d never take it off, and for a while I didn’t. But being the fashionable girl I was, I realized gold lockets didn’t go with everything. Now here it is 10 plus years later and I’ve managed to hold on to it. It’s survived numerous moves within 3 states. For a person as disorganized as I am that is really a feat. I don’t where it much these days, it needs a new chain. But it’s still as beautiful as the day I received it.