Suzanne Medcalf of New York, NY

I have read a few of the winning stories, and find them all to be so inspirational - here goes mine:

I call it, Things I Will Keep - At 24, I am not yet an adult exactly, but I am getting there - I feel like at this young age I have experienced so much that has shaped me, for better or worse, into the person I have become, and the person I am growing to be.  To begin at birth would almost be too much, so instead I looked through the charms, oohing and ahhing at each one that meant something special to me - for to explain these 24 years in 10 charms would be impossible, instead I give you 10 things I will keep... My first stuffed animal, an elephant larger then me when I was given it as a 3 day old baby by my father - I was adopted, and my adoptive parents were able to visit me on day 3, my dad rushed to get me a gift, settling on a gray stuffed elephant - I have slept with it almost every day since, and my first word was even elephant! So the elephant charm (#0575) reminds me of my parents, my first few days, and what I have come to know as absolute security.  My first transcontinental voyage, at 6, to visit my aunt in London (#4599) I will never forget my mother bringing me to Harrods to buy a brand new My Little Pony - I got the Purple Princess Pony and brushed her hair the entire way home - we sat on the upper level of the double Decker bus and I was in heaven - a new toy!  We were in a rush to get off and almost missed our stop, in the flurry of activity I left my brand new Purple Princess Pony on my seat - I watched in horror as the bus pulled away, eyes welling up with tears - luckily my mother took pity on me, put me back on a bus and bought me a new Purple Princess Pony - all night I dreamt that my first Purple Princess Pony was off playing with a little girl from London.

The next Thing I Will Keep - I grew up at the beach, a beach club in my home town that will forever be my home away from home - I was lucky enough to spend each summer playing in the waves, swimming in the pool and then when I got a big older I became a lifeguard at the beach. The Life Preserver charm
(#0794) reminds me of my time on the stand - lifeguards at the beach club were somewhat of a local celebrity and the younger children would follow us around for hours asking to swing the whistle or sit in the chair after hours.  Growing up at the beach I formed a close knit group of summer friends - although we usually only got to see each other for 3 months each year we forged friendships that will last forever -  I remember sitting in our cabanas playing cards, begging our parents for an ice cream cone around 3pm each day when the ice cream window opened, perfecting our cannonballs and playing stuck in the mud in the shallow end of the  pool - the anchor charm (#7844) reminds me of this bond, and of how 'anchored' I feel when I am home, at the beach club, with those friends I will have for a lifetime.  One of those friends is no longer with us here, my best summer friend, who later through the magic of drivers licenses and spring breaks became just my plain old best friend died 4 years ago  this coming October- we had been through everything together - a lifetime of ups and downs, including the death of her older brother on September 11th - when he died she got a tattoo in memory of him, a small seagull soaring as he always was - the seagull charm (#5599) reminds me of both of them, together now.  Another memory charm would be the Swim Fins (#0764) - as a child, and even now, my father wasn't really a big part of my life - instead my mothers youngest brother, my uncle, would take me for breakfast specials on Saturday mornings, and take me in the ocean when it wasn't too rough - he would buy me rainbow cookies from the local bakery and play wiffle ball in the yard - he went on to get married and have 3 beautiful children - he passed away 3 years ago from lung cancer, after surviving both World Trade Center attacks - he left behind a legacy that will forever be remembered, both in his children and in anyone and everyone who ever came in contact with him.  The memory everyone keeps of my uncle is that of him walking down the boardwalk of our beach club, his youngest son in one arm, a bag of sand toys on his back, a towel thrown over his shoulder, his other two children on either side and his swim fins for boogie boarding in his free hand - he was even buried with a fin.

My next two charms go hand in hand although they may seem like an odd pairing - the Washington Monument (#2748) and the outline of Greece (#3514) - both represent chances I have taken in my life that turned out to be grand adventures -  at the end of my junior year of college I decided I wanted to spend my first semester senior year in Washington DC at the American University doing a journalism program - I didn't have the grades for it according to my school and was denied the ability to go - I was devastated, and then decided that I would apply on my own - I wrote an impassioned essay and was granted admission - it was one of the best days of my life - my mother still tells me how proud she was of me that I took matters into my own hands and went the extra mile.   Greece was where I spent the summer after college - I got a job back at the Olympics and was able to live in Greece for 2 months - the people, the places, the adventures all amazing - I remember going to the island of Hydra with a friend and renting a paddle boat - we paddled out into the water, amazed that when you looked down the water was so clear you could see the coral at the bottom - we almost ran into a woman out for a midday swim - Tula was her name, and she invited us into her house on the hill for cheese pies and fresh orange juice with her grandson on the sun filled porch - it was one of those moments when I had to pinch myself,  I couldn't believe it was all real!

The Montauk Lighthouse charm (#6572) just makes me smile - each year since I was a child we have made the 2 hour drive to Montauk from our home to climb the lighthouse.  Each year we drive out on a gorgeous day, stopping at the restaurant Lunch for a world famous lobster roll for energy before making the journey up all those steps!  Afterwards we treat ourselves to ice cream and maybe a new 'The End' sticker in town- after having knee surgery a few summers back, my main goal was getting to the top of that lighthouse - it took all summer, and a lot of begging to my doctor, but I climbed it, slowly and the view that day was the best it's ever been.


The puzzle piece (#2479) represents where I have been, where I am now, and where I am going - I know deep down no matter what has happened or will happen in the end my life will fit together just perfectly, like a puzzle... It might be overwhelming at times, but in the end it's perfect.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I have to say now, even if I don't get picked I feel that I have to make this bracelet, I love what it represents and the wonderful memories I got to explore while writing this.

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