The first time I had ever heard of sea glass was about four years ago when I read a book called "Twenty Boy Summer," by Sarah Ockler. The cover showed broken blue shards of glass, along with one red, that made up a heart. This peeked my interest so I bought the book and read it quickly.
The book put some significance on sea glass, which I learned was glass thrown into the sea and smoothed out by its tumbling trips along the ocean floor. To the character, it reminded her of the boy she loved that died, who collected it. He told her that red was the rarest color, kind of like how you only find one true love in the world.
This symbolized, to me at least, that true love was a rare, and beautiful thing.
After reading the book I had a want to find some sea glass of my own, but never really had the chance.
I never thought about it again until I went to stay at my Aunt and Uncle's lake house in Lake Erie, where the seemingly elusive sea glass came up again in my life. My aunt, who had been going to the lake since she was a little girl every summer, showed me her sea glass collection when I got there.
In a jar shaped like a fish, there were pieces of glass filling it up.
Brilliant bright blues, emerald greens, and crystal clear colored glass were piled high in the jar.
She invited me to look through them all and with every scoopful that I pulled out, my interest in them grew stronger. I asked her how I could find some and she told me that she would take me to find some.
So in the morning, we set out on the shore of the lake and by the time we had gotten back I was hooked. There was nothing like searching hard against all the bleak gray rocks and suddenly finding a piece of treasure amongst it all.
My aunt then showed me a card set that she had that told you about how rare each color was and when the glass most likely was made. She confirmed what my book said about reds being the rarest and of course that just made me want to find one more.
So, I rose every morning with my sister before the sun was even up, around 5 am, and we would scavenge the beach until our backs hurt from bending over and our eyes grew tired.
And eventually, it happened.
I had found one. The rarest of them all, a red piece of sea glass.
For my first-time, sea glass hunting it seemed almost destined that I find it. The red sea glass meant more to me than just a pretty thing to collect, it also meant love.
It reminded me of how lucky I was to be loved by so many people and that hopefully, I would find 'true love.' So, I had it made into a necklace.
Then, every time I went to a beach I continued to hunt for sea glass.
I found some in the Bahamas, some in Florida, some in California, some in Wilmington, and a couple other places.
Some of my personal sea glass collection.Gabriella Barcinas
It became a special memento to me of all the places I have been to and the journey that they took me on. I shared this special thing with someone who reminded me of the red sea glass: my boyfriend. We found some together at the beaches and now he has started a little collection of his own.
It may seem crazy, but the jar in my room that is piled high with brilliant hues of glass is so much more than just that to me; it is something that makes me feel even closer to my aunt, sister, and cousins who all collect it, and now even my boyfriend.
It also makes me remember the good times in my life and of the journey is to come that will hopefully help me fill up my jar eventually.
It is just so beautiful seeing something viewed as trash being turned into something as exceptional as a memory.