Many people who know me know that I wear several pieces of jewelry every day. My necklace and silver ring are present from my boyfriend of the past five years, but it is the third piece that draws the most attention. A gold ring with a large garnet in the center, carved in a honeycomb shape. When people ask where I got it, I am proud to say that this is my high school class ring that I still wear with pride.
Being a member of the Archdiocese of Baltimore for so long, I grew up wondering which of the private high schools I would attend. When the decision was made, I was proudly a student at Mercy High School. Mercy has a long-standing tradition of supporting and educating girls for a better future. While I didn't know any of this as a 13 year old, this school changed my life for the better in a span of 4 years.
Mercy is one of the only schools I know that wait until senior year to give students their rings. Every year, on (or around) September 24, students gather to celebrate Mercy Day Ring Day. As a freshman, I merely was an observer to this occurrence. With speeches given, songs sang and tears shed, I still did not understand. That year changed me in so many ways, with discovering my passion for English, drama and music happening at one time. I barely could recognize the change Mercy was having on me.
It was my sophomore year when I began to listen. I escorted my big sister to the stage, my next door neighbor whom I had known for years. It was after the ceremony, when she extended her hand and asked me to turn the ring, that I began to understand. I saw the ring everywhere. In class, on my teachers' hands, even on the hands of customers I served at work. Junior year was the first year I cried at Ring Day. Several of my friends were seniors and watching those gold bands slide onto their right hand left me with conflicting emotions.
Nothing could top my own Ring Ceremony, however. I was filled with pride at becoming a full-fledged member of the Mercy Community that day. I kept the ring on every day, flashing it to regulars at work, my friends, my family, basically anyone who would look. As I moved to college, many people told me that wearing a high school ring wasn't cool anymore. I didn't care. I still have an oddly shaped tan line circling my ring finger from 4 years of wear. Every. Day.
It is as a senior in college, that I prepare to get a new class ring to celebrate the tradition of educating women at a different all-women's institution. Now, my younger sister prepares to obtain a matching gold band with the iconic red stone, that I reflect on why this small ring means so much to me:
It means that I am proud of my four years of transformation at Mercy. It means that I am proud of the strong history that I grew up in. It means that I am proud of the support I received moving into a new school with the same passions and legacies. It means that I am proud to have walked the halls in my red blazer and plaid kilt for four years. It means that I am, and always will be, proud to be a Mercy girl.
To the seniors of Mercy High School, past and present, be proud of your ring and the tradition it symbolizes, for the circle of Mercy is timeless. And we can change the world.
