Friday, September 9, 2011

Do you remember .... class rings?

Photo Credit
Now that school is back in session, I find myself reminiscing about my high school days, particularly when talking to my mom and sister about my nephew.  He is a junior in high school, and I remember my junior year being my favorite year, it was the one that was the most fun, and the least stress.

My nephew starting dating a really nice girl, from a good family, recently.  After the kids meeting each other's families, they decided to make it official that they were "going steady".  I love that they are using this term, I find it sweet and old fashioned.  He even gave her his class ring.  But she gave it back because she was scared to wear it, since it was too big for her petite little fingers.  My sister helped her come up with a solution the next time the girl came to the house to visit my nephew.  She showed her how we used to deal with this issue- yarn.

When I was in high school, both the boys I dated (one my freshman year, one my junior year) gave me their class rings, and of course both of them were too big.  My mom and sister taught me how to wrap the ring with lengths of yarn until it made it a more secure fit.  I remember how I would get so excited to buy yarn in our school colors to wrap it for football season.  My mom said that she did the same thing in high school, and you made sure to wrap it in new yarn if you were going somewhere special like a party or a dance.  This is what ALL the girls my age did.  You look through our yearbooks and you see girls with these huge boys' rings on, with yarn all around the band.  It was the thing to do.

I wonder, do girls still do this?  Do they wear boys' high school rings still?  Or is this something that has fallen by the wayside?  Same with lettermen jackets, or football jerseys.  Do boys still let their girlfriends wear these?  I remember being so proud wearing my high school boyfriend's football jersey and class ring, letting everyone know I was his girl.  Do kids even rely on these social cues anymore?  Or is changing their facebook relationship status the new class ring?

Did you ever wear your boyfriend's ring in high school?  Or, if there are any male readers who want to share, did you wear your girl's ring on a chain around your neck?  Or was my high school more old fashioned than most?