Sometimes, a ring is just a ring. It looks appealing, so it gets purchased and worn a few times and then tossed aside. A big move and purge happens, then it's donated to charity and sent out into the world of never-ending unwanted shit.

Most commonly, a ring is symbolic of feelings: love, honor, duty, commitment, beauty, loyalty, pride, fertility, purity, a closed circle, trust, power, control, wealth.

Since the spring of my 8th grade graduation, I've worn a ring on my right ring finger. First, my junior high ring, which I begged my mom for. Then, my high school ring, which my mom helped pay for. The day I was able to order my college ring, I had grown more into myself and ordered the in-between size. I'd call it a unisex, or an androgynous size, but the nice lady from Texas A&M - Commerce called to warn me that it was too large for a woman's hand and I should consider one of the smaller ones. "No thank you, this is the one I chose and want" I politely and firmly responded to her conservative concern. I've never been a dainty girly girl, and finally, I was graduating college and destined to move out of my hometown of 1000 humans. I was on the journey to becoming myself, and that ring was a simple and material representation of my past and future.

For almost 20 years, I've had a ring on that finger, and feel naked and exposed without it. I take it off for swimming and sometimes cooking. On my left hand, I've worn rings on my ring and middle finger, off and on for the same amount of time. When I was trying to fit in and grasp, and identify with, Christianity, I wore a James Avery ring for a while. When I got one of my first bonuses from VCE, I bought myself an Atlas ring from Tiffany & Co

During a few relationships, I was given rings to symbolize commitment, from people that had exactly 0 interest in actual commitment or love, but all of the interest in control and finite definitions.

When a tumultuous relationship was fully ended in 2015, and thousands of dollars were indebted to me with no real possibility of it actually being repaid, I gathered a whole bunch of shit one afternoon to go sell and pawn. Several rings that I no longer felt the need to keep the energy of were in the pile, including a couple of Tiffany & Co rings. I ended up pawning them, for about small fraction of their initial price. I didn't care. They'd served their purpose in my life, and my tastes had changed. It was time for someone else to enjoy them.

During some of my online window shopping that same year, I'd come across Silver Piston. Kick ass jewelry for people who kick ass. Steve West makes jewelry that says something, without saying anything. Steve crafts rings from coins and puts copper on silver. The ring that caught my eye from his collection is a simple & wide brushed silver band. I'd read about him, been following him on Instagram, read his backstory and reviews. He started making jewelry after taking a community education class on jewelry making, and the rest is history. He was working a desk job, which many of us do, and was grossly unfulfilled by it, which many of us are. With many late nights, his business grew and grew, until he couldn't sustain both, so he quit his desk job. Hallefuckinlujah! Who else wants to do that shit?! I do! I do! Steve West is living the new American dream of entrepreneurism. 

Once an exact year long cycle was closed in mid-November 2015, I ordered that ring. It represents freedom, independence, happiness, self-love, self-respect, dignity and most importantly, going my own way. For my adult life, I've been waiting for life to begin. I was waiting to find The One, then I could do all of the things I wanted. I'd spend all my energy and resources trying to force many relationships to work, when they were not supposed to work at all. I finally learned to let go of what's no longer serving me, and this ring represents that overdue lesson. It's a daily and simple reminder to stay true to myself, to make decisions that are best for me, because no one else cares about my life as much as I do. Did you get that?

No one else cares about your life as much as you do.

It's

your

choice,

your

life,

your

decisions,

your

outcome,

your

journey.

Our journeys often are intertwined with the journeys of others, and we must learn to navigate the river of life together, but we still are in our own boat with our own paddles at the end of this trip. You do you.

This Silver Piston ring hasn't changed my life, but instead, it serves a larger purpose, it constantly reminds me to continually make changes to my life. As I embark on new adventures and say yes to opportunities, changes will continue to happen, growth will continue to envelope me. And I like that.

The above information is paraphrasing and summarization from what I've learned of Steve West and Silver Piston over the course of the last year or more. His information as well as his rings can be found on his website, below:

http://www.silverpiston.com/shop/

http://www.silverpiston.com/about-silver-piston/