I think in a past life, I was a crow because I love shiny things. Or, maybe I was Marilyn Monroe in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, because diamonds are my best friend. Everyone has an interest they think is kind of silly, and mine is engagement rings. I learned to not be embarrassed about it because to me, engagement rings are the tangible representation of dreams. They represent the little girl inside of me who loved dressing up and trying on her mom’s jewelry. Whenever my mom would clean her engagement ring, a beautiful two carat round solitaire diamond from the Diamond District in New York, I would watch it bathe in the hydrogen peroxide and dream about what my engagement ring would look like some far off day in the future.

Now, engagement rings are my love. Not just romantic love, but familial, platonic, and self-love as well. Engagement rings encompass them all for me. Love is sending my cousin pictures on Pinterest of engagement rings I think she would like for her to add to her “dream wedding” board, because we know each other too well. Love is my ex-boyfriend knowing exactly what metal I wear (gold, by the way), my ring size, and what stones I like, because he wanted to get me a ring knowing how much I love them because he loved me. Love is my best friend “proposing” to me (we’ve been married for 13 years, I don’t know what took her so long to pop the question) with two rings and a promise to stay by my side no matter what. So yes, even though it is frivolous, I love engagement rings, and I will never be quiet about it anymore, because I love my dream of a future filled with people I love, and who love me too.