When I was growing up, I remember going through my mother’s jewelry box and admiring the items I found there. One piece I particularly loved was a silver charm bracelet. I didn’t have one of my own, but I always wanted one. At one point in my 20s, I saw one in a catalog (back before the rise of internet shopping) and decided I wanted to have a bracelet of my own. The one I bought came with a charm for my zodiac sign, Cancer, and I slowly began adding others that had meaning to me.

There is an initial “H”, a teapot (I am a lifelong tea drinker), a charm for every state I’ve lived in, Chinese Zodiac animals from the years my children were born, a fish and a duck that are a nod to my husband, Brendan, an evil eye charm, and charms for each of our two dogs. I never thought I’d find something that looks like our terrier mutt, but there he is, captured in silver with his perky ears, curly tail, and the spot on his back.

Some charms have been gifts from loved ones who have wanted to add something to my bracelet. My mother has given me several charms, including a set of golf clubs (with movable clubs), a Statue of Liberty, and an oldfashioned fan with a rotating blade. I think of her when I see them, just as I do when my eye lands on the heart-shaped charm that says “#1 Mom” that my children gave me for my birthday one year. I can still see the excitement on their faces when I unwrapped the box it came in.

I wear my bracelet as an outward reminder of who I am and where I’ve been. It’s been a long time since my soccer-playing days, but that charm brings back the joy I took in competing — my coaches and teammates and many bus rides to and from games listening to mixtapes on someone’s boombox. Recently, I came across a Grapes of Wrath book charm, symbolic of both my lifelong love of reading and the Steinbeck course Brendan and I taught together at one of our previous schools. These are both pieces of my story, represented in a talisman I wear on my wrist.

Today, my charm bracelet contains over thirty charms. People often remark on it when I wear it, which I do frequently. I wore it on my very first day of work here at Pomfret — a symbol of everything it took to get to that moment I’d worked so hard and hoped so fervently for. Sometimes, I put it on when I need a reminder of who I am. The bracelet represents parts of my life’s journey, one that is still unfolding. In many ways, this bracelet encapsulates a miniature version of the diverse stories we all carry.

At the conclusion of my first year at Pomfret, I added two new charms to my bracelet. The first is a Connecticut charm and the second is a griffin for Pomfret. Wherever I go in my life’s journey, Pomfret will be part of it, and now, I will carry it with me whenever I wear my bracelet.

The beauty of being in a community like Pomfret’s is that each member brings their life’s journey and story, with all its twists and turns, to this place. We are shaped by our identities and backgrounds — the places we are from, our cultures, our families, the people we meet, and our experiences along the way.

Some of these aspects of who we are are obvious, while others are invisible to those around us, unless we share them. At times, doing so can be an act of trust and vulnerability. That leap of faith can be particularly difficult for adolescents, unless they feel seen and valued.

It’s Pomfret’s responsibility to create an environment that allows students and the adults who work with them to create a sense of belonging and the certainty that they can fully show up here as who they are.

My hope is that, many years from now, the time our students spent on the Hilltop remains a steady, reliable part of the foundation they carry with them.
           

This story first appeared in the Summer 2026 issue of Pomfret Magazine.

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