Endicott College Creative Writing Students Series: Featuring the work of Erika Graves

OPALS

                                                          

I often times catch myself gazing down at the white gem on my index finger, standing tall above the others, signifying the month I was born in. I was lucky enough to be born in October, the time of the year when the leaves catch fire with reds and oranges and when cozy, warm sweaters are acceptable to wear again. Not only that, but I get two birthstones for the month of October, both of which adorn many of my fingers. I have the pink tourmaline, which reflects the light into the unknown of space, and then I have the white opal, which is never completely white at all. Each white opal has a color combination like no other, and when the stone that is settled so neatly atop my finger catches the sunlight I am always captivated by the color scheme. At times all you see are blues and greens, ebbing and edging across the surface like the ocean water on the beach. Other times I see reds and oranges, signifying those trees back home that I miss so much. A spectrum of color explodes like hot ash from a campfire, displaying a rainbow of broken glass.



ERIKA GRAVES  WRITES:

I am a freshman studying at Endicott College and am a secondary education math major, though I have always loved to write. I have many notebooks scattered around my dorm room and my bedroom back home in Western Mass, and I gain my inspirations from the world around me and what affects me. For this particular piece I decided to write about the ring I got for my 16th birthday as a present from my mom.