The Pin and the Grammar Symbol

I adore jewelry. Whether I am wearing my small, medium, large or Oh-my-God size clothes, I can always fit into my jewelry. There are three kinds of jewelry I love: Anything I inherited from my Mother, funky fun stuff and pieces with meaning. (I’ll leave the Harry Winston stuff to the red carpet gals.)

One of the most meaningful pieces of jewelry I’ve ever received was an inexpensive pin from one of my clients. All cancers are thieves. Some can steal your innate feelings of masculinity, femininity, well-being, and during treatment, your time (One of my friends said that beating cancer is a full time job). One of the most treacherous forms of cancer are colorectal cancers. It steals your dignity. One of the any remarkable groups I have worked with is the Colorectal Survivors Network. They took their pain, their loss of dignity and a seldom used grammatical symbol and created a pin that is a symbol of hope, and humor: A semi-colon. This pin has saved lives. People ask about it and have been reminded to get a colonoscopy. They hear stories of early and late diagnosis. Inquiring minds leave educated and motivated to take care of themselves.

Do you have a symbol that will initiate conversation, make the wearer proud and educate the folks who inquire? Is it a symbol that can be worn by old and young, men and women and translated from pin to scarf to backpack? Don’t miss an opportunity to tell your story.