Friendship bracelets
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MEMORIES:
Few things said friendship like the friendship bracelet, and few things were ever as transient. Some were thick. Some had twists and turns. Others, well, they were wide and flat with patterns going all over. Some were even simple, basic braids. They could be traded around and more importantly, traded up. And boy, when Sally trades the bracelet you made for the flashy one Traci’s wearing, it smarts.
The bracelets became so popular that in the 1980s, pre-made adjustable bracelets were available at the corner store for just a few cents and in just about any color imaginable. Best part about them? Well, you could take them off and put them back on; no one would be the wiser. Of course, what best friend forever would give out such a gift. This was the sort of thing meant to be paid for with time, love and care, usually while sitting on the bus or pretending to do homework.
The weaves and patterns found in friendship bracelets are based on the Native American handicrafts that were all the rage during the free-lovin’ 60s and 70s. According to their traditions, the recipient, A.K.A. the BFF, has to wear it until it falls off naturally. <insert cough here> If it comes off early, well… there’s something wrong.
There are variations on the tradition, but in Western society’s modern terms, the friendship bracelet was as much a symbol of friendship as it was a commodity, an advertisement of one’s status within the schoolyard community. There certainly wasn’t a limit on the number of bracelets an arm could contain. Some people even had friendship bracelets going halfway to their elbow!
Just as friendships, especially the fickle kinds found in middle school, get faded and worn out with time, friendship bracelets would become threadbare with color faded. Then, it was time to make a new one. Or not. Maybe it was time for a new BFF after all.
