Iris, 18 years old, VA | 12 DAYS WAITING

Wish submitted by:

Iris grew up in foster care in another country, and by the time she arrived in the United States as a teenager, she had learned to carry her whole life in a single bag and quietly hope the next place might finally be home. She has since navigated a new language, a new school, and a new culture, often without family nearby to translate, comfort her, or celebrate her milestones. Now an adult, she has learned to stand on her own, working part-time at a bakery and studying hard to finish her diploma. She dreams of becoming a pastry chef, and she bakes whenever she can, filling her tiny kitchen with the smell of recipes she wrote down from memory. Iris is soft-spoken and determined, someone who rarely asks for help, though she carries more than anyone should have to carry alone. She has already shown extraordinary courage, rebuilding her life twice over, and she deserves a community that cheers loudly for her as she builds the future she’s worked so hard to earn.

Iris has spent so much of her life focused on getting by that treating herself to something beautiful has rarely been an option. A pair of sterling silver hoop earrings would be a small, elegant treasure that is entirely her own, a simple piece she can wear to her shifts at the bakery, to a celebration, or just on a day she wants to feel put-together. For a young woman who has carried her whole life in a single bag and rebuilt it more than once, giving her these earrings this holiday season says she's worthy of nice things and that she's allowed to shine.