The year is 1992, Rosa, my grandma, walks into a thrift store and finds the perfect outfit for her first day of work. She thought the shoulder pads were very fashionable and that the sweater was professional looking overall. Every girl knows that looking good gives you confidence, and for my grandma this sweater gave her confidence to survive her first day at her very first job. After it being in our family for 23 years, the sweater has been worn out, has loose threads, and has become a bit saggy. But it has always been the go to sweater for her when she goes out for a smoke, or when we're making s'mores on a chilly fall evening, and as a pajama for me.

The moment the sweater became meaningful to me was when I got my very first bath. I am my grandma's first grandkid, and to show my mom, she gave me my first bath. She so happened to be wearing the sweater because I was born in February, a chilly month. I imagine that after that bath, it myst have felt great to be held by my grandma while wearing the sweater, with its soft material touching my delicate skin.

Because a photo was taken of the moment, it has become a tradition with her other grandbabies. All of my other cousins and brother got their first bath from our grandma, and she wears the same sweater every time. All of us have a photo to commemorate, but Aribel, Valeni, and Victoria--the youngest--have videos of their first bath as well. All six of us have gotten our first bath, while grandma is wearing the same sweater, because it's a ceremony, simple as it may be, signifying that you are now a part of the family. I hope that my mom does the same for my kids, and I intend to do the same for my grandkids.

I believe in the ugly sweater, because it represents a part of my family's tradition and family is important to me. I have even made a tradition for myself with the sweater. Every year for Christmas, I wear it as my ugly sweaer. Now, to me, the sweater isn't ugly, shoulder pads and all. I love its different patterns of flowers and shapes. I love its variety of colors, the browns, blues, and reds. I love how it fits big on me, how its sleeves are longer than my arms ad how it reaches to my thighs like a dress. I love this sweater, and how special it is to my family. My grandma and I even joke that it's in her will that when she dies, I get to keep it beause I am the first grandkid. It's like our family heirloom because we are not a rich family, we don't have necklaces or brooches as heirlooms. The sweater is our heirloom, and to me it's much more specail than any piece of jewelry.