Senior Abigail Bryant has spent years of their life building up her collection of wacky earrings. They have collected jellyfish earrings, house plants, dinosaurs and more.

While they have many strange pairs, they also have normal pairs, though very few. They have usually only worn normal ones when they feel the need to dress formally.

“With my earrings, there are a lot and I enjoy collecting earrings that look abnormal, though I do have a few normal looking ones that are more for formal events,” Bryant said.

They do not wear their normal pairs very often, usually sporting a different pair of their interesting earrings to school every day.

Their collection stemmed from wanting to stand out from others in their own way. They do not feel the need to suppress their true style to look like everyone else and prefers to look different.

“I enjoy collecting anything that looks like a normal household object or is just something weird to wear, solely because I don’t like being boring, and this is the one way that I get to be interesting,” Bryant said.

They made their first pair of earrings at the age of 13 and describes them as tiny plastic babies.  They saw other people wearing them and wanted to wear them too, so they decided to make their own pair.

“I took a really thin needle, heated it up with a blue flame from my mom’s lighter, and fed it through the heads so I could wear them as earrings,” Bryant said.

They had all the tools needed to make it happen, so they went for it. Their first handmade pair of earrings sparked a new hobby.

“From there, I just liked the idea of unique earrings,” Bryant said.

As a kid, they did not like wearing the type of earrings they wear now. They preferred more normal-looking jewelry, but as they got older, they had a change of heart.

“Being able to have them be interesting and match my outfit increased their appeal,” Bryant said.

Though they enjoyed making jewelry, they eventually slowed down as they got older. The last handmade pair was made about two years ago.

“Now that I am 18, I, of course, have amassed a decent collection and slowed down in making them,” Bryant said. “The last pair I made was when I was about 16.”

Their mother is very supportive and enjoys seeing her daughter express herself. The support from their mother makes it easier for them to be themself.

“My mother really likes that I collect bizarre earrings,” Bryant said. “I would say she’s my number one supporter when it comes to my weird jewelry and confidence when it comes to self-expression.”

Their style resembles how their mother dressed in her teenage years and their mother’s support is unlimited.

“Her support isn’t limited to just my earrings though,” Bryant said. “I think she just likes how much my clothing reminds her of how she dressed in her teenage years.”