D’s school didn’t give the keys to inductees (with good reason–they’re expensive!), but gave them a catalog of PBK stuff (lamps, anyone?) so they could buy the key if they want it. My question is: should I get her one? It will likely sit in a drawer, but I’m wondering if there is any occasion where one would actually wear the thing? Still, it seems kind of cool to have.
never got it, wouldn’t wear it.
That seems to be the consensus among D’s friends. I just think it’s cool she got in, and I am sentimental about mementos like this.
@Massmomm, it sounds like the key is important to you, so go ahead, indulge yourself and get it for your daughter. You will feel good about it, and let’s face it, odds are you paid for that degree so you deserve some kudos, too… even if it’s your daughter’s PBK key. And she may secretly be happy she has it.
D is going into academia - so we bought her a key. It’s common in academia for members to wear a pin or carry a keychain or have some visible indicator of PBK membership. Didn’t get her the solid gold one though!
My parents got me mine years ago. Never wore it but it’s a nice memento. On the occasions I see it in my drawer, I think of how proud my parents were and it’s a nice, sentimental feeling.
Yes and no.
Oddly, it sort of serves a purpose. My daughter was co-president of the PBK chapter at the same university several decades later, and she was involved in a project that involved examining records of members elected to the chapter in the past. Somehow, my name was missing from the list (possibly because I married and changed my name within days after graduation), so my possession of the key is the only proof I have that I was not lying about having been picked for PBK.
I’m pretty sure I saw one of my D’s friends wear a pin on his graduation robe. Other than that probably not something to be worn a ton. But you can get relatively inexpensive non-gold keys so if you want the keepsake for your D then go for it. Even if she just looks at it now and again and feels good inside like @RenaissanceMom it is probably worth it.
And congrats to your D!
No, never. Same for my spouse.
My kids didn’t face this particular issue.
In a drawer somewhere, never worn.
Mom put mine on a small chain and made me a necklace. She had my dad’s made into a tie tack. She’s a very creative woman. Get it for her. Her grandchildren will probably appreciate it more than she will.
I don’t think I ever got one… If I did, it’s long lost. I would never wear it. To be honest, I didn’t know that was a thing people did.
No and no.
I do have a small key. I have never worn it, but I treasure it.
I would care so much less if I hadn’t flunked out of high school.
Yes, bought the key. I wore it a couple times in grad school, as a necklace on a chain. Not since then. I’m pretty sure I still have it, but not sure where it is.
I’m still thinking I might get her one of the electroplated ones. Thanks for the feedback!
I bought my D the smallest, least expensive key, and a chain to go with it, as a gift.
When I flew out the next month for her graduation, she was wearing it – and she pretty much wore it every day during graduation festivities. – and definitely along with her cap and gown. After her graduation, I flew home – DD stayed in NY where she started a job two weeks after graduation – and I haven’t seen the PBK, or asked about it, since.
To my mind it was a piece of jewelry that had a special significance at the time, but wasn’t meant to be an item she would cherish for life. I assume she has a jewelry box somewhere where this and all the other random items of jewelry she owns spend most of their lives (certainly I have a box like that).
That is all expected when I bought it-- it was my way, as a mom, to say, “I’m proud of you” and have a small token gift to go along with it – no more nor less important than other small gifts of jewelry I have bought her over the years. But I think my D appreciated having it.
Yes, way back in the day, but never wear it
Seconded in its entirety. @JHS, we need to talk some day …
I don’t think I ever even seen a key in real life. If anyone I know owns one, they sure keep it on the down low. And I’m sure if H or I had invested in keys, we would have long ago lost them.
@calmom, that is sort of how I see it. She’s not a jewelry person and she’s definitely mellow about her achievements, but I am so proud of what she has accomplished, especially after facing some real adversity, including mental illness, loss of people she loves, and a life-threatening health crisis in the middle of her senior year.