I chose to describe my dog tag which was made by my grandfather and mother for me when I was a toddler.

The metal is shaped in a rounded cornered rectangular form. It is two inches long from the farthest sections of the outward bulges on the short sides, and one and one-eighth inches wide across the flattened sides. On the externally protruding side, there is a ridge that lines the outer edge of the shape about one-sixteenth of an inch across. The inner portion of the shape dips slightly downward toward this region before the lip abruptly curves upwards and flattens out to line the figure. 

On the left side, flush against the ledge, is a hole that penetrates through the object and measures one-eighth of an inch in diameter. As though a hole puncher had pierced through the object to create the hole, there is a small ring around the hole that extends just above the flattened surface that surrounds it. This is supported by the slight dip in the cavern seen from the back surface. This back surface does not possess a ridge around the edges, though there is the faint silhouette that appears from the tarnished and scratched surface supported by a small line giving the impression of an edge as it matches the width and shape of the other side, but is flat to the surface. 

The surface is heavily scratched, though still entirely smooth to the touch, with most of the markings running horizontally on the same plane as the text. The marks reveal a slightly illuminated shade to the metallic surface. The scratches are of varying length, from merely a speck decorating the surface to a mark nearly an inch across on the back that fills in the space not occupied by the text. There are additional marks that appear as dark streaks running vertically in small clusters on the back, with a few horizontal ones on the front lower right region. These dark streaks create contrast with the much brighter illuminated scratches as well as with the generic color the metal possesses. The primary color of the object is gray with some silver and shine. However, because the most prominent feature of the metal is the general dull tone as opposed to shine, the metal is certainly an aluminum derivation. This is compounded by the lack of rust and scratch proneness that is characteristic of aluminum. 

Somewhat tilted so as to run ever so slightly higher on the left side than the right side as handmade things have a tendency toward, there are the letters inscribing “ALLYSON C SHENEMAN” that appear as though stamped into the surface to protrude upwards, similar in feeling to running your fingers over braille imprinted into metal signs. From the back surface, the letters can be seen mirrored along the horizontal axis, reflected from the front of the object. 

This dog tag was made for me when I was three years old to honor my family’s long military history. As such a prominent influence in my life, I went to flight school in preparation to join the Air Force, and used this as my good luck charm, despite my generally not superstitious tendencies. My life plans and aspirations changed due to medical complications, but I continued to keep this dog tag with me on every journey on which I embarked. Following the passing of my grandparents it has doubled as a memento to bring them with me everywhere I go.

Picture 1 (above). My dog tag pictured from the front

Picture 2 (above). My dog tag pictured from the back

Picture 3 (above). A penny for scale comparison above the dog tag