Bloom Where You are Planted
I’ve always been a sucker for a good quote. I have secretly enjoyed writing but only expressed my art with a select few. I wouldn’t go as far to say I like all those environmental background with positive quotes in cursive photos that get posted on social media. Even though I have a huge love for the environment and animals.
Bloom where you are planted, it hit me differently. As a gardener, I like to experiment with growing sunflowers of deep reds with yellow, large and small. With dietary restrictions, in the summer I try to grow a lot of my own food to save money. This year I got a Nutribullet so I’m super excited to grow my own veggies and fruits for my own smoothies.
Growing up I’ve always had an attraction to plants, but more so fish. Ironically, I’m terrified of seaweed. As a child growing up in Vista, California, my family and I visited a place called Balboa Park a lot. Inside Balboa Park, there is a specific area dedicated to Japanese Architecture and natural styled landscapes. Tranquil streams, with wooden bridges. Bamboo and trimmed bonsai trees on pedestals. Brightly colored koi, big and small, drifting without worry in their moss-covered rock havens. The koi were the most fascinating part besides the buildings for me. At that time, my room rocked “Little Mermaid” sheets, pillowcases, and redheaded dolls.
When I approached closer to freshman year, I was living on the East Coast and the town had a technical high school and a traditional high school. The Tech offered an open house, and I went with my stepdad. When I saw the fish tanks in the brochure I figured, it was like an aquarium, so I’d love to go check it out. When I walked through the door, it felt like walking into that Japanese Garden all over again. The tranquil sounds of the aerifiers in each tank, the water rushing through pipes to settling tanks, a hydroponic system against the far wall growing tomatoes you could smell. The fresh dirt, mixed with algae, and a faint smell of recycled paper, it was intoxicating.
I spent the entire open house in that shop. My stepdad dragged me to go see another shop like culinary, but I just stared at the fish tank over the shoulder of the Chef speaking. After a few minutes, I politely excused myself and walked back to the Environmental shop and asked as many questions as they would let me. When the night was over, I had made up my mind, I had to go to that school and be in that shop. Eventually I got to spend my four years of high school learning as much as I could.
Bloom where you are planted reminds me of my life on different coasts. My love for fish and photography was planted in the West but Bloomed in the East. Photography and nature go hand in hand in my work, check out the shop for some of my sunflower and natural landscape prints. #supportsmallbusiness #supportlocalart
