The Bouquet of Life
When I was younger, I thought giving people flowers was pointless. Unlike my younger self, I have become a girl who loves receiving flowers from her loved ones. So, for my senior prom, I wanted to carry a bouquet of flowers specifically arranged by a dear friend of mine who has listened to and helped me with more speeches than I can count. After a preparation session for state officer interviews, I was able to talk to this friend about how excited I was for prom and how I would be privileged to have her create a bouquet. Once I arrived home that day, I sent her a picture of my dress, discussed specific colors and waited until the day before prom to pick up the boutonniere and bouquet.
When I received the bouquet, I gasped. I knew the colors of baby pink and blue would pair beautifully with my black and gold dress, and on the hour and a half drive home, I smelled the flowers’ lovely aroma while thinking about how perfect my last prom was about to be. The next day, my hair was perfect, my nails were perfect, my makeup was perfect and my dress looked stunning. This “last” for high school was different from my last basketball game or my last student section chant; prom was a sweet “last.”
Other bouquets I have received have always been displayed until right before they wilted and then dried and placed into a frame to keep the memory. The day after prom, I ran to Walmart to purchase supplies to dry my flowers so I could make sure to keep this “last” event safely memorialized. After I pressed the flowers, I put the frame in my room and was able to glance over to my shelf that houses several other mementos and remember those memories. Other items include notecards from past FFA speeches, ribbons I have worn in my hair while running and a scorecard from my first golf match.
Being nostalgic or emotional is not a weakness but, conversely, a trait that allows you to remember events in your life – good and bad – and reflect. Nostalgia is such a privilege and gives us proof that while we are yearning for those past memories, we have and are experiencing a life worth living.
