The Soul of My Orchid
Poison can be defined in multiple ways, the most common would be that it is a violent disease that can destroy the body. There can be poisonous drinks, poisonous food, poisonous people. I picture poison to be the propaganda of the world. Every country is great, until you go into Afghanistan and see millions of women being covered from head to toe because the government has pushed the agenda that they call the shots, so much for democracy, right? Try America for example, the land of free, the land of living, but health care is no longer free, hospital bills are high, the population of depression is increasing daily.
Poison is being spread everywhere, especially in society today. The propaganda on children, teenagers, and even young adults. Being told you are not doing enough, being told you are doing too much, lying, scheming, friendship breakups, and in the midst of it all, you are supposed to wake up everyday, pretending you are okay, living in the simulation with your same routine, except for weekends, maybe you rot in bed all day alone, feeling like everything is your fault.
On monday going back to school, you walk in being greeted by your regular friends, while the rest of the students pretend like you’re just another person, nothing special, they’ve seen you the whole year, not a surprise. You struggle in your classes but you get by, and then your school counselor tells you that your grades are too low, you can not graduate from the eighth grade until you manage to get them up. All while you are trying to at least survive another day, while living in a simulation.
Walking home, you could not stop the tears from falling, you fall to the side of the road, trying to calm yourself before the tears break loose. Just when you feel like everything will close in on you, the orchid, halfway off the stem, but still blooming, still hanging on for that extra person to depend on them, and you get a glimpse of hope. The flower stares at you, something inside of you shifts. Instead of panic, you feel a sense of safety, relief, the flower speaks to you. It seems like it could understand you more than anyone else could.
It isn’t just the color or how the calming aura makes you feel connected. It was the pure intention of the flower. No poison, no lingering animosity, no feeling of uncertainty that the world usually gave you. The presence of the flower made you feel like everything was okay, like it would be there to catch you whenever you fell down. No, it was not just some ordinary orchid ether, it was something special about this one.
Picking the flower off of the ground, you held it close, the silent words of reassurance calming you down. It no longer feels like a simulation, it feels like a world that you have to make yours, a world that you have to step out into, and you could not help but feel grateful for the flower, even if it was strange that it understood you like it were an actual person.
Day by day, the orchid sticks with you, and the days begin to feel lighter. You eventually feel encouraged enough to try for something you had put on hold for so long. The scholarship essay, the one thing that could make or break you, you knew the words would not come easy to you, how could they? Sitting in your living room for four days straight, writing the essay countless times, the doubt crept up behind you, but you couldn’t let it come back in. The flower sat in the vase in front of you, and for the first time in ages, you smiled, an authentic one, the one that almost no one got to see.
Months had passed since you last heard from the scholarship fund after your interview, but instead of you giving up, breaking down, feeling like your hard work went to waste, your head was kept high, you kept waiting, waiting, and waiting, until one afternoon you got an email telling you, that you had gotten the DMSF scholar. In that moment, you knew you finally made it and it was all thanks to the orchid.
This story was never about an orchid, but of a person who saw good in me, saw potential, and kept me going whenever I felt like I was about to shut down.
It is not your typical blog, but it is a blog that I hope showcases the emotions.
I love you teetee, thank you for being my orchid.
Ariana Williams – Chicago Hope Academy – DMSF Class of 2030
Photo Credit: tiero – Adobe Stock