Ready, Set, Grow!

Today was the day I have been waiting for… we put some plants in the soil! We have life in our garden at last.

Today was a really special day. I felt as if the vegetables we were planting metaphorically mirrored the experience we have had in Prof. Lotto’s class this semester, as we as my college experience in general. It was not only our last Environmental Imagination class of the semester today, but also my final class as an undergraduate. I have learned so much about myself throughout the last four years of my life. I have grown intellectually, spiritually, and morally because of my experience as a student, a friend, a leader, and community member while at Lehigh.

As I planted our vegetables and spices, I couldn’t help but think about the symbolism in the moment. Just as I had weeded and prepared the soil for these plants over the last week, my teachers, mentors, and friends had prepared me for the future over the last four years. I put the plants in the ground, just hoping that they will be able to take root and grow on their own. Likewise, I am about to be completely on my own. I have been given all of the skills I need to succeed, but now it is up to me to either flourish or not. I have faith in our plants, and I honestly have faith in myself as well. With all the support and resources around, how could the plants not bloom? How could I not bloom?

I am so excited about the potential of this garden. I can’t believe that we will be eating out of it soon enough! Being in the garden today, alongside friends and mentors, I realized that I have not been focusing enough on how exciting graduation is. I have been caught up in the nerves. Just like I have the decision to either worry about the garden or enjoy the experience, I also have the choice to worry about everything that could go wrong in my future, or bask in the potential. I need to do less of the former and more of the latter. Why waste energy?

For this reason, I was able to just enjoy the garden experience today. I was completely consumed by growth, life, and potential. I was moved by thoughts of full-grown veggies in the future. I am so lucky to have the experience to start this garden. I am so lucky to have the friends and the role models I have. I am so lucky for my education. I am so lucky for family. What else does a person need? Today marks the start of life in our garden, and the start of a new chapter in life for me, and I think we both are ready. Bring it on, world!

I wanted to end with some pictures of everyone planting today. There were eight of us, and eight plants, so it worked out perfectly. See below for these pictures, as well as a video cataloguing each of our plants. I have to apologize in advance to Katie, because Willy was cut out of the video! The file was too big. This is a tragedy, but I'm sure he'll make it into the blog at other points since Katie will be singing and playing guitar to him every night. 

Emily S. and Prof. Lotto                            Sara                                       Me (Courtney)

                           

              Kim                                              Adrianna                                 Our plants!

 

 Meet the crew! (minus Willy)