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Diary Entry
By
Renee Chowdhry
Dear Diary,
As I near the end of my high school career, I realized how swiftly time moves. I feel like I remember the first day of freshman year as vivid as the color of a pink rose, as defined as the veins on a flower petal, as distinguishable as a singular rose in a vast desert. Yet, as I am nearing the end of junior year, I feel I have no recollection of the past three years. One bright afternoon I decided to drive to my last house to see where my academic journey began. As I reached the driveway, I suddenly became overwhelmed with a surge of melancholic emotions as I realized that this was once the driveway where I first rode a bike, and now I am driving a car. Soon after, a rose I planted over ten years stood in full glory. At this moment, I was joyous of the perseverance of the rose, so I started admiring its glorified features. I noted that the soil was fertile, that it had been receiving a steady amount of water, and quite shockingly, the bush was now several inches taller than me!
Though there were all these differences, I couldn’t help but realize that there were similarities too. Firstly, we both spent our childhood in the same house, and now, after all these years, we have both matured. I wanted to further connect myself to the rose bush, so I put myself in the plant’s shoes, or better said it’s “roots”. I took a more augmented look at the surroundings and came to the conclusion that the rose bush had faced many hardships. First off, roses are not native to a dry, arid desert climate; therefore, there must have been a great struggle to become a thriving bush from just a few seeds. Additionally, I noticed the wear on the roses, as only a few were in bloom. I started to connect this back to my life. I realized that though the plant’s fate was against all odds, it somehow managed to rise stronger than ever. I thought back on all the hardships I have gone through, and every time I reflect, I realize that I have become a more resilient person after. So, I guess, even though my childhood is rearing towards an end, I have blossomed into a more mature person.