A Gift
11/23/2024- 2/20/2025 

This was a gift I received on November 23, 2024. The first thing I asked when I got it was: “What is it? What flower is this?” The response I got was simple: “You have to wait. You’ll know when it blooms.” 

So, I started recording its growth every Friday. It took 11 weeks. 

At first, I was excited—eager to figure out what it was. But then, I realized I really had to wait. And something unexpected happened: I had never felt so calm just waiting for something to happen. 

As the weeks passed, I was amazed by how quickly the bud grew, yet I kept asking myself: “When will it bloom? What am I waiting for? Will the flower itself bring me joy?”

The answer was yes. The moment it bloomed, I felt joy. But it didn’t last long. Almost immediately, new questions arose: “How long will it stay? How can I make it last longer? When will it start to fade?” 

So, I kept taking pictures every Friday—this time, waiting for it to die. Strangely, the fear of loss wasn’t as overwhelming as I had imagined. Instead, I felt a deep sense of peace. 

Everything is constantly changing—good or bad, gaining or losing, it’s all about perception. It may seem like I lost the flower, but I had those moments.