The Beauty of Nature

I walk out of my dorm and seek a place where I can gather my thoughts and altogether just unwind. Walking down the stairs I catch a glimpse of what seems to be a sturdy old bridge. Its simplicity welcomes me, and it didn’t take me long to know that’s the place I needed to be. Walking onto the bridge I feel as if I’ve entered another place completely. This bridge is surrounded with bright trees, calm animals, and peace. I close my eyes and let my ears do the seeing. I hear quiet chirps from the birds on the far lamppost, then the loud obnoxious sound of none other than crickets. I slowly open my eyes and look at the sky. At around 7 pm, it looks as if it’s almost night time but still morning. The suns nowhere to be found yet it’s mysteriously shinning. Astonished by my surroundings, I catch myself gazing at everything the bridge seems to have. The buildings that just barely peak over the scattering trees, the rusty lamps, the light blue sky sprinkled with fading clouds that move gracefully with every gust of wind. The wind fulfilling its multiple jobs with the trees, bushes and plants swaying back and forth; the light breeze I feel standing as I find myself mesmerized by the true beauty of nature.  As I’m looking around at everything surrounding me, I see a small withered plant near the edge of the bridge. Somehow intrigued, I make my way towards it. Almost immediately I find myself analyzing it, trying to figure out what lured me in so easily. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just another dying plant. Why did it seem so interesting a minute ago? Shaking my head I turn away and start to walk elsewhere, when my lingering thoughts and curiosity as to why I was somehow attracted to that plant came back. All I could tell from looking at the plant was that it was surrounded by bright green plants, all at the peak of their youth. The withering plant seemed like the mother, maybe even the grandmother of these newly sprouted plants. I turn around slowly as I come to the realization as to why the withering plant caught my attention. Aging. It was slowly giving up, letting Father Time take it to wherever he decides it needs to be. This dying plant somehow made me realize how time will still pass, whether you’re ready for it or not. To live knowing that someday, when you’re old, you’ll look back at the memories you’re making now. It made me question my goals, my aspirations, my way of living. This one plant, made me open my eyes as to what I’m doing in life, what I want to do. Taking in my new outlook of life, I slowly walk back towards my dorm and get a cup of water. I bring it outside and carefully pour it into the roots of the withering plant, in hopes that maybe it could survive just another day.

About Me

My names Daniella Flores and I was born in Queens, New York on July 20^th 1993. My genes did a terrible job at portraying the fact that I’m Peruvian, since they decided to make me the palest in my family. I have 2 sisters, Isabella who is ten years younger than me, and Fiorella who is one and a half years older than me. Yes. Our names rhyme. To this day I still have no idea why my mother did that. I have an amazing step dad who has been in my life for about 12 years, and 2 not so amazing dogs that get overly excited every time someone comes to visit. I’m from Coconut Creek, Florida, and I graduated from Monarch High School. I was an early graduate so I thankfully got to spend at least 3 weeks enjoying summer before I had to leave for college. Both my parents were born in Peru, and I speak and write fluent Spanish. I played tennis growing up, but I was also in the soccer team, cross country, and the swimming team throughout high school. Although I lived in Florida for most my childhood, the atmosphere I grew up in was pure Hispanic. So instead of listening to NSYNC or Britney Spears, I grew up listening to mostly Shakira and Marc Anthony. I’ve only been to a couple of concerts in my life, and they consisted of Mariah Carey, Fergie, and of course, Shakira. Don’t judge me. I love MGMT and you will most definitely catch me at the next Dave Matthews concert. The reason why that concert isn’t with the wonderful list of concerts I just mentioned is because my dad wouldn’t let me go until I turned 18, since he didn’t want to “expose” me to all the hectic things that go on there…  so apparently Dave Matthews gets pretty live. I have three people in my life that mean the world to me other than the usual mom and dad scenario. First there’s my best friend Lauren who I met when I first moved to Florida. I met her when I was walking my dog, the oldest one named Aphrodite. Yes that’s the goddess of love and no, I did not name her that. As I was walking her around my neighborhood, Lauren came out of her house, glimpsed at my dog, and simply said “That is the ugliest dog I have ever seen.” Ever since then we have been inseparable. Then it’s my cousin Connie who lives in New York but frequently visits because she loves me very much, and last but not least my older sister Fiorella who has been there for me through everything and anything. Although I’m extremely excited for college, they were the hardest part about leaving. The only thing keeping me from going nuts about not seeing them are my phone, my computer, and of course their promises to visit me all the time. Music makes me happy just like everyone else, and I believe that everyone deserves a chance no matter how corny that may sound. I love guitars, even though I barely seem to play mine, and I won the senior superlative for most accident prone. I love animals, but not bugs, and I look forward to every obstacle and adventure college has to offer.