WildFlower

Two summers ago, my two dear friends and I adventured into the wild for about twenty days. While this sounds incredibly romantic, it took months of preparation and even then, we weren't equipped for the physical, and mental difficulties that we found ourselves facing in the time we spent exploring the mountains of Washington. 
Yet, even as we faced snow, glaciers, and bears, we were determined not to give up. So, taking one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, we hiked 120 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Northern Cascade mountain range. 

It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Not only could I feel the difference in my physical body, but the calm that my mind found in the wild flowers, and deep-wooded forests was, and is unparalleled. It was on these mountains and valleys that we traversed that I discovered my love for wild flowers. Each bloom a reminder of the simple beauty of the world that surrounded us. As we rounded hillsides, or entered meadows our heavy breathing would stop and we would still for a moment to take in the intricate life that each of these unique places provided. Hummingbirds swooped over our heads as we sat eating our lunch, and bees weren't ever something we were fearful of, because it was clear that they much preferred pollen to stinging. 

Even now, I enjoy picturing my future with flowers as something like this. A sustainable intermingling of human and petals. I want to see flowers as something that offers more than just beauty in a vase. I want to remind others of the life that survives in co-existence with what we want to enjoy, and how we would be nothing without the wildness of nature.