Anesha Byrd: Blooming in Greece
You can bloom
under any circumstance in a place you never imagined you would be planted. A flower can bloom without reflecting the storms
it endured that were determined to inhibit its stages of blossoming. Prior to my
breakaway in Greece, I was a withered flower that never regained strength to
shine through the darkness. I never imagined that Greece would be the place
that would nurture me back to finding joy in the simplicity and beauty of what
seems irrelevant to others.
It is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder as no one during my breakaway understood the simplicity and beauty of the flowers throughout Greece. Everyone asked “What is your thing with them, they’re just flowers.” The beholder defines the breakaway without allowing others to dictate the feeling received from the beauty of something they weren’t granted to understand. Every time I wore flowers on my shirt or surrounded by flowers, I was ready to bloom outside of my comfort zone and fears. Each petal represents a time during my breakaway where I plucked myself away from being conformed to my past that haunts me and others’ idea of a perfect breakaway in Greece.
It is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder as no one during my breakaway understood the simplicity and beauty of the flowers throughout Greece. Everyone asked “What is your thing with them, they’re just flowers.” The beholder defines the breakaway without allowing others to dictate the feeling received from the beauty of something they weren’t granted to understand. Every time I wore flowers on my shirt or surrounded by flowers, I was ready to bloom outside of my comfort zone and fears. Each petal represents a time during my breakaway where I plucked myself away from being conformed to my past that haunts me and others’ idea of a perfect breakaway in Greece.
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| Blooming in Nafpaktos, Greece surrounded by past memories |
When darkness
strikes with its evil sisters death and pain, it is challenging for a flower to
bloom when nutrients such as memories can’t provide comfort and a piece of joy
to endure the darkness. The loss of my father transpired into losing the relationships
with his family, leading me to avoid the reminder by pushing every memory with
my father and family far away.
Running from my reality that no longer included my father only led me to paint over the darkness until there was no recollection. My strategy worked until milestones arrived in my life where my father’s family saw it as the opportunity to attend as if they had been apart of my reality since his death. I always admired the picture frames with the image of a “perfect” family that only revealed the exterior with smiling faces, but I received a close look into the interior when I observed my family.
Greece revealed to me that I never dealt with losing my father or found a way to not associate my family’s wrongdoings when thinking of him. In addition, I thought of my father more in Greece than ever before and the memories I shared with him were recreated. For instance, before heading to next city on our list early in the morning during the study tour like usual we had time after breakfast to enjoy the town of Nafpaktos. Nafpaktos reminded me of the memories during my childhood that I shared with my father as it had a colorful park and a sea with a fairy tale vibe. My father and I always read princess stories at night and enjoyed going to our local park at home.
To kill time waiting to load the bus we went to the park and the sea. We had a contest to skip rocks across the water and enjoy the slides at the park. At first, I was opposed because I would have to walk barefooted to avoid getting wet shoes to reach the sea. However, with my floral shirt on I stepped out of my comfort zone and gained a moment that I would’ve never imagined if I would’ve stayed to side because I didn’t want to remove my shoes.
The beauty in this moment may vary for the others I shared it with, but a simple moment such as this reestablished my joy that I felt with the meaningful moments with my father at the park that I allowed to be pushed away. This withering flower regained her color and strength as it was the simplest moments of skipping rocks that allowed me to receive joy that wouldn’t have been easy with a complex moment.
Running from my reality that no longer included my father only led me to paint over the darkness until there was no recollection. My strategy worked until milestones arrived in my life where my father’s family saw it as the opportunity to attend as if they had been apart of my reality since his death. I always admired the picture frames with the image of a “perfect” family that only revealed the exterior with smiling faces, but I received a close look into the interior when I observed my family.
Greece revealed to me that I never dealt with losing my father or found a way to not associate my family’s wrongdoings when thinking of him. In addition, I thought of my father more in Greece than ever before and the memories I shared with him were recreated. For instance, before heading to next city on our list early in the morning during the study tour like usual we had time after breakfast to enjoy the town of Nafpaktos. Nafpaktos reminded me of the memories during my childhood that I shared with my father as it had a colorful park and a sea with a fairy tale vibe. My father and I always read princess stories at night and enjoyed going to our local park at home.
To kill time waiting to load the bus we went to the park and the sea. We had a contest to skip rocks across the water and enjoy the slides at the park. At first, I was opposed because I would have to walk barefooted to avoid getting wet shoes to reach the sea. However, with my floral shirt on I stepped out of my comfort zone and gained a moment that I would’ve never imagined if I would’ve stayed to side because I didn’t want to remove my shoes.
The beauty in this moment may vary for the others I shared it with, but a simple moment such as this reestablished my joy that I felt with the meaningful moments with my father at the park that I allowed to be pushed away. This withering flower regained her color and strength as it was the simplest moments of skipping rocks that allowed me to receive joy that wouldn’t have been easy with a complex moment.
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| The hosts who led the Greek dancing and helped the flower (Anesha) blossom into a Greek dancer. |
The appearance of
a bloomed flower doesn't reveal the countless storms it endured. Each storm was more detrimental than the previous one decreasing its attractiveness to others. My father’s death wasn’t the only death that
I experienced that decreased my importance of blooming as I loss my best friend
of 12 years to cancer that destroyed her flower forever.
When she was diagnosed with cancer in the 7th grade, I began to share my nutrients with her so we could still bloom together no matter the circumstance. However, it was evident that she gave me more than I gave her because after losing her it was as if the circumstance had destroyed my ability to bloom and the desire to be the flower, I knew I couldn’t
My friend taught me that I can bloom through any circumstance and I would be okay without her, I was just uncertain when until I went to Greece. Arriving in the city of Kozani with flowers surrounding me and again wearing another flower shirt I bloomed away from my fears of not knowing how to cease a moment without my friend who gave me the push. Earlier in the day I opened the gate and created my own opportunity when I discovered a lady’s home who understood the overlooked beauty in flowers like me. She invited me to come inside her gate to observe the flowers closely and take pictures. It is evident beauty recognize beauty that is unclear to others who haven’t discover the beauty of simplicity with a hidden meaning.
We enjoyed a dinner with the mayor of Kozani followed by Greek dancing. I am not the one to dance around others that I’m unfamiliar with, but I decided to take a risk and bloom outside of my comfort zone. This was one of my most memorable experiences as the other students and the Greeks commented on how well I was dancing and enjoying myself. Stepping out doesn’t mean you stepped away from yourself, you simply placed yourself in a position where your flower was able to bloom and outshine more than if it remained. My best friend really was sharing her nutrients with me that I lacked to bloom more beautifully than before when my flower was ready to outshine the darkness that she knew I would endure.
When she was diagnosed with cancer in the 7th grade, I began to share my nutrients with her so we could still bloom together no matter the circumstance. However, it was evident that she gave me more than I gave her because after losing her it was as if the circumstance had destroyed my ability to bloom and the desire to be the flower, I knew I couldn’t
without her. Before her passing, she asked me
after our mothers sat us down to discuss how long she had left to live if I would
be okay without her.
The flower that was once sharing her nutrients as well as shining together even when neither of us had petals out of the effects of chemotherapy and my support, no longer had anything to stand tall for what was about to occur. As seen during my breakaway how a flower could move and bloom in a different environment, but I couldn’t move her to restore what was withering away fast.
The flower that was once sharing her nutrients as well as shining together even when neither of us had petals out of the effects of chemotherapy and my support, no longer had anything to stand tall for what was about to occur. As seen during my breakaway how a flower could move and bloom in a different environment, but I couldn’t move her to restore what was withering away fast.
My friend taught me that I can bloom through any circumstance and I would be okay without her, I was just uncertain when until I went to Greece. Arriving in the city of Kozani with flowers surrounding me and again wearing another flower shirt I bloomed away from my fears of not knowing how to cease a moment without my friend who gave me the push. Earlier in the day I opened the gate and created my own opportunity when I discovered a lady’s home who understood the overlooked beauty in flowers like me. She invited me to come inside her gate to observe the flowers closely and take pictures. It is evident beauty recognize beauty that is unclear to others who haven’t discover the beauty of simplicity with a hidden meaning.
We enjoyed a dinner with the mayor of Kozani followed by Greek dancing. I am not the one to dance around others that I’m unfamiliar with, but I decided to take a risk and bloom outside of my comfort zone. This was one of my most memorable experiences as the other students and the Greeks commented on how well I was dancing and enjoying myself. Stepping out doesn’t mean you stepped away from yourself, you simply placed yourself in a position where your flower was able to bloom and outshine more than if it remained. My best friend really was sharing her nutrients with me that I lacked to bloom more beautifully than before when my flower was ready to outshine the darkness that she knew I would endure.
Before my breakaway to Greece, I wasn’t certain if I had any life left in me to bloom and stand tall. However, Dr. Tomazos watered me with his contagious happiness and countless pep talks. He had uncovered my scars that had injured my petals and prevented me from recovering without knowing the exact reasons. Dr. Tomazos's belief in me was the light I needed for my withering flower to grow from the destructive place it was planted. It is true a flower can grow from concrete as I grew from the concrete of Greece.
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| The flower (Anesha) with the powerful light source (Dr. Tomazos) in Lindos, Greece |
Anesha Byrd is a junior Biology major from Spartanburg, SC. She completed her breakaway in Greece by completing the Modern Greek Language I course and a study tour during Summer 2019. Anesha plans to graduate May 2021 and hopes to attend a medical school to pursue a career as a Pediatrician.