Maturity Essay 2/23/09

                                        The Flower Who Blooms During the Summer


Have you ever planted a flower and watched it grow? Well maturity is like growing a flower. Maturity to me is when you give up some hobbies because you realized there is more important things in life than just fun. Your priorities, friends, and perspective began to change. People everyday have problems transitioning their lives like when flowers die due to harsh climates. The poem “Marigolds” deals with a girl losing her innocence of childhood to maturity of a young adult. And here is my story of maturity and how my flower of life is in the summer.

My life has just entered summer. I show many changes in my early spring life that allows believe that I have entered the summer. The first stage of my harvest was the seed my mother planted that helped develop my summer life- Responsibility. As a child you are free with no obligations. But as I got older so did my parents. I began to realize that I would have to help my mother and Father out for soon they would have to depend on me as senior citizens. Who will care for my parents better than me? The seed planted began to grow as a root. My mother gave me an inch and I took a yard. My first test of responsibility was coming home after school by myself proceeding she gave me my very first set keys. I felt like a dove began released from its cage. I was ready to fly. From than on I began commuting from place to place without my parents. My parents especially my mother tried to instill great values and lessons to make life for me less complicated down the road. Now that I am older I as well take interest in my future. Just the other day on the computer I typed in Myspace then found myself looking at an application to McDonalds. For hours, I used to come home and watch television. But with responsibilities, doing what I wanted to do changed to doing what is necessary to better my future. I consider college life after high school and I have already applied for scholarships and internships to further my skills.

Responsibility and maturity goes hand and hand. Time passed and my seed grew roots. The root of my flower is maturity. By me having responsibilities, it helped me mature and sprouted my growth. One sign that lead to my maturity was the transition of friends. I have moved on eliminating my childhood friends. Some have moved on with me and others couldn’t seem to let go their innocent laughter and fun games. Now more rope- playing, catch a girl freak a girl, or red light- green light. Since didn’t share the same goals and interest like college, education, work, and family; I stopped associating myself with them. For example, In the poem “Marigolds” the character Lizabeth was confused about who she wanted to hang with younger or older children due to her maturity and self- control developing. She thought it would be stupid to throw the rocks in the garden, but since she was challenged she threw the rocks in the garden to impress the younger kids. In the poem she says, “The child in me said it was fun, but the woman… flinched a malicious attack”.


Now my flower is blooming! The stem and leaf is my consciousness. I try to be aware of my behavior and surroundings. When not in my mother’s presence, I can still maintain self- control and carry my-self with respect and grace. Where- ever I travel, I hear my mother’s voice saying, “ Do what you know to be right. Be yourself.” Also with maturity, I began to realize my blessings and appreciate them. Simple things I didn’t pay attention to I now am thankful for. For an example, I thank my mom for cooking great hot meals. Everyone’s parents don’t cook because after coming in from work their exhausted, but every night I could count days smelling a hot meal waiting to be devoured. I have stopped letting my id control me. I am not selfish anymore, since I noticed how others sacrificed for me. Reminiscing these images prevent me from being self- centered. Now I think of others before myself. I look at situations in different view or perspective. I worry about other people’s feelings than saying what I feel all the time. Lastly, I take interest in the economy. I have never in some many years watched the news not just to see the weather but also to have knowledge about the world around me.

So there are many reasons I think my life is in the summer because my flower is budding, blooming, and live. I have the necessary parts a flower needs including the root, which is the foundation of the structure, the seed that started the growth, and the stem and leaves. The seed my mother planted in the soil is my responsibility. My mother giving me responsibility allowed me to spread my wings to maturity. If my mother would’ve never gave me my own keys, I most likely would have never traveled alone which means I probably wouldn’t be used to making good decisions for myself because I’d be depending on my mother to make them for me. My seed matured the more I was allowed to do things unsupervised the more I made great decisions. I stopped playing games and surrounding myself with friends who no longer shared the same goals or positivity in their lives as I. My root made me become conscious of the things I did and appreciate the small things in life with thanks. With my stem and leave sprouting I grew new interest in topics I thought didn’t matter. I gave up selfish baby ways to care for others. Time allowed my flower to grow and change. Now that I’m responsible, mature, and conscious, I’m the flower in the summer that attracts all the bees.