Sunflower Trail
People who are not from Houston (or haven't lived here in a while) seem to think that the city is all traffic and concrete. Yes, it gets ridiculously hot and can take a few hours to go from Downtown out to the outskirts during high peak times, but there is a ton of natural beauty all over the city. In actuality, there are so many beautiful places to visit with outdoor activities. One of my favorite trails is located at White Oak Bayou.
When I was growing up, one of my dearest friends was obsessed with Sunflowers. Every time I see one, I still think of her adorable bedroom decorated with white wicker furniture and bright yellow flowers. I love the symmetry of a sunflower and how the center just opens up to this vast black and brown pool of seeds. Although all flowers are dear to me, sunflowers hold a special place in my heart and make me think of optimism.
Optimism is a topic that wasn't always present in my life. There was a time when I had a sadness that took over what I was going through. It still is hard to put in words the type of pain experienced, but that pain translated into the world around me. When our heart is sad, our perspective can become gloomy. As I sought to change my circumstances, I slowly picked up the pieces in my life and put them back together just like you would a mosaic. One shattered piece at a time, I reassembled them into something new. No, the shape would never be the same... but what came out of it was something different - and positive.
I realized after coming out of what I would consider my darkest valley, that life was really beautiful and I was surrounded by people who care. I found a little bit of sunshine in everyday. From the gentle breeze that blew across my face on a lunchtime stroll to the simplicity of a sunflower... there was exquisite beauty in all sorts of corners.
If any of you are going through something tough, no matter what it is... you can change your life. It doesn't happen overnight, but if you slowly put one piece at a time back to the way you want your life to be... it will evolve into something you couldn't imagine. True art takes you on a journey to definining who you are and what you are. Without that time of my life, I couldn't be where I am today and I probably wouldn't have found this little trail of sunflowers.