April 23, 2021

Chrysanthemum: A Sign of Moving Forward

By Rebekah Turner

The chrysanthemum is the happiest flower – the name itself is enough to make you smile trying to pronounce or spell it. As a child, my favorite movie was Chrysanthemum, which is about a mouse who didn’t exactly fit in at her new school. This is a general consensus among all college freshmen alike this year. During the current pandemic, it has been harder than ever to make new friends, meet new people, and even get out of our comfort zones. But during the springtime, everything seems so much better and brighter, and with this new weather, comes new flowers and new ambitions.

This year, as we can all agree, is different than any other, and like many college students, I’ve had my fair share of difficulties. From arriving at the University of Michigan from my small town in southern Virginia not knowing anyone, to struggling with my balance of school work and my social life. In short, life has not been easy lately, but that does not mean it hasn’t been beautiful, like a chrysanthemum. Whenever I see a vividly yellow chrysanthemum, it reminds me of not only the maize in maize and blue, but it reminds me of the good in life and looking forward to life after the pandemic. Chrysanthemums have anywhere from 5 to 115 petals on their stems; that gives us about 115 reasons to look for a new life filled with 115 opportunities to be happy.

There is no doubt that the first half of the pandemic was hard on everyone, it began during a time of blooming flowers, warm weather, and the smell of summer looming over us all. A time where we were supposed to look for the chrysanthemums in life – new beginnings. Last March was supposed to be the time where us college freshmen were looking forward to graduation, senior trips, and committing to our dream schools. Yet, this was all taken away from us and with the blink of an eye. The most happy time of high school became dreary and depressing. For me, there were no chrysanthemums in sight, I couldn’t even bear to imagine the idea of such a beautiful flower during such a hard and different time.

Although last spring never seemed to sprung, there were chrysanthemums to look forward to: college. This time, even during a world changing pandemic, the beautiful, multi-faceted flower I always seemed to love seemed closer than ever. Moving to Ann Arbor was like the light at the end of a very long tunnel. The rain clouds finally cleared up to reveal the flowers in full blossom and the grass began to get greener. I’ve never loved the smell of flowers more than when I moved to Ann Arbor, and when I looked around, I saw chrysanthemums anywhere and everywhere. Life began to feel better with this new beginning, and through all of the pain of COVID, things started to make sense again.

And with this new found atmosphere of spring flowers, there were even more chrysanthemums in my purview – the vaccine. This seemingly made me feel like everything myself and everyone else in the world was going through was all for something. It seemed as though everyone had a yellow chrysanthemum in their hand with a smile on their face. Life is just starting to make sense again, but don’t let the idea of getting back to normal life keep you from looking for chrysanthemums because you can find them anywhere. And when you do, take one and hold on to it for dear life.

Edited By Mary Murphy