Rows of vibrant colored flowers shoot out of the quenched soil. Mom is back in the garden again, doing what she loves. Pink and orange zinnias, black eyed susans, daisies, and clusters of snapdragons fill the garden. The blistering sun shines onto me, giving me an instant sunburn. I love helping my mom in the garden. The bees quietly drone over the flowers as I close my dry, worn out eyes. All I can smell is the floral medley of flowers that insists to find it’s way to my nostrils. I love watching my mom do what she loves, even though it can be very stressful for her at times. But when she is arranging her flowers all I can see is a bright aura surrounding her. She does what she loves for a living, and that’s what inspires me.

I love being an artist. Art is my passion. And I am here, at art school because my mom has taught me to do what I love. No matter what. I remember one early morning my mom had stayed up working on her arrangements for an event the next day. The garage was filled with stems and buckets scattered all over like a tornado had spun through. And I looked into my mom’s eyes. Worn, tired, dull. But she still had a smile across her face. Beauty is what she had. Beauty in her eyes. Beauty in her hands. Beauty in her mind. Beauty in her soul. Beauty in her work. Every detail of each floral arrangement was on point. When a person is creating something with passion, it turns out beautiful.

My eyes began to swell. I couldn’t tell if I was feeling this way out of joy or pain. Just looking at the pure intricate design of my mom’s work made me realize that I want to be like her. I want to make a living creating what I love. Sometimes it is hard for my mom to pay the rent each month, let alone put dinner on the table. But sometimes you have to sacrifice certain things to do what you love. Her hands are worn. Her hands are calloused over and blistering from pain. But her heart is warm with love and wisdom. Even though she works as hard as she does, she is always there for her two daughters and her husband. The light wrinkles in her face show that. They show each smile. They show each look of despair. Each look of joy. Each look of stress. It’s what makes her beautiful. It shows how committed she is to every aspect of life.

She knows all the facts. She knows the reality. She knows that it’s hard to support her family doing what she loves. But confidence is what pushes her through to the end of each day, week, month and year. She isn’t chasing a dream. She’s living her dream and trying her best. Sometimes life is just a matter of finding the silver lining of your situation. If it is tough to make a living off of what we are passionate in, we just need to look up and realize that it is better for our well-being to be doing what we love, rather than doing something just for the income. And sometimes it’s also about making other people smile because of what you do. If I could tell you how many brides have had the best wedding day because of my mom’s floral arranging I would. But there are too many to count, literally. Using our passion to contribute to other people’s emotions and feelings is something that needs to be practiced more often. Because when people help others and contribute to their happiness and wellbeing, it all comes back around. Doing things to make other humans on this planet happy brings peace and serenity.

So tell me, the next time you look into your own eyes, are they quenched? Are they full of, passion, love and the slightest bit of pain and commitment? Because that is what truly matters. No matter what you are going through in your life and to what extent of pain it brings, if you are doing something you are passionate about, it can help any situation. And that is why I am in college. So I can prepare myself to do something I love in life. Something that I am passionate about. So I can be a vibrant and loving person. Just like my mother.