Hammaad Zargar
The roses on campus are really pretty. They move gently in the morning breeze, and the sun shines on them. They smell nice. When students start going to class, the campus gets busy. Everyone has a lot of things to think about. We are always busy, and we do not have time to notice the small things, but we should. Think about this: Did we see the roses when we walked by? Probably not. This is because we are used to seeing them. When we see something every day, it does not seem special anymore. If we take a moment to look at the roses, we might feel something we have not felt in a long time.
When we look at the roses, we might wonder what makes them special. Is it the way they look? Is it the smell? Is it the way they grow in the weather? Maybe it is something else. The roses are not just pretty to look at; they also have a meaning. The petals are soft, representing love and hope. The thorns are sharp, representing strength and protection. The petals and thorns together show us that the roses are more than just pretty flowers. If the roses did not have thorns, they would be easy to hurt; the thorns keep them safe. This is like people, too. We can be kind and strong at the same time. When we are kind, it does not mean we are weak, and when we are strong, it does not mean we are not kind.
The roses can teach us something; they can make us feel a certain way. This feeling is like the one we had when we were kids. When we were children, everything was new and exciting. We would look at bugs, pick up rocks, or smell flowers. We did not need a reason to do these things; we just did them because they were fun. We noticed things that adults do not notice. We asked questions, and nothing was boring to us. This is what I mean by “wonder.” The world is still a wonderful place; we just got used to it. Maybe all we need to do is look at the world the way we did when we were kids.
The roses are important because of how they make us feel. Tomorrow, the roses will still be on campus. They will still be swaying in the breeze. Most of us will walk by them without even noticing. Maybe someone will stop and look—not because the roses are different, but because we are willing to slow down and see them. We do not have to wait for something to happen to feel wonder. We can feel it when we look at something like the roses. We just need to slow down and notice.
The author is pursuing AS Levels at Foundation World School, Mamath
