Seasonal

I will never forget the Spring of 2019. My very first Spring in Canada. I had arrived in Ontario with a suitcase full of dreams and a heart with nostalgia. Everything was new to me: the weather, people, language… and the trees.

That’s when I saw them~the Cherry Blossom trees. I had heard about the Cherry Blossoms blooming in High Park, Toronto. But nothing could have prepared me for the emotion that overwhelmed me that day. Walking around those trees was like stepping into a dream. I will never forget how petals fluttered gently in the breeze like soft whispers from Mother Earth. Pink and white flowers adorned the landscape with quiet elegance on a sunny day. I stood there in silence and then I remembered that famous quote by Mark Twain that says “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream and Discover” (Mark Twain).

In that very moment, I was grateful for all the good things life had given me, but also for daring to take a step forward and explore a new world far from where I’d once been home, and for taking advantage of this new beginning. Flourishing and not regretting the things I would do from then on. Afterward, I smiled. and a friend took this photo to capture that special moment. Just I felt as if the trees were welcoming me to this new chapter of my life.

But, the sight also stirred something deeper~ a memory from home. As I was reminded of the Araguaney, Venezuela's national tree. The Araguaney doesn’t bloom in pink or white, but in bold, vibrant yellow. It bursts into color between March and May, just like the Cherry blossoms, transforming dry hillsides into golden landscapes. I used to watch the Araguaney bloom with pride~ a tree that defies the heat and drought to shine with unshake brightness. Though thousands of kilometers apart, the Cherry Blossom and the Araguaney bloom at the same time of the year. Their colors are different, but their message is the same: Life can be beautiful, even after harderts season.

The Cherry Blossoms made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a while~ a sense of peace and wonder, yes, but also a strange comfort, as if a piece of Venezuela had followed me to Canada in the form of petals. These trees, so different and yet so similar, taught me that beauty speaks in many languages, and that no matter where we are, nature finds a way to connect us to our roots. As a nature lover every spring since 2019, I return to the Cherry Blossoms wherever they are. Not just to admire them, but to remember who I am and how far I’ve come. I carry both trees in my heart~the Cherry Blossom of Ontario and the Araguaney of Venezuela~ one soft and poetic, the other bold and radiant. Together, they remind me that I belong not to one land, but to both.