Foxglove Cottage by Breanna

Foxglove Cottage by Breanna - November 2022 Scholarship Essay

Our society loves a good inspirational tale. Legends of daring people overcoming the odds, pastel-colored sayings posted onto aesthetic websites, music playing to get people ready to face anything. Yet, the most powerful sources of inspiration are often the most obscure. Some of the most impactful movements and discoveries were made due to mothers, fathers, Johannes Kepler, SNCC workers, love, war, and fruit. This case is still true for me, for my current source of inspiration is Ravensburger Puzzles 1000-piece puzzle “Foxglove Cottage”, a puzzle in my school's library.
Hidden between the puzzle pieces lies a well of inspiration. The act of doing a puzzle, for me, is a way to mindlessly search, letting my creativity and imagination wander, often creating intriguing thoughts or projects, and, unlike other mindless tasks, I can walk away from the puzzle as soon as this inspiration strikes. This freedom lets me think about how to rephrase introductions, how to mull over a math problem, and lets me return to the task as soon as inspiration provides a possible solution.
Along with this freedom to let inspiration wander, “Foxglove Cottage” also provides the comforting thought of acceptance. Inspiration can often lead, at least for me, to unconventional solutions, ones that can be hard to share with others, even if I think that the idea is good. This fear, however, is extinguished when I do the Ravensburger Puzzle. I understand that every piece, every different link, has a place, and works to create something bigger than itself.
The bigger picture also inspires me to continue on my goals, to pursue my dreams. When doing the puzzle, I can literally visualize the end product, it’s printed out on a page. It reminds me what waits at the end of my work, what I get to enjoy after my labor. It also inspires me to seek out work, to continue, so I can see the fruit that will bear in my other projects.
A puzzle might not be everyone’s first thought in terms of inspiration. It certainly wasn’t mine. The quiet, solitary act is the stark contrast compared to daring tales or loud music. It doesn’t help that puzzles are often difficult tasks to start and continue, evident in “Foxglove Cottage”. “Foxglove Cottage” is a beast. Containing one thousand different pieces, each more vibrantly colored then the next. And despite the overwhelming number of flowers and blades of grass, therein lies a lesson, and an obscure wealth of inspiration.