To Water a Weed by Cassandra

To Water a Weed by Cassandra - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

It’s not very far. I just have to bike three stretches and cross two busy streets, then I will be there. Not hard.
For three years I have visited my grandmother in Lincoln Nebraska, and for three years I have visited their famous “Sunken Garden” as well as their very well cared for rose garden across the street from it. People come from all places to see these gardens, but would there be more interested people if they knew about the importance of gardens? What if everyone knew the different effects different species of plants have on us and the environment? They come to see the art of the garden, but what if they also came to study, learn, and see what they’ve learned in a real scenario such as these very gardens?
Even before my travels to the sunken garden, I would go to the creeks and forest ponds to find new plant life and to look at the macroinvertebrates in the water, most too small to see. Today on my window sill I have countless bottles of plants from those who depend only on water to those who depend only on air. I take care of every single living plant inside my home and around our acre of land which is full of ferns, strawberries, roses, rhubarb, cacti, hostas, maples and pines!

If I could jump into the near future I would be teaching botany, the study of plants and their effect on the world. People seem to lose their interest in plants when they don’t seem useful.

Aloe Vera is a beautiful and useful succulent. It’s not hard to care for, and when cracked open you can put the goo on burns, it’s common knowledge. But what about the “weeds” that are useful? One woman’s son in California was attacked by wasps and used a common weed called Plantain as a salve for his stings. It’s simple. Once it’s useful it can no longer be a weed, because its existence is purposeful and necessary.
Becoming a professor of plant sciences or botany for young citizens of our world is the ultimate goal. I could inform others of the anatomy and biology of plants, and how we can benefit from us raising and discovering them every day.