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This Weekend Is The Prom: Be A Rose

5/18/2015

 
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My watercolor of roses
It is my friends' birthday today. We made plans to meet for dinner and on my way to meet her I stopped by a florist  to buy her a small bouquet of flowers. I wanted her to feel special today.

WOW, I had no idea that flowers cost so much! Typical me...I had a conversation with the florist and I asked him, "What makes some flowers so expensive while  others are so cheap? Don't they all come from a seed and are all planted in  soil? It's not like you have to travel to another country to buy a certain kind of flower, the environment can be simulated, right? So, who determines the price of flowers?"  

As I stood in the flower shop I found that I had a choice: do I buy one rose or for the same price, a whole bunch of carnations? Well, I learned a lot today and I want to share what I learned with you, 

Carnations are so cheap because they are a 'dime a dozen' so the man said. They are a practical flower used for 'fillers' in bouquets because they are so easy to grow. They don't cost so much because they don't have a strong fragrance to them. Their fragrance dissipates quickly, therefore they are considered a cheap flower and they are priced accordingly.

He went on to tell me, as he held up a beautiful red rose, that a rose is special. It has a higher value because its fragrance is aromatic. Roses are not a 'dime a dozen' because they are hard to grow, they need special care. They must be tended to, pruned, cut back and protected from insects... He continued to tell me that they last a long time if kept properly. Roses hold their value even after they die. From its pedals, people make fragrant essential oils or grind the pedals up to make potpourri long after the flower has died. So, that is why roses cost so much and carnations are cheap. Fascinating!

I decided on a single beautiful luxurious rose, and I was happy with my decision, my friend was delighted! I  returned home and thought about my conversation with the florist, I thought: I want to be like a rose...not a carnation. I want to be that beautiful luxurious woman who has a greater value because I am not 'a dime a dozen' like a carnation. I want my life to be a sweet fragrance that lasts, not a cheap smell that is here today and gone tomorrow. I don't want to be the filler in a bouquet, I want to be the main flower of a bouquet.

Your Prom is this weekend, so I must remind you to value yourself and make good decisions. Girls, be a rose and not a carnation! Place a high value on yourself. Don't sell yourself cheap, leave that up to all the dime a dozen carnation girls out there. Remember, if you don't think you have value, no one else will. 

Boys, stop wanting cheap carnation girls, they are a dime a dozen... they have no long lasting value and when there done, there done...they get thrown away. Unlike a rose, there is no value in a carnation once it gets old.

Poets have written about roses, songwriters will continue to sing about them. Artists will paint roses and perfumes will be made out of them. But carnations are bought in bulk as fillers for roses...so place value on yourself and be a rose! Have fun at the prom...make good decisions that you will not regret later.  
Love you guys, Ms. B.


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    Donna Bonavia

    I am an art educator and  a professional artist. I write this blog to guide my students in  (SEL) social, emotional, and academic development. S.E.L. is the District of Columbia Public School's priority because we believe that we must educate the whole child.


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