OUT ON THE HILL is the official blog of the Victory Congressional Interns. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of LGBTQ+ Victory Institute. Learn more about the internship at victoryinstitute.org/vci.
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Since the moment I began planning to live in DC for the semester, I saw pictures of beautiful pink trees. I imagined sitting at the basin looking at the monuments and basking in the beauty of nature. This past weekend was considered “peak bloom,” the point when over 70 percent of the cherry trees have opened their flowers.
While the trees are gorgeous, and the different shades of pink make every picture pop, the symbolism that accompanies this flower is really what got me thinking. The significance of the cherry tree is often traced back to the donation by Japan in the early twentieth century as a way of honoring the friendship between two nations. However, after doing a quick search of the symbolism of the tree I learned that cherry blossoms represent the fleeting nature of life.
As I sit at the tidal basin I realize that both my time in DC and the cherry blossoms are slowly ending their journey. DC has given me the opportunity to grow in a way I never could have imagined. I have come to not only accept who I am but embrace my full personality. The queer part, the loud part, the unapologetic part, the part that is anxious and the part that knows I can do anything.
While cherry blossoms last only a short time period, they always come back, the same way we do. When we have a bump in the road we might stop blooming for a second, maybe we forget who we are as a way of protecting ourselves. And through this experience, the Victory Institute, cherry blossoms, and my time in DC as a whole, I know that is okay. It is okay to ebb and flow, because life is so short. We have to make memories, so when things end, we know what the best and even worst version of ourselves can feel like.
Life’s moments are fast moving sometimes, and the cherry blossoms remind us of that, because in a few days they will be gone. But, when looking at what the cherry blossoms meant right under the description of the “fleeting nature of life,” is the focus on rebirth and renewal. So my challenge to you and myself is to find the moments that remind us how short life is, and use them to grow and find joy again.
Through this journey I have interacted with people who think differently, believe differently, and communicate differently. This has taught me the way we have to open our mind and allow ourselves to become better versions in every context. So thank you to my amazing roommates Sarah, Taylor, and Lydia for reminding me to live in the moment.
As we all reflect on the beauty and friendship that cherry blossoms represent, I hope we look further at the way they connect us to the short nature of life, and the need to constantly renew ourselves until we are the version that we want to be.
Cheers to the beautiful smiles and memories along the way.
