I write this from my home in State College, one of the few weekends this semester where I get to be back at PSU during my student teaching internship. I love it here, and in addition to seeing friends/mentors there is just something so refreshing about being back in the area. In some ways, my new (temporary) home in Northern PA has become home #3, so returning to State College (home #2) brings a similar sense of renewal in a similar way that a visit to my home #1 in Lancaster does.

With spring just around the corner, I was excited on my first morning here when I went to leave my driveway and noticed that the daffodils that had started to grow along my driveway were blooming. For those who do not know, I have lived in a trailer/mobile home during my time at PSU that is about 10 minutes away from campus. It sits in a small patch of woods off of the road, and these flowers that popped up right next to my driveway were a surprise during the first spring that I lived here. I don’t know quite what it was that made me do it that first year, but I went out and cut a bunch of the daffodils and put them in a glass on the table. Since that first year, I’ve repeated this process each year since, including again today.

Even today, I paused before going out to cut the flowers for the table. I think that if I’m honest I’m a little bit insecure about it. Going out to cut flowers is not necessarily the most stereotypically masculine thing to do, but yet I want to be confident enough that I can go cut flowers that look nice and smell good and make me happy because spring is almost here. They’re nothing fancy, but the bright yellow flowers on my table brighten things up. They have for the past two years, and I don’t plan to stop it this year either.

I think part of the reason I appreciate the daffodils so much is because they’ve been a source of consistency amidst the business of college life. These are some of the first flowers to bloom at the start of spring, and I did not do anything intentional to put those flowers along the drive…they just have always been there. As I look ahead to an uncertain future and especially as I look toward selling the trailer in May after I graduate, I’ve considered trying to dig up the daffodils and take them with me before selling the property. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that I think I want to leave them here. They’ve been a small but not insignificant part of my life here at the trailer, and whoever calls this place home next might just benefit from them too. I’m grateful to have enjoyed the flowers during my time here, so for now I’ll enjoy one last year with the flowers on my table. With any luck, there might be some more wherever life takes me next.