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Bloom Where You Are Planted |
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Written by Laura Hershberger
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Friday, 16 January 2009 |
Laura is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio and a 2007 graduate of SLU. She is currently volunteering in El Salvador with an organization called CRISPAZ: Christians for Peace in El Salvador.
 About a month and a half ago, a friend gave my roommates and I three little tomato plants as a Christmas present. I was incredibly excited because after reading Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal Vegetable Miracle”, I have fantasized about growing my own vegetables to eat. We put the plants outside our front door to receive sunlight and everyday I watered them until they were too big for the yogurt containers that they were planted in. At that point I started wondering what the best thing for the plants was. Should I plant them in the ground even though I will only be in this apartment for a few more months? Should they be potted? Should we put them in black plastic bags to absorb moisture? Plastic crates? In the end we decided on potting them because we happened to have three extra plantless pots. So this morning with a little garden shovel and a kitchen knife (for breaking up dirt) Cesar and I moved the tomato plants to their new home. As we packed in the dirt, Cesar noted that they already smelled liked tomatoes. We finished repotting them and added water and looked at each and realized that all we have to do now is wait and see if they take root and blossom.
 After sweeping up the front porch and washing my hands, I started to think about how appropriate it was that we planted the tomatoes in their pots today, because just earlier this morning I was listening to a Speaking of Faith interview with Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister. At one point she mentioned the saying, “Bloom where you are planted,” meaning do the most amount of good where you are. I was especially touched by this quote as I reflect on my past year in El Salvador and look forward towards the coming year. Sometimes I feel like I am helpless and useless as a North American woman trying to work with Salvadoran youth whose language and culture I am still learning. At times I have found myself longing for Midwest cities where I know my way around and feel more competent in what I do. But this saying, “Bloom where you are planted,” brings me back to the present moment and my life in El Salvador. I have chosen to relocate myself here, and now it’s up to me to do the most good that I, Laura Hershberger, can do in my everyday life in El Salvador. This does not mean try to imitate the work and style of my co-workers or other foreigners in El Salvador, but rather “bloom” as myself. After a year of adjustments and learning, I feel like I am on my way there.
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