College is full of extensive, difficult tasks that seem almost impossible. So many things are out of your control, and it always seems like nothing can ever be easy. Except for one thing… being a plant parent. Although it comes with some difficulty, plants are one of the easier college dorm items to care for.
(Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash)
Really all you have to do is put the plant on your windowsill, water it depending on what type of plant it is, and watch it grow! A little bit of care can go a long way. But the most important thing that I have learned, being a plant mom myself, is that you should never let anyone else care for them.
At the beginning of the school year, I accumulated some tomato seeds and set the almost insurmountable challenge of growing my own plant in my dorm room. This challenge seemed almost too easy, though.
With little trouble, my tomato plant grew with ease and was thriving on my windowsill. A little competition started with my hall neighbors, and my friend began growing her own plant, too. But when fall break came around, my plant parenthood would be changed forever.
My lovely mother, who prides herself as being a professional gardener, said that it would be in my tomato plant’s best interest to go back home with her because my dorm room was unfit for a plant to live in. My roommate and I disagreed with her and argued that the plant was doing fine, but eventually, my plant traveled back to my house.
(Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash)
A few weeks later when I went back home for Thanksgiving, one of the first things I wanted to know was how my plant was doing (I know… it’s lame but a lot of effort went into growing that plant). I went to the basement of my house where my plant was, and lo and behold my plant was dead. It was no longer green, tall, and vibrant. It was crispy and brown.
I was slightly upset but was able to gain great satisfaction by gloating that I cared for my plant better than she did. Ever since this incident, my hall rivals have been able to gloat about how well their plants are doing, and although it is annoying and hurtful, I know deep down that my plant would still be the alpha if it had stayed with my roommate and me.
So what I learned from this is that the only thing you have to do to be a good plant parent is to take care of everything yourself and don’t rely on other people to take care of your precious valuables.