This past semester, I had the opportunity to take SPSS 2520: Floral Art with Professor Justine Ramsey. I had heard about the class from my friends who graduated in previous semesters who had taken it as a “fun class for your senior year.” While it definitely exceeded expectation in that department, the class also taught me a lot in the process. I learned about how to take care of flowers, the amount of work required to maintain plant health, and how to design and arrange floral bouquets and centerpieces. Looking back on my floral designs, I feel like I am able to relate the techniques and the arrangement styles I used to recap my senior year at the University of Connecticut. With all of its ups and downs, this class was one of the highlights of the year, and anyone who is able to should take this class if the opportunity comes up.
Week 1: Budvase Design
The first design we did was the budvase design, which focused on simplicity, and understanding the concepts of placing flowers at different levels and depths within a design. I felt like the levels of the carnations and the color progression of the flowers themselves, represented the stepping stones of the past three years that have gotten me to my final year at UConn. All the classes I have taken and the stress I have dealt with, will make it worth it when I finally am able to walk through Gampel Pavilion and officially get my diploma.
Week 2: Triangular design
This week we focused on shape. Professor Ramsey made sure our designs had the three primary points of a triangle as the overall shape of the design, and a primary focal point that immediately draws the eye. The three points of the triangle represents the balance between the social, academic and personal goals I had for myself this year. I wanted to be able to balance out my time between all three aspects that are very important to me, without providing too much weight to any one of them specifically, just like how we wanted to achieve balance in the design, I wanted to be able to spend my senior year spending time with my friends and the people I love who I will not see as often when we officially graduate. This balance has been increasingly difficult for me because of how passionate I am about learning and doing well in my classes. Between that, participating in activities like Oozeball and the Food Truck Festival is something I will not be able to do after graduation. Moreover, putting my personal well-being at the forefront has also been increasingly difficult because balancing all these aspects is not always easy, but somehow, I have been able to do it all, and it really made my senior year exciting and fun (while also a little stressful).
Week 3: Assymetrical Design
This week focused on making an asymmetrical floral arrangement, where the two sides of the arrangement do not exactly match, yet still balanced each other out in terms of weight and focal flowers. This, in some ways, represents the asymmetrical aspect of my senior year. Unlike most of my friends who were taking pretty easy classes since most of their requirements were over, I was taking pretty difficult graduate courses my last semester. This made balancing my time and energy harder because my friends had time that I sometimes did not, due to my course load. Now while I admit, no one forced me to take these graduate courses, I still wanted to get ahead before I begin my masters next year. While difficult, I still made it through the year with so many memories that I will truly never forget, and I am super grateful for all the experiences I had.
Week 4: Boutonnieres, Corsages, and Wristlets
This lab focused more on the small kinds of arrangements that florists can sometimes be tasked with. In this case, we learned techniques on how to make small arrangements and the differences between boutonnieres and corsages, something I had originally thought were very similar in nature. I feel like this lab represented the little moments throughout my senior year that made it special. Like the Christmas party that my friends hosted, where I got the chance to wrap a vacuum in the spirit of the holiday. Or like when my roommates took me out for my 21st birthday, and then we came back at 1am, ordered from Wings Over, and watched Enchanted until 3:00 a.m. Or even the countless moments I have been surround by differential equation students at the Q center, and they tell me how appreciative they are for the help I have given them over the semester. Each of these moments, while small in retrospect, made my senior year so much more special, because it not only left memories that I will never forget, but it also made me feel like I made the most out of my time in college and did not waste a second of it. This time flies by so fast, and it is so important to do what you can and do what you are passionate about.
Week 5: Bouquets
The last few weeks of the class focused on making bouquets. This arrangement particularly focused on making a circular bouquet using the spiral technique which is a common bouquet making technique used in floral arrangements. This arrangement felt like the perfect culmination of my four years at UConn. Through all the ups and downs, the lows and highs, there is truly a full circle moment at the end where all the hard work and the exciting memories comes together and creates a perfect sphere encompassing your college experience as a whole. I am so grateful that I spent time with my friends this year and did things with other people instead of staying in my room and studying all day (which is what I have done in the past). I am glad that I met so many new people through my Q center shifts and in my classes that I can honestly now call some of my closest friends. I am also so thankful for each moment that had led me on the path I am on now and the path I am going on.
My senior year was so important to me because of each moment, and these floral arrangements felt like the best way to express all the different aspects that made it that much more special. I am so grateful, and I am excited to see where my life ends up taking me.