To each his own

Welcome to my little discussion about my major- which lately (okay- midterms are scaring me to death and assignments are piling up) are taking over my thoughts. And lately I've been getting a lot more questions along the lines of 'what in the heck are you doing with all your time?'

Sometimes when people realize how much time I actually spend in the library and how much I stress over my classes they say things like 'what could you possibly be doing' and 'how do you even have homework for classes like that' and 'how much can you really learn about flowers.' OH let me tell you though. It is not always easy. But I do always love it.

When I initially explain my major to people...most likely the thought that goes through their head is "oh wow. I can't imagine why you would need 4 years of college to learn that". Because with something like 'Horticulture emphasis in floral design' how could you possibly even ever have homework assignments. Right? WRONG! Flowers may just seem like a cop out to some people- but you've got to learn some complicated stuff in order to really know how it all works. It's such a huge field and there is so much more to it than anyone thinks. Yes, arranging flowers is fun and relaxing. But like any other thing out there- if you don't absolutely love it, you may find yourself wondering why you are putting so many hours into it. 

First off... the nerdiness of it all: One million experiments about one million factors that could possibly affect the growth of corn. And taking at least a half hour a day just to water the dang things with precise measurements and data charts and different nutrients. How many people actually just love doing that kind of thing? And how many people are totally willing to become a nerd that memorizes things like '43560 sq ft in an acre' just so they can know different facts and numbers about the soil in a field. And pH levels and nutrients and the intricate process of photosynthesis and memorizing scientific names of hundreds of plants and SO MANY COMPLICATED THINGS TO LEARN. But I mean...this is biology and science type of stuff which I usually hate- but for the sake of the plants I don't even mind it. Sometimes I tell people about things I do for my classes- which seem normal to me (like how we went to the sand dunes just to dig holes and look at the root systems of the grass) and they think it would be a total drag to do that kind of thing. 

 Second off. I've maybe become obsessed with it all- plants and flowers. I can't walk past one of the greenhouses without going inside and smelling those three plumeria flowers we have growing, and I can't walk out of a single grocery store without examining their flower selection, and if I see a plant in a pot you'd better believe I'm going to stick my finger in the soil and make sure it's getting proper watering. Little things like that. Except there are probably like 20 more habits that I've developed due to my obsession.
Anyways...that's my ramble-rant about my major.

PS ...Tropical flowers just get me crazy excited for the day in the not-so-far-future when I will be able to see them in their natural environment rather than just in a greenhouse. !