Nuisance to Newness

There is a little bush right beside my house. It used to annoy my roommates and me because it came over the sidewalk that connects the parking lot to the front door, so we always have to dodge it. In fact, right when we moved in in July, my roommates and I always joked about giving it a little trim (though technically its roots are on our neighbor’s side, so we never had the guts). However, after doing all the readings for and teaching the class on Henry David Thoreau, I’ve come to appreciate the overgrown bush in all its chaotic beauty. 

Almost immediately after doing the Thoreau readings, I started thinking about the bush in a new way. I did some research, and it seems to be a Campus Radican, also known as a Trumpet Creeper. When the conditions are right, it produces the most beautiful and intricate reddish-orange flowers that resemble its titular instrument. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to see these flowers yet, but I’m hoping they bloom in the spring (side note- can you imagine if we had cut the branches like we had joked about? We never would have been able to see it bloom!). 

As I gained an appreciation for the overgrown, that gave way to looking out for all the beauty and intricacies the bush had to offer. I know the bush wasn’t there to serve me or provide me with anything, but why not appreciate it for what it is? So I started documenting the leaves and how they changed. After all, I brushed past them every single day walking in and out of my front door.

At the beginning of my documentation, a closer look at the leaves would tell you there is much more to this plant than meets the eye, there were little dark green speckles on the lighter green background; each little leaf probably has a whole ecosystem on it. I also wondered if the leaves would turn darker with the winter.

Instead, the most recent photo I took would prove me wrong. Instead of deepening their color, the leaves turned into a palish-yellow but still kept their slightly darker green spots (even if they are much smaller now).

It was so interesting to shift my perspective on something I once saw as a nuisance. And what an impact this new perspective can have on my life! I’ve become excited to document the Campus Radican and its progress through the first semester and also now look for beauty instead of how things could be easier for me. It also showed me that there is so much to see in something I thought was so mundane.