Green. Prisms of light pierced the tree leaving it with a bright fluorescent glow. The leaves rustled as the warm wind danced by. I take a look at the tree, standing ever so tall before me as I get ready for my first day of my freshman year. Upon reaching, I was greeted with old faces and new ones as I entered the classroom. I look back at last year and see how much everyone has matured and how much stayed the same. It was as if all the flowers from last year budded after experiencing the sunshine and rain. Yet their roots remained firmly planted within the soil.

Red. It was as if the sunshine had parted a lion's mane and poked through small little cracks. Yet the sunshine was not like the warm wind. In fact, it was colder. The tree looked indecisive as to whether they should let the leaves fall, or if they should keep on clutching onto what they’ve got. With this feeling of uncertainty came another as midterms were coming up. I worked so hard to keep up my grades and be a good student yet recently I felt the material and workload increasing on a daily basis. I started to get stressed and pondered as to whether I’ll be able to keep up with the change.

White. That was all I could see on the top of its long yet stocky hazel limbs. The sunshine had transformed into an unwelcoming and frigid gale that had only intensified my hurricane of emotions that I had felt. All the hopes that I had carried fell apart one by one and slowly became replaced with burdens. The snowflakes fell as each new burden was different, however in the end they all weighed me down.

Change. I was astonished by the budding flowers and branches that grew from a place that had once inhabited very little life. For all it had were branches, a trunk, and roots that held everything in place. A handful of the flowers had started to bloom and the whiteness that had once enveloped the tree had disappeared. The flowers let out a fragrant scent that began to frolic within my nose. I had frolicked too. As of now, I managed to find the courage within myself as I persevered throughout the school year. I made an effort to improve and slowly began to melt away my burdens. I looked back towards the start of the year, the end of the year, and everything that happened in between. I looked back at where I was and where I am. I looked at what changed and what didn’t. And I looked forward to seeing when all of my flowers will bloom.