I can’t believe Spring Break has come and gone! I was so lucky to be able to spend a few days with part of my incredible family. It of course went by too quickly, but I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with them. I was surprised however to land to a sprinkling of snow on the ground in Cincinnati, and I know Philly got some snow too! It was definitely not very spring- like. However, in first few days I was back at Bryn Mawr, we experienced temperatures in the 70s, and flowers are starting to bloom ! I think we even broke 80 degrees one day last week, and I could not be more happy, because boy am I done with the cold temperatures! While I was visiting my family, we got to spend some really wonderful time together, see a movie, enjoy some delicious food, and relax together. It was definitely the breather I needed 🙂

I spent the second half of break working on my thesis. Over the course of two days, I spent 10 hours at Starbucks typing away. I conducted two more interviews, continued transcribing my previous interviews, and actually started writing! I am so excited to be drafting my paper, and seeing how the experiences of the incredible people I have had the privilege of talking to relate to each other, as well as my own experience as somebody who is preparing to become a teacher next year. I can’t wait to see how my paper unfolds. As I mentioned in my blogs earlier this semester, I am still dedicated to celebrating the small things, and because I made some progress on my thesis, I had a lot to celebrate last week! How did I celebrate, you ask? By going to the Philadelphia Flower Show!

Since it was my first time going to the show, I didn’t know what to expect. I boarded the train, and it seemed like everybody was going to the show! I got off and was able to follow the giant crowd directly from the platform to the Philadelphia Convention Center where the show was hosted. This year’s theme was called, “Explore America” and was a celebration of 100 years of the National Park Service. About half of the convention center space was filled with gorgeous and elaborate flower displays making up scenes and imagery from different national parks across the country.

The other half of the space was full of vendors selling everything from you guessed it, flowers (sooooo many flowers), to garden supplies, antiques, and everything in between. I went on the last Friday of the show and so while the lobby of the convention center and trains were overflowing with visitors, surprisingly, the flower displays themselves were not too crowded, which was really nice! I got to take some awesome photos, and the displays were truly beautiful. If only I had remembered to take an allergy pill! If one of the vendors had been selling them, I’m sure they would have made a mint 😉 I really enjoyed the show, and it was just what I needed to celebrate and relax before classes started again.

Here are some more photos!

Scene depicting Yosemite National Park

Display of flowers found in Death Valley

I missed where this was supposed to be, but the pond and waterfall were so pretty!