Bloom. The first act in our production, and also the first stage in preparing for this class. What does Bloom mean to you?
Afnan Tag
Bloom, what a beautiful word. My life favorite quote or moto is “dream you fully bloom after all the hardship” it’s from a song called so far away that I have been listening to since 2016 and I never stopped listening to it really. It’s the song that speaks to me, speaks to my whole life in general. Bloom is a word could be at the beginning of something or actually after a harsh winter, where spring comes in. Another song is spring day, where it says that no season lasts and the winter has an end. So, when winter ends, it’s spring and it’s bloom. Bloom is like the final destination, or what we could think of as a happy ending, because we are blooming, we are happy. There is so much about bloom that relates to growth and to the nature. It’s a beautiful word that means a lot of things in literature and depending on the context, it changes and becomes a different meaning.
Maha Essid
The stage that everyone awaits. The “success” of our lives. The part when we get the attention we craved and the care we long-awaited. But we tend to forget that it’s just the start always. Any step is just the start, I guess. The start for the next steps. The ignition for the next step. I don’t know why we always highlight the “arrival,” we call it “success.” We call it a lot of things: “stability”, "making it”, “reaching”, "achieving." That’s so weird to me, especially right now with everything that’s happening. We’ve been waiting for this “bloom” stage for four years, for us to bloom, to graduate, to achieve, to “arrive” to the end of this era, only for us to realize that that shit does not matter. It’s no longer meaningful. If anything it’s the start of a job hunt, of adulting, of being in the fire line at a job you're not sure if you like, of being responsible 24/7 without being taken care of, of life.
Muhammad Muneeb Ur Rehman
There are hopelessly optimistic people who really find the best in everything. I mean nothing wrong with that, but at least be a little realistic. Whatever it is the whole humanity is going through, I believe that after every fall, there is a bloom –– a spring season with colorful flowers and worthwhile scenery. A chance to go for a walk in the park. Bloom is a weird state to be not just for an orchard but for humans as well. We can fake bloom for quite some time, making smiles out of our gloomy days only to return to our rooms or our safe spaces miserable. Bloom, however, is a state at the end of the day but the idea is to bloom inside out and not just fake it.
Sana Hussain
An image instantly pops into my head. A beautiful white flower, as it is coming into its own. A branch intertwined with flowers. A love coming to life. To bloom means to come to life. But I’m instantly taken away from bloom, as if it’s temporary. As if bloom will eventually wither and die. Bloom is ephemeral, a scary thing that is not permanent. A state of happiness that will eventually fall into despair. As fragile as glass, something to be nurtured and to hold on to as long as you can because the bloom will end one day. Sounds macabre, but that’s true.