Amongst the flowers, the pools of water,
The lily pads,
The swans and geese,
The greenery enchanted my soul and made me feel at peace.
The birds chirped and sang songs of the tunes people whistled before us...
Here, on this ground, lie the Kew Gardens.
Kew Gardens
A place where majesty and nobility join together to welcome you into the throng.
See the glass palace where the mists kiss your cheeks and the palm trees tickle your nose.
If you look carefully, you find bananas hanging above, taking each precious second to ripen.
Peruse into the water lily garden and meditate amongst the dragonflies.
Spinning, jumping, veering, from petal to petal
Their hovering amidst the waters seems so effortless and elegant.
The twists and turns of the vines nearby, searching, bending, stretching themselves to a ray of sun.
The sands bended and arranged in perfect circles and parallel lines finds you at the Japanese garden. Here, a towering temple reminds you to respect and thank nature for its grand display of beauty.
A peacock reveals itself to me and allows me to approach it.
I take in the moment by snapping as many pictures as I could but none could reflect the beauty of its royal blue neck and shimmering feathers.
It rested near me.
I marveled in awe and thanked it for its elegant presence.
A swan and its babies spent hours ruffling their feathers.
The parent watches over as they ruffle themselves to sleep.
The nap was temporary and followed by an immediate need to enter the river again and splash about.
Surrounded by all of this beauty and nature taught me to pause and take a moment to take everything in.
With my study abroad experience coming to a close I want to remind you and others,
don’t forget to look up, you might miss the whole world unfolding in front of you.
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<p>My name is Amaya Marcella Aguilar Diaz and I am a Junior Music Education Major studying at Texas Christian University. I am actively involved on my campus by singing in the University's choral ensembles, Concert Chorale and University Singers, and by singing with the Reformed University Fellowship's music ministry as well as TCU's Opera Studio. I also serve the TCU community by being a second year Resident Assistant in King and Wright Halls.</p><p><br>Growing up, I always loved sharing my story through singing and writing poetry. This gift carried on through my college life. One of my poems, "Life without You", was used in one of TCU Concert Chorale's programs and even inspired a fellow student, Kyle Barker, to write music to her words. I also used this poem as inspiration to find the joys of life by taking videos every day for a whole year, editing them into monthly compilations, and posting them onto my personal facebook account. I wanted to share the joys of my life with friends and family and remind people that despite all the hardships, life is still beautiful and we have the pleasure of living in it!</p><p><br>My hope is that I can continue using my words and my art to touch people's hearts, help the world to see my life through my eyes, and to move others to love one another more.</p>
