Samantha Humphreys

Frustratingly, I spent the best part of an hour composing a post about my Art for Wellbeing class yesterday, the plant I chose to draw and study and how it led me to make comparisons to how we develop as humans. I decided that, fate must have decided that it was too long winded and I need to get to the point a whole lot faster because life is too short for unnecessary words!

So you know when you want to ask an older child what their future intentions are, it’s a little awkward asking the patronising question ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ . What else could we say without it sounding too formal, final and, for want of a better word, ‘triggering’? But why do we put pressure on humans to ‘grow up’ anyway? The idea of growing up or being grown up has a finality about it that kind of implies that you fully understand how you should approach adulthood and done with learning because you know everything. Can you see how ridiculous that is when written down?

My chosen plant, known as a Drooping Prickly Pear, has so many visible life experiences which was how I came to follow this train of thought. It has both weathered areas, yet is still sprouting new blooms and pads. As people, we are placed under so much pressure to make decisions, as though there is no time after their years of school to decide based on their current circumstances and abilities. Also, we do not learn and grow at the same rate as our peers, or in the same areas of life. Maybe we should instead be asking children at age 14, ‘what do you want to learn next’ (notice I say learn, not achieve). Then the same question can be asked year after year until, as confident young adults they can be asking themselves. The magnificent Drooping Prickly Pear will continue to develop and grow throughout its 20 years or so of life as will its companions in the glasshouse, but they will not reach full development ever-because, there is no such thing as completely developed in living things.

That was considerably shorter and better!