The Strongest Tree

One of my past students, Angela, designed this picture to go with a class assignment. An art student in the same class, Joanna, drew it.

Today, more than ever, there are so many things to fear in our world. How long will COVID last? What will graduations look like this year? What will our political leadership look like going forward? Will there ever be equality between all the lives? Is there climate change, or isn’t there? Are the things we care about being addressed?

The drawing that begins my first post was designed by a past student named Angela and drawn by an art student named Joanna. Angela was a drama student in our visual and performing arts academy. Her academic branches were hanging low, and I wanted her to lean on her creative branches.

She didn’t’ see herself as having the skills necessary to complete a writing assignment about the young refugee girl we had just finished reading about in class. I asked her if she could draw the girl’s journey and show us her emotions.

“Yes, that would be easy.”

“Draw her then, and let’s see what happens.”

A couple of days later, she had sketched her idea and asked Joanna to draw it for her in more detail. She brought the finished product into class on the last day to present her “essay.” The drawing projected onto the screen, surrounded in light. 

Angela described the young girl rooted in her native land. Her limbs grew stronger as she learned the language and the customs in the United States. Her leaves represented the experiences, challenges, lessons and love she found here. Angela’s story became the body of her essay and, later, she turned in the written word. 

The tree in the proverb is a pomegranate tree, a tree known for its strong, yet flexible branches. The branches will bend all the way to the ground without breaking.

You are like the pomegranate tree. You have the strength to bear more than you think you are capable of bearing. The tree that bears the most fruit is the strongest tree. Even as your branches hang heavy, you can humble yourself to your challenges. You are going to be okay. 

I look forward to joining you in your journey and seeing where our paths cross.