Disclaimer: Many storytellers here shared vulnerable experiences, which might be triggering to some. Please see below for resources.

Float like a Butterfly

Briana Gomez

Marshall College, Anthropology - Biology

Photography

Float Like A Butterfly  

I remember hearing float like a butterfly,  sting like a bee. 

But before I can float I must first learn to fly. Most of the butterflies I know now, 

Forgot they are wingless worms no more. Flying, they think, is only for the fortunate. They sit and they look and they talk instead. But flying and floating is not about words, And it is too late for me, 

As I have seen what they look like.  They light up the sky with dancing and colors, So graceful and Devine.  

I too want to play in the suns delight! But now feeling this, 

Looking down,  

I get why they just talk instead. 

It takes a lot of courage to jump. 

But I am brave like my mother. 

And I am strong like my father. 

Now I leave these words here on this page, Because even they feel too heavy 

For the lightness I need  



For my resilience artwork I decided to use photography as my medium as well as  poetry to display a feeling of resilience that is not commonly shown. I love to rear monarch  butterflies and prefer to help them by using California native milkweed in order to help their  overall sustainability. If they hatch inside I make sure to let every butterfly out into an open  environment so they can live full and happy lives. The moment before they take off is  something I think is beautiful to witness especially when it is their first time doing it. Sometimes  it is only split seconds and at other times it takes longer depending on the butterfly. The  variation in action just like humans is a beautiful connection to me. Normally I think resilience is  glorified to be this trophy like thing where the cookie is at the END of the road but I think  resilience is usually a long road traveled by many and usually the steps we take can look and  feel unsettling and shaking at times. In spite of the fear and the doubt, resilience is about ones  discipline to our true intuition to believe in ourselves and continue the work in order to  succeed. My hardships in life do not define me or anyone for that matter and instead I choose  to pay attention to my bravery and my love as a better way to fully express myself. Thanks to  the resilience of many before me I can continue to put in the work to further all of us and keep  us reaching higher and higher.