Daffodil Hair
August 14th, 2024
Writer: Ellie Pettus
Editor: Abbie Orlinsky
Being lost is actually a beautiful thing.
Being lost in thought may guide you to your greatest ideas and intuitions.
Being lost in travel may bring a globetrotter to a most wonderfully unexpected destination.
But, the sheer feeling of being lost can easily become one of the most isolating emotions.
During my senior year of high school, my little brother was diagnosed with cancer. Amidst the celebrations of graduation, all of my anticipation instead stemmed from the four white walls of his hospital room. My thoughts remained stagnant in fear, dread, and anxiety as the new chapter of my life began without me. This plight pulled me in a million different directions, yet I remained lost.
That summer, I was fortunate enough to journey out West to the Grand Teton National Park. As my friends and I set out to hike, the rocky terrain surprisingly became the first place I felt as if I had found my footing in months. As we continued off trail, my hollow smile began to feel full again. It was not until we were truly, and utterly, lost that I started to feel found.
My best friends and I soon found ourselves in a field of yellow. Hundreds of daffodils illuminated our sunburnt, beaming faces - if not only for a moment. The awe-inspiring expanse of this mountain range became only more of a reminder of how “human” we are to this world. It felt wrong to feel so alive when the person I loved the most was fighting to do the same. However, as we remained planted in that field of daffodils, feelings of hope, love, and strength began to take root over the despair that had sullied me far too long ago.
The world we live in is a beautiful place - far too good of one to see anyone suffer. As humans, we all inevitably fear the day when our sun will set. But, we must dull this anticipation through our renewal in the face of challenges, faith in a new day, and drive to be more.
Life will, undoubtedly, veer you off track countless times. In this, allow yourself to feel lost. It is in these pivotal moments where you may uncover your true direction. To be “lost” is not the same as being alone.
My best friend is now living cancer-free. He, once again, has a full head of daffodil-yellow hair and an outlook as pure as sunshine. In his journey, we all felt lost. But, it was our love for him that brought us all home.
