Sem-end, Part 5: Sunflowers

Passing along the University Avenue the past few weeks, I have witnessed the growth of the sunflowers planted along the road. These are supposed to be gifts from U.P. Diliman's sister campus in Los Banos where the seeds are kept and cared for from the time they are harvested from their sources from the same University Avenue until the time when they are planted weeks before the university commencement rites.

The sunflowers have become indicators of when graduation time is at the university. The time of planting the seeds is scheduled and the plants are nurtured so that they will be in full bloom once the various recognition rites of the different colleges and the university's commencement exercises are held. I have faint or no memory of these sunflowers the two times I graduated from the university - the first time for my undergrad degree and the second time for my MS, both in Civil Engineering. Yet, I have come to appreciate their symbolism come graduation day.

One modern theory goes the way of the popular game Plants vs. Zombies. In this theory, the sunflowers are supposed to provide the power (sun) necessary to vanquish zombies, who happen to be brainless and are determined to eat one's brains. The storyline is actually very relevant to graduates of the country' premier university as they must not succumb to the real-life manifestations of zombies, who probably won't be satisfied with just your brain (or mind) but would also want your soul.

The sunflowers have become popular attractions to families looking for photo ops during graduation day so much so that one can usually see cars stopped along the avenue with their occupants posing beside the rows of sunflowers. It is indeed a good photo-op that even non-graduates and visitors of the university stop to take photos of the sunflowers. I am sure that these will again be a favorite subject to aspiring, amateur and professional photographers alike once the flowers are in full bloom. Perhaps I will be among those who will take a few choice shots of the sunflowers for posterity.

Below is a shot taken by the Clairvoyant last year using her Blackberry phone.