Grew up in OU, literally.
I started going there with friends, unchaperoned, since I was 11.
Well, 10 actually, but I was with my 14 y/o brother & his friends so I still consider that chaperone.
I spent after school & weekends just walking round & round OU like my life depended on it.
Trying out clothes & spending hours in changing rooms just taking pictures,
Never buying them of course.
Then adulthood came & it got weird.
It's hard to find the time to just gather with the usual crowd due to different schedules.
& of course it's so awkward to go try out clothes for no apparent reason when you're no longer a kid.
I remember there was a time in my life where I just stopped going to OU coz what was I going to do?
Got no money to eat fancy, definitely can't afford to shop.
The first time I went to OU with Ikhwan it felt sooo weird.
I remember feeling so sad that I felt out of place.
There's no more bumping into the whole school when you're there lol.
Since then I've sort of been in a limbo.
My mall rat self is desperate to be doing something one weekends. Anything.
But you honestly can't expect to bring kids to the mall to just walk around.
You will end up spending money on them lol.
Until I finally levelled up into the plant mom phase.
I didn't really understand it at first, this need to go to nurseries.
Until a friend asked me that question straight up,
& the answer came to me.
The nursery is the mall.
The chance to walk around, go in & out of shops, touch the plants, hold them up to the light, take hundreds of pictures, & no one is looking at you weird if you don't buy.
& even if you're left with 5 bucks in your wallet, you can still afford to treat yourself to a succulent!
This group of plant friends I have now, they get it.
We don't need to stick together & exchange small talk all the time.
We each have our own interests & most of the time our feet take us in opposite directions once we enter a nursery.
We can get lost alone, in silence, for hours,
But when we spot something special we know the people who understands most are there, & you don't need to explain anything.
You just hold up a plant & squeal!
So here's a shout out to my plant mamas.
Some has been my person for almost all my life, some has been hovering in the background,
But I'm glad we found each other at the perfect time.
May we never grow out of this phase <3
