Jenn Jackson

“what is it with you and sunflowers he asks

i point to the field of yellow outside
sunflowers worship the sun i tell him
only when it arrives do they rise
when the sun leaves
they bow their heads in mourning
that is what the sun does to those flowers
it's what you do to me

- the sun and her flowers”
― Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers

“It’s also about stripping away fantasies—like the fantasy that we live in a fair and equal meritocracy, and everyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and overcome their own oppression if they try hard enough. There are very real consequences to looking a certain way in our society, and we must acknowledge those consequences, both as a means to understanding and healing our own individual body image issues, and as a means to building a more equitable and just society so that future generations don’t have to fight the same battles.”
― Jessi Kneeland, Body Neutral: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Body Image Issues

“despite knowing
they won’t be here for long
they still choose to live
their brightest lives

- sunflowers”
― Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers

“I don't think there's anything on this planet that more trumpets life that the sunflower. For me that's because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that's such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.”
― Helen Mirren