Padayon 🌻

I once tried my best to grow a sunflower from a teeny tiny seed but it never bloomed.

I once tried my best to grow a sunflower from a teeny tiny seed but it never bloomed.
Maybe it’s because of the seed, soil, season, or just me.
But how should I know? I never tried again.

Bask in the warmth of indefinite golden hours of ‘right timings’ through the changes of seasons as we try to choose and redefine what it means to carry on.

Padayon (Carry On) is an interactive sunflower pop-up card.

The design of Padayon is composed of playfully orchestrated folds and layers of blank papers in highlighting the simply poetic role of paper’s materiality in storytelling. The use of intentionally wordless spread creates an infinite openness of how the sunflower may be truly seen by the audience; reconnecting with one’s unique personal experiences.

The intricate elements of the glowing sunflower’s interactive design, including the centerfold window pull tab, anticipates the transformative movement of shadows and highlights upon projection of light in revealing the glowing halos of hope – a reminder to always carry on.

The levels of its interactivity are inspired by the graceful anticipation of a blooming sunflower to every sunrise; the cathartic stillness of every fleeting golden hour; and the playful dance of light and shadows as sunlight gently peeks through the windows.

Seeing every sunflower season after season as one comes closer and closer to wearing the Sablay over their shoulder and shifting it to another, and at long last, bearing the responsibility to uphold the honor and excellence that comes with it came in the fullness of time¹. Finally everything is in full bloom.

Everyone is changing at their own pace and their own way.

The teeny tiny sunflower seeds, friends, batchmates, familiar faces², even acquaintances from a series of every faint randomly accessed memory³ of a random weekday inuman in TK or Sarah’s⁴ (#RIPTK / #NotAnAd), and most especially, you. 🌞

A year after being one with the sunflowers along University Avenue with the Sablay resting on my left shoulder, I’ve been trying to grow my own field of sunflowers. I think everyone does.

I still grieve over the empty flower pot that’s lost somewhere in the garden. It was once hoped to be a home to a budding seed, but turned out to be a grave. It never bloomed.

Maybe it’s because of the seed, soil, season, or just me.

But then I felt the tiny seeds that still filled the palm of my hands, unsure how much of it will even sprout, how many times I will grieve again for those that might not bloom, and the ever lingering question I have yet to fully face:

Will I ever grow a sunflower?

But this time around, I tried to turn to the brighter side of things just like a thriving sunflower would do.

I tried my best again to grow a sunflower from a teeny tiny seed, and it finally bloomed.
Maybe it’s because of the seed, soil, season, or just me.

But how should I know? By always choosing to carry on.

PADAYON 🌻🌞

1.  Was it the ‘right time’ or it just so happens? I still don’t know but I’m glad it happened.

2. Let’s face it, a batch of crushes from different GE classes with code names: *Insert Class Code here*

3.  Queue Daft Punk Discography.

4.  Don’t ask what my ID Number / Batch is. That’s too personal.