A man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom, noticed thorns upon its stem and thought, “How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom, it died. It is so with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them. To look at a person and accepting him/her with their true faults into your life, all the while recognising the nobility in their soul is love.

— Sujeena Shakya, Class X, LA