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Damian Pangelinan

Mrs. Priest

ERWC

22 March 2019

Integrity Essay

My extended analogy of my life is going to be represented by the gardens at Balboa Park

located in San Diego.

Structure

The framework is the soil that is the foundation for all the plants in the gardens. Soil is

supposed to be rich in nutrients, specifically nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium,

magnesium, and sulfur, and nutrients provide the plants with a healthy groundwork or

infrastructure that allows them to grow. It also provides the plants with a place to grasp onto with

their roots. The biggest use for soil however, is to collect water for the plants to gather up

through their roots. Using the soil to symbolize my condo and everything that I use it, from my

bed to the washing machine. These items help me become successful through having a place to

sleep, study, clean, relax. It gives me a place to feel safe and similar to how small saplings are

first planted and then moved to a larger area to live the rest of their life, my condo is the small

planter that I use to get my life started before I move planters to a larger one.
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Style

The various factors that define my uniqueness are the various gardens that represent

different aspects of the world. Each garden symbolizes the peculiarities in my life. Palm Canyon

is representative of where I was born, Honolulu, Hawaii. The Veterans Memorial Garden is the

large role the military plays in my life ever since birth. The California Native Garden serves as

the where I’ve lived most of my life and where I’ve developed the most as a person. Probably the

most unique aspect of the gardens at Balboa is the Botanical Building and Lily Pond. This

closely relates to the most interesting part of my life which is my experiences and how vast my

life has been​. ​The Botanical Building and Lily Pond were built in 1915 and is the home of

various orchids, ferns, and many tropical plants and palms. I may not have been born in 1915 but

similar to how the building has plants from many different places, I have many experiences all

over the country, from Hawaii all the way to Maryland, I have experienced many events that

make myself unique.


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Cohesion

The elements that connect my life together and creates wholeness are the tourists that

visit the gardens everyday. Without them, the gardens wouldn’t be able to stay connected. They

represent the people that come and go in my life, the supportive friends, the coaches, teachers,

coworkers. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to have the connections I have today. I know

people from Hawaii and all over California, friends who are in college around the country,

friends who are serving the country, coaches who played professional football, and even teachers

who seem ancient while others are fresh out of college. The tourists that visit the gardens

everyday all have a story behind them, whether it is they are locals or on a vacation from Japan,

whether they are toddlers just beginning their lives or adults who have been to college and have a

career, each person creates the gardens because without them, the gardens at Balboa Park would

have no purpose.
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Strength

Aspects of the garden that protect my life from stressors are the insects that live within

the garden, like ladybugs, bees, beetles, and even spiders (they are arachnids but I’m going to

associate them with insects for the purpose of this essay) represent my friends, teammates,

classmates. These people peculiarly come and go in my life. Similar to how ladybugs and spiders

help control pests within the garden, my classmates and close friends help regulate what I do

with their opinions which maybe unintentionally harmful at times but provide guidance. The

people I associate myself with are those who tell me not to do drugs, to break the law, to do

nothing that will affect my success in the future. Even bees who help pollinate other plants, I

consider to be my teammates from track and field, wrestling, rugby, and football. Teammates are

supposed to support one another like how bees support every flower. They are capable of

working as a team and with that develops a brotherhood that lasts a lifetime like worker bees that

work together for their lifetimes (6 to 7 weeks at most).


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Durability

The part of the gardens at Balboa that guarantee that my plan is an enduring and lifelong

plan are the plants and one-of-a-kind architecture themselves, from the old and tall palm trees to

the newly sprouted flowers and from the Alcazar Garden to the Botanical Building. Each plant

has a uniqueness to them that makes them able to withstand the environment they inhabit. Palm

trees for instance, last up to 100 years. Despite the longevity of palm trees, the cacti at the garden

are able to withstand harsh dry, hot weather. In addition to that, the Alcazar Garden is iconic for

being reconstructed in 1935 to represent the Alcazar Castle in Seville, Spain, cherishing history

for what it gave society. The buildings and plants serve as symbols of my work ethic in life in

general. As how they cherish and represent history and places in different areas of the world, my

work ethic from working at Olive Garden to earning above a 4.0 GPA in school will assist me in

preparing for future successes in life proving that I am able to hold my own and still stay on top

of school work.
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Direction

The sources that empower me and allow me to move forward with my plan are all of the

gardeners that tend the different gardens. Every individual garden, being a different role I play in

society, is being tenured by each of the gardeners who help me grow and develop me to who I

am today. The gardeners’ job is to constantly provide the plants with the necessities they need to

live in the San Diego weather. They need to do weeding, pruning, grafting, removing the dead

flowers, and planting new ones. My parents and superiors in my life give me advice that affect

my mindset, making me a better person. Their advice makes me remove unnecessary things from

my life, it allows me to breed new experiences and friendships, it makes me capable to live my

life the healthiest way possible.

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