"Rosebuds" by Elena Goodrow

My Mom ran many races when I was younger. There’s a local nonprofit here in Georgia called Miles for Cystic Fibrosis, they work with a few races each here to raise money for CF. Their team name was “65 Roses.” My Mom loved running and it was a fun way for her to get out into the community and interact with other CF families. My five year old self was not pleased about the fact that I was not included. The races were only for adults, why couldn’t kids have the chance to help raise money and find their community too? I told my Mom I thought it wasn’t fair and there should be a running team for kids too. My Mom agreed, and so we teamed up with Miles for CF and started our own team. We called it, “Rosebuds.”

At five years old I had founded Rosebuds and continued to help run it for the next 7 years or so. I traveled around the state of Georgia speaking to crowds of hundreds, telling them about the team I founded and why it was important to me. I was part of the business meeting with all the adults, and while none of them took me seriously I knew they would see one day that my thoughts were just as important. (Spoiler alert… they never did.) I longed to grow up so that maybe people would listen to me. One day people wouldn’t chuckle when I told them I came up with Rosebuds. Everyone looked down on the little girl with big ideas and a strong passion for the community. That was a grave mistake on their part, because soon Rosebuds would no longer be theirs. 

The years went on - race after race, meeting after meeting, one argument after the next. I wanted Rosebuds to grow and flourish, they wanted it to stay the same. I brought so many kids into the community, for once there was something for siblings and friends to do. Instead of just watching their loved ones with CF struggle, they could be a part of something beautiful and help to raise funds while strengthening the community. These kids started to grow up and it was time for a change. I wanted to give them more than just a “fun run” after the adult race. I wanted to have dance parties, obstacle courses, bouncy houses, and all sorts of fun ways to get moving together. I proposed these ideas at the meetings just to get shot down. Rosebuds attendance levels were starting to dwindle, but they seemed to be willing to watch the downfall happen without taking action. I was furious. I couldn’t understand why they weren’t seeing eye to eye with me, there was so much growth potential that would help so many help stay connected with us and their community. To this day I’m still not sure why they seemed to not care. They just didn’t take me seriously, I was too young. 

Rosebuds was so important to me, it was a community I created to help people feel seen and included. I wanted to show the world that kids needed to be heard. No matter how hard I tried, I don’t think they ever really heard me. One day they invited me and my Mom to a fancy restaurant in Atlanta, they offered to treat us to lunch. I think my Mom knew what was coming, but I wasn’t ready. That was the day they told us they were shutting down Rosebuds. I was frozen, I couldn’t even reason with them. They were taking my creation from me, taking something I worked hard to build and destroying it. I barely remember that meeting, I just remember the look on their faces when they looked into the eyes of an eleven year old girl and told her they were shutting down her team. After that everything went blank. I remember getting in the car with my Mom to leave and she kept saying, “We don’t need them, let’s start our own team. We’ll find a way to build the community again. We’ll figure it out, Elena.” I stared out the window with tears in my eyes the whole way home.

The end of Rosebuds was a pivotal moment in my life. I was sad for a while, but I was also so proud of all the amazing events I helped to run. I was glad I got a chance to connect with that community in a new way. Now it was time for change. After lots of brainstorming I decided I wanted my next fundraising endeavor to involve music. Music has always been so important in my life and I wanted to incorporate that with the CF community. That is when I started my music festival, Salt Fest. I won’t get into all that right now but feel free to look into that here: https://www.elenagoodrow.com/salt-fest

This past week I got a tattoo of a rosebud. This is my constant reminder to appreciate all the growth that happens in life. Rosebuds taught me how to fight for myself and stand up for what I believe in. It taught me how to manage events which is something I’ve come to love doing. It taught me the value of community which has continued to be the cornerstone of my life. It reminds me to be inclusive and always help others feel seen and appreciated while also prioritizing my own needs. The rosebud encapsulates so much of who I was, who I am, and who I want to be. I drove 6 hours to get this tattoo from the same artist Ashley has gotten her tattoos from, I couldn’t imagine it being done by anyone else. It was a magical experience and I’m so happy with this incredible piece of art. 💜