I come from a long line of farmers. My grandparents, their parents before them and their parents before them all lived and worked on farms. So, naturally, I should be born to grow plants – everything from a little basil plant in my kitchen to the flowerbeds in my backyard, right? Wrong.

I have never, not once in my entire life, been able to successfully keep a plant alive. I killed the bean plant required for my second grade science project before it even started to sprout. Those girls who can make bouquets of flowers last for weeks on end? I am not among them. My good intention is there, but I just don’t know what I’m doing.

I bought a cactus from Ikea last winter in a last ditch effort of keeping my agricultural roots alive. I named him Gerry and together, we flourished. I watered him every couple of weeks – or, in honesty, when I remembered to – and he added a pop of much needed greenery to my bedroom. He even survived the summer when I forgot to assign him a caretaker when I went to New York. It wasn’t until I burned a candle next to him that he wilted, shriveling up into a pathetic grey heap.

And so, in Gerry’s honor, I have resolved to develop a green thumb.

It sounds crazy at first, but I know I must have it in me. Farming used to be the foundation of not only my family, but society in general. Maybe I don’t want to drop my journalism major in turn of agriculture, but I genuinely do want to learn how to be a successful gardener. I really think I, and maybe college students in general, can benefit from having their own garden.

I often hear my friends complaining about the price of produce, especially organic produce. A bunch of basil costs upwards of $2, whereas you can buy a pack of organic seeds for 99 cents online. For 99 cents and a little time spent reading about basil and its needs as a living organism, I can have fresh basil.

The same goes for fresh flowers come spring. If I do the research on how to plant bulbs and seeds before the frost, my back garden can be full of blooms by May. The only thing holding me back from that is myself.

I think growing a garden is a healthy investment in responsibility for a college student. Personally, I know I’m not ready yet to be responsible for another life in the form of a dog or a cat, but I think caring for a garden is a good start. Putting your heart into growing something and reaping the rewards in the form of flowers and food is definitely good enough for me.

It may take a little extra time and effort, but I think learning how to grow a garden will be good for me. I’ve already bookmarked several sites to get started on and made a list of the seeds I’m interested in ordering to start my garden. I’m hoping that come graduation I will have a flourishing garden to be proud of. And hopefully, Gerry the cactus would be proud.