Yes, the blur was intentional. It was made with the zoom effect but as noted by paynekj the white was not a good choice with that setting, I can see it now.
Very abstract photo bursting with colors. Not sure it was the right thing to use for this challenge, but I think it a photograph worth looking at. ncie job.
It's a good idea for drawing attention to the centre of the image, but you needed to do this with a flower that wasn't white, because you've lost the blur lines that make the effect.