A Life of Color

Looking back at various points in my life this past weekend I got to thinking about several courses I took in high school, yes I can remember back that far. It was my sociology class during my senior year, Ms. McCoy asked us if we had to describe ourselves using a color, what would that color be? I took to thinking about that question and I personally found it insulting of her to ask such a question, it implied the assumption that we see ourselves as monochromatic and without depth. Emotions, yes I could see that as being described as a color, but not a person's life.

I had a week to compose or think of a color that would or could describe me, seven days of trying to figure out how to "color my world" that could best describe the person I am. The harder I thought about this, the more confused I got, because to me each day I could have been seen as a different color. I started to think about other projects due at school and I started to think of an art project I was working on and then it struck me, so I got out my pen and paper and started to write my paper on "If I Was a Color, What Color Would I Be?"

"We do not live a monochromatic life, our world is painted with many colors. Color is what defines our life just as green defines growth, blue defines serenity, red warmth and so on. Why with so much color should we describe ourselves, our life with only one of them? That is a limitation that I cannot see nor would I want to see. We are taught from the time of understanding that our world is full of color and there is a reason for that color and I cannot think of any single one color that I could use to describe myself. I refuse to limit myself in that respect.

Open a box of crayons, are you only limited to one color? Look around you, is the world as black and white as you are led to believe? There is a reason for color and the many hues it offers us in our life. It gives us a chance to associate those colors with many things we see and feel, a visual answer to questions we cannot find the appropriate words to describe. We woud live in such a drab gray world if we led a monochrome life, eventually each color melding together to be this muddy conglomoration of nothing.

I cannot limit my life or a reflection of my life by describing it with only one color."

As I read my paper out loud before the class I kept glancing over at Ms. McCoy waiting for her at any moment to remind me that the work was to be based on describing myself with one color, not a reason to avoid it. But she never said a word. when I finished I placed the paper on her desk for grading, three days letter I looking in my folder to find I had received an A+ on it and a note written beneath it. "It is the challenges that define our life and how we face up to them, Thank you for not limiting yourself to any one single rayon in the box."

Another teacher I thought about was my 11th grade english literature teacher Mr. McClain. He too like to challenge one's thought process. He asked for our final score that we write a paper on how we wanted to be remembered. This would be considered as our final exam. Another one I thought that we should describe how we would think another would see us as. Another agonzing seven days to come up with something I was not really comfortable with.

Much time I spent pondering this question, "how do I want to be remembered?" and just as there are many colors that can describe our life, it came to me. The next day I turned in my answer to Mr. McClain.

"I want to be remembered how I was seen by each, whether it is good or bad by those I touched in life, see me as you saw me, now how I want you to see me. Each will see us different as we touched each differently and the effect we may have had on them or how they preceived us will each be different. Thoughts are as varied as shades to colors, their depth is different, they may be close, but they will never be exactly the same. Would I want to be remembered by something all could agree on? No I would not, I want to be remembered of how they perceived me when our lives shared a little time together."

Well after turning in my paper, I went on to my senior year in high school.

If anyone one of you that read this, could you or would you describe your life with only one color and how would you want to be remembered?

Later...

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