More Than a Color | Teen Ink

More Than a Color

February 25, 2014
By irusk BRONZE, Boulder, Colorado
irusk BRONZE, Boulder, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all."


1. Surveys in the U.S. and Europe show that blue is the color most commonly associated with harmony, faithfulness, and confidence. In U.S. and Europe public opinion polls it is overwhelmingly the most popular color, chosen by almost half of both men and women as their favorite color.

2. The ocean. Calm. Peaceful. Serene. The tranquility broken by waves constantly crashing upon the sand. Always returning as if even the thought of saying goodbye saddens it too much.
South Carolina, the ocean, my summer life. Every year saying goodbye. But the next year, saying hello again.
Always coming back
As if even the thought of saying goodbye,
Saddens us too much.

3.In Egypt, blue was associated with the sky and with divinity. The Egyptian god Amun could make his skin blue so that he could fly, invisible, across the sky. Blue could also protect against evil; many people around the Mediterranean still wear a blue amulet, representing the eye of God, to protect them from misfortune. In the Islamic world, blue was of secondary importance to green, believed to be the favorite color of the Prophet Mohammed.

4. The sky. I remember lying on the hill. Hands and bare feet tickled by the wind blown grass. I remember being lost. Lost in the entrancing blue of the sky. I remember looking for shapes in the fluffy, white clouds and wishing that time could be frozen in this moment. I remember using my imagination to find unicorns and dragons in the unshapeable blobs. I long for time to sit and to watch. To use the sky, blue and mysterious, to form wonderful memories.

5. At the beginning of the 20th century, many artists recognised the emotional power of blue, and made it the central element of paintings. During his Blue Period (1901–1904) Pablo Picasso used blue and green, with hardly any warm colors, to create a melancholy mood.

6. A blue bear, soft and plush. My favorite stuffy. It comforted me when monsters were under my bed and when ghosts floated into my dreams. He and I were invincible together and, when separated, we felt incomplete. The blue of his fur I remember clearly. Now stale and wrinkled with age is sitting on my shelf, still able to comfort me.

7.Human eyes perceive blue when observing light which has a wavelength between 450-495 nanometres. Blues with a higher frequency and thus a shorter wavelength gradually look more violet, while those with a lower frequency and a longer wavelength gradually appear more green. Pure blue, in the middle, has a wavelength of 470 nanometres.

8. Blue helps me remember moments of happiness. But reminiscing on these times makes me miss the past. Blue is the color of the flashlight that danced around the empty streets and illuminated the towering trees and casted shadows of darkness on our smiling faces when we played midnight games of capture the flag. Blue is the color of the shirt I bought in Italy. Blue is, to me, happiness. But blue is a reminder of my greatest fear. That in my fleeting happiness of those moments I never took a moment to stop and appreciate it. It scares me that I will never be able to go back to those moments and feel that specific happiness again. But blue is also a reminder of all the happiness that is in front of me.

*All italicized writing is from Wikipedia*



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This article has 2 comments.


Alli Cooke said...
on Mar. 5 2014 at 6:29 pm
Alli Cooke, Boulder, Colorado
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I love this essay, it's beauty, while having person experences weaved into it. You are such a great writer, and you always impress me! Such a beautiful essay! <3

on Mar. 4 2014 at 6:09 pm
Danielle_Cooke BRONZE, Boulder, Colorado
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I sit here before flowers, hoping they will train me in the art of opening up."

I love this essay. It is so powerful, and so beautiful. I love how you mix facts with personal experiences. It is so lovely and tender. Beautiful!