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Sophie Oder
Ms. Heather Wright
ENG 111
18 October 2013
Colors: Pre-Adulthood Human Behaviorists ?
Colors come in innumerable variations. Each color has its own vibrancy and depth. Some
may be in the same ranges as other colors, but none are identical. People, those under the age of
eighteen in particular, are often presented as having this same property. All of those experiencing
the first quarter of life are different from the next: a different taste in things, a different smell. So
if two things are so unique, how are they so similar?
Pastels are unarguably the softest of all colors. The pale blue, rosey pink, lilac purple,
mint green, lemon yellow, and smokey gray are all strangely comforting in comparison to the
currently popular neons. If all are thrown in a pot together they become a mess of a vaguely blue
brown, a wholly and entirely repellent mixture. When all are paired together, without being
mixed, a gaudy, unappealing, and something resembling the mating ritual of a tropical bird is
created. A pastel color used correctly is hard to come by, and yet, it is all the more worth it when
done so. Pastel colors rely on discovery. There is no easy way to discover how not to use a
pastel. If one combination doesn’t work, the next is tried, and then the next, and so on and so on
until a perfect combination is found.
Infants function much in the same way as pastels. Infants are the gentlest of people,
something that is often found to be either nerve-wracking or soothing. If ten infants are put into
day care with only one adult a massive mess ensues; grubby fingers on the walls, an unknown
substance tangle in short hair, toys everywhere, and food smeared all over faces. Infants can have
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bad pairings as well. Two may make a bigger mess than ten, two may fight for their parent’s
attention, but two could become friends. A well behaved infant is nearly impossible, mostly
because they have basically no form of reliable communication, but a toothless smile makes
everyone’s day. Just as pastels, the period of infancy is about discovery, in the sense of the
world, rather than self; the amusement from staring into the mirror and seeing a reflection, the
jerky movements, the efforts of attempting to walk or talk. Infants don’t simply sit and give up
on making their bodies function and hope that time takes care of it.
Neon colors are the brightest of colors. Each is vibrant and full of life, each one seeming
electric. There is no quiet version. Some are harsh, some are gentle, but most are excitable. The
light colors are dazzling, and the dark are still aglow. Once made, there is nothing quite like a
neon color, having an unnamable pure quality that cannot be recreated. Eventually the neon
fades, in the case of the signs, the gas burns and the color mellows. But while it last the color is
magnificent.
Younger children are neon colors. Until adolescence hits children are bright, without a
moment spent deep in thought because no one lies. At this age children don’t know that Santa
isn’t real, or that money does not grow on trees. Having a career as a super hero is plausible.
Children are unique and startling honest. Their innocence is something like the purity of neon, a
strange sort of pure that exists in honest opinions and obvious lies. There are rarely any pensive,
quiet, children outside of movies. Regardless of their mood children are always illuminated. The
highs are high: all giggles and white teeth. The lows are tantrums that can be dizzying from the
lack of logic, but are usually over relatively soon after they start. The shine of life eventually
wears off, like the gas in signs, but until that moment everything is exotic.
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Royal colors are perhaps the most dramatic of colors; a blue with a depth that is
unachieved by any other color scheme, a red so powerful it can’t be ignored, the calmest of
greens. Royal colors are beautiful and dark in a way that others are not. Royal colors can be
disastrous, like pastels, when too many of them are together. Royal blue and red when arranged
is too dark, and too clashing. Royal colors convey a somberness of mood that can be mistaken
for depressing. When paired correctly, however, royal colors can be striking. The calm of green
can mellow the depth of blue, making each seem friendly.
Adolescence is the stage of dramatics. Each bad thing that happens is the end of the
world. Not having a phone, or car, or being grounded seems to be the worst punishment that
could possibly be achieved. Perception is everything. Adolescents care about nothing more than
appearance. Separately adolescents are very different than together. Some are pensive, like royal
blue; others are steady and calm like green; other still, are impulsive like purple. Few are
powerful, as most adolescents are still ruled over by their parents. Those who are, however, can
move mountains and make waves stronger than most adults. Adolescents when mixed have an
effect similar to infants, but adolescents come with much graver consequences. Vandalism,
drugs, drinking, and teen pregnancy are a few of the common problems when adolescents are
mixed when they shouldn’t be. This being said, some groups of adolescents together is
beneficial. Like the green mellowing the blue, most adolescents are happier when together. The
green adolescent lowers the hyperactivity, while the blue helps to make good decisions, and the
purple makes the others have fun.
From infancy to adolescents colors reflect the attitudes of pre-adulthood. Pastels
represent the gentleness of infants. Neons show the electricity of children. Royals show the
dramatics of adolescents. While they can be compared as a whole, each separate part may have
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similar components, but individuals are still that: individual. Colors and people have always
intertwined, as far as description goes at least; peachy skin on infants, vibrancy of children, and
the colorful language of adolescents. They may not be identical, but nothing interesting is.