A young child sitting at an empty desk with an empty piece of paper before her reaches for a crayon. That child being me, I chose the brightest crayon in the box- red. (OK, I actually don't remember what color I chose; I can barely remember yesterday, let alone Kindergarten! However, I generally find myself attracted to red objects so I'm making an educated guess that I picked a red crayon.) I think about the other kids who were sitting around me and what colors they might have chosen and I become obsessed with the idea that, had I chosen a green crayon, my life would have been very different.
Perhaps if I had chosen the green crayon I would have been inspired to draw a turtle. Then maybe Mrs. Larsen, my teacher, would have come up to me and said, "My Goodness! What a nice turtle!" And after that I would be inclined to draw more turtles, and maybe even move on to ducks and flowers. As the years passed by I would have developed my artistic talents until I was quite good. If I had only chosen the green crayon I might not even be here right now writing a silly essay on how a crayon shaped my life, but rather I would be in the art room painting my next masterpiece. Perhaps I would be wearing cool expensive clothes that I bought with the money I made from selling my last painting. Maybe I wouldn't be in Utah at all, maybe I would be in New York in a fancy art gallery, rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, letting the rich and famous rub elbows with me! That would be the life..... I should have chosen the green crayon!
Lots of psychiatrists say, and have proven, that colors effect your emotions. The qualities of red are confident, noticeable, and inflammatory; all qualities which, I believe, describe my personality quite well. The qualities of the color green are more calm and submissive. Maybe if I had chosen the green crayon I would be a honey-eyed, sweet, demure little girl. I would have an adorable smile, I'd probably wear pink a lot, and my life would be very simple. Or at least it would seem that way, but deep inside I would be a tortured soul, a creative genius, more of a red crayon kind of gal. I would sit in corners and write beautiful poetry, and sketch delicate pictures of angels, and portraits of people I admire. I would keep it all locked away in a little black notebook inside my bag. Until one day when my notebook falls out and the most gorgeous guy on the planet finds it. He reads it and discovers I'm the girl he's been looking for his entire life, he would ask me out and we would live happily ever after........ I should have chosen the green crayon!!
Whenever one thinks of green the first thing that comes to mind is obviously money. I can't help thinking that if I had chosen the green crayon I would have become obsessed with money. It would have been my driving force in my life. (Although my mom would argue it already is.) I would have found all sorts of ways to make money, I would have been a tiny entrepreneur. Maybe it wouldn't have made that much of a difference in my life right now, but who knows, maybe in ten years I will, or rather I would, be a millionaire. Perhaps I would have subscribed to the Wall Street Journal and watched the stock market. Then maybe I would have invested in something really incredible, like edible floss! Then after all the money rolled in, the only thing I would have to do in life is sit in a big pile of cash........ I should have chosen the green crayon!!!
Although the green crayon-life is tempting, maybe the red crayon wasn't such a bad choice. It is kind of fun being noticed and anger-inducing. Maybe it was fate that I chose the red crayon. Maybe someone upstairs wanted me to stand out in a crowd, to be different and bold. Or maybe, just maybe, my plucky personality didn't come about because I chose the red crayon, but rather I chose the red crayon because of it.
