Colors to break out of routine

By Katie Powers

All of a sudden I feel the pangs of adulthood -- a feeling which usually sends my face into a contorted scowl.

Plans have already begun. The graduating seniors will finish up their last round of midterms, put the final touches on their resume and make arrangements for senior ball before entering an exciting, yet scary, year of unknowns.

Yet I, on the other hand, am stuck in the mundane in-between of life as a busy college student.

And as I try to have a fun spring quarter, full of adventure and time with friends, I can't seem to find time for that. I need a change that will remove me from the routine and reinvigorate the thrill.

That's when I got this idea. It all started with rushing around to and fro. See, whenever I am shuffling from one place to another, and take a second to stop and, you know, "stop and smell the roses," -- or in my case glance at bulletin board signs -- I see something about "going green."

If we can break out of our stagnant earth-killing habits and embrace a world of change, you too can break out of the routine of being busy, monotony or fear of the unknown by starting a new personal movement of color.

I call it going purple.

I know it sounds abstract.

Are you feeling down? Overwhelmed after what has been almost 26 weeks of school and you realize that the midterms do not stop anytime soon and you still have two term papers due before June?

Are you struggling with the air of change that springtime brings? A new library, an exiting University President Paul Locatelli, S.J. A new business school, but memories of lounging by the old Leavey pool gone. Getting ready for a summer internship, but trying to savor the last moments of your school year with friends. Halfway through the quarter, halfway through college, we can lose ourselves in between change and the tedium of routine.

That's why I urge to embrace your world with eyes of a new color. Particularly, my favorite color is purple. It's so regal.

Going purple starts with getting out of routine. It's about subsiding the fear of adulthood and either transcending into the age of grandmothers who wear their sweatshirts that say "I LOVE PURPLE!" or remembering childhood when you decorated your room in purple jewels. Or combining all these assets of yourself together.

The color movement is a time to stop and see the world through the vigor that you are capable. Paint the town in purple. Or red, if you like. Take time to hang out with friends.

Really, in the age of transition, we could all use a little an extra thrust of motivation to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And for me, it's tinted in purple.