Why the Color Pink?

About a year out from graduating, I visited my alma mater, the University of Akron. While there, I was invited by a former teacher to provide some advice to students, as an “English major in the real world” type of thing. Well, I didn’t have a whole lot of actual experience as an adult in the real world, so I had to get creative.

So what I ended up with was a phrase that I now like to frequently get on my soapbox about: Don’t Hate the Color Pink.

I think people—girls especially, but it could be anyone—face an unnecessary amount of grief when it comes to liking or disliking certain things. Girls catch grief for everything; liking pumpkin spice lattes, taking selfies, wearing leggings and boots. One Direction, YA Fiction, the color pink…I remember rejecting things like this for a long time because I felt it made me “not like other girls (another phrase I hate).” But it’s such a miserable existence. And in the end…all of those things are pretty cool. I like One Direction. I love reading Young Adult Fiction. And the classics? Not always great. Sometimes they’re boring.

So my new thing? Let people live. Don’t hate the color pink because you might think it’s what others expect you to do. All we have is this life, spend it doing what you gotta do to make it through.

Don’t hate the color pink!