Sam Weyen (’18) is entertaining, charismatic, and colorblind. He has embraced his inability to distinguish between red and green, and he even decorated his Big Game costume with a color vision deficiency test (Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band members dress in various costumes during Big Game, which is the football game between Stanford and UC Berkeley). Big Game happened to fall on November 21st this past year, but November 21st, 2015 also marks a momentous day in Sam’s life. The title of the Facebook event he created for the occasion says it all: “Sam sees COLORS for the first time!”
Thirty or so students gathered in Stanford’s iconic Oval at 3:30 P.M. to witness Sam try on EnChroma glasses for the first time. These glasses would supposedly help him see red and green, though there was a chance they would not work. (The science behind the technology is fascinating; if you’re interested, I highly recommend reading this.) A minute or so after I arrived, Sam announced he was about to try on the glasses. Once he slipped the frames on, the childlike wonder on his face betrayed the unbelievable: the glasses worked.
One word to describe the occasion: heartwarming.
Sam was mesmerized by the vivid green grass under his feet. He was captivated by the Stanford Cardinal shirts that surrounded him. He poured Skittles into his hand and correctly distinguished between the red, green, and orange candies, while we joked, “Now you can see the rainbow!” (Skittles runs an advertising campaign with the tagline “Taste the rainbow”). He turned around in a circle, entranced by the colors, and began to walk toward the Main Quad.
The most memorable time for me, however, occurred when Sam was thanking his friends for sharing this moment with him. When he hugged me, I realized that he likely had never seen the color of my hair. When I asked, he glanced at my hair and the familiar look of wonder returned to his face. Eleanor, a fellow redheaded bandmate, joined me in relieving hair from messy buns as Sam grinned and commented on how bright red hair is.
Taking part in Sam’s excitement reminded me to always appreciate the beauty of colors. Colors truly enhance surroundings, and taking the time to enjoy them lightens any day. All colors are beautiful, and treating them as such allows us to return to our youthful fascination with the world. Adults are certainly more intelligent than children in many domains; however, I believe adults can learn from the instant gratification and simple delight children naturally enjoy. I may only be 18 years old, but I am aware of the increasingly busy and complicated lifestyles adults lead.
To all the college students out there: as we plunge headfirst into our futures, please realize that unless we deliberately set aside time to celebrate life’s beauty, we may allow our happiness to be dictated external factors. We should take the time to appreciate the little things in life in order to refresh and rejuvenate joy. Even prioritizing gratitude for just a few moments daily allows us to be aware of a world larger than our own. This greater awareness then puts our own lives – and our troubles – into perspective. Appreciating colors is an excellent way to begin, though it certainly not the only method; there are thousands of “little things” to cherish, from the warmth of a fireplace to the texture of fleece jackets.
Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses, and also be sure to pause and see the colors.
