Orange has always been my favorite color. Just the sound of it is strange; maybe that’s why I was so drawn to it from a young age. It was the only color that I could not pronounce. My mom and dad, who disagree on the correct pronunciation, laughed when I tried to say it. My mom, from Long Island, elongated the “ooo” sound, while, my dad, courtesy of his Manhattan roots, put more emphasis on the “a” making it sound like “errange.” My attempt was more like “oor-ahnge.” Orange was my inner color.
But would I dare to show my true colors? As with many big moments, it all began in the most ordinary way when my mom uttered her favorite words: “I have a Groupon coupon!” How could I have known that it would all go so wrong? Not ‘splitting your pants’ bad or ‘showing up to a friend’s party on the RSVP date’ wrong. I wish I could blame it on ‘bad timing’ or ‘bad luck.’ This humiliation was more in the “I-should-have-known-better” category. When I look back on it, there were so many clues that I ignored . . . the third-degree-burn-covered 18-year-old behind the front desk, the nauseating aroma of tanning oil, the slightly torn beach- backdrop tapestry adorning the wall. Everything was screaming “Get out of this while you can!” But instead, I waited patiently for what my coupon referred to as a “suite in an all-inclusive getaway trip.”
That my Mom's first words upon seeing me emerge from the booth were, ”It will fade by prom” was the first tipoff. Not only was I twenty shades too dark, my hands and feet looked like I dipped them in mud! Let’s just say that her prediction was optimistic. When I arrived at the pre-prom party, I hoped that maybe I was imagining the stares and giggles, but my date cleared that up quickly when he accused me of looking as if I were wearing orange socks and sandals.
It would be easy to blame my friends and schoolmates for laughing at me based on my appearance, but I had to ask myself why I chose a spray-tan in the first place. Who was I trying to impress by artificially changing my skin to what I hoped would be a golden glow? Clearly, I was aiming to gain confidence from a superficial perspective instead of looking within. Now I had no choice but to live with my mistake and embrace my inner “oo-range.” So, instead of dwelling on the fact that I resembled a traffic cone... I decided to have a little fun with it. I embraced the irony of my situation and made sure as I danced that I was no longer hiding my orange hands and feet but was flaunting them.
After that night, I realized that not only is it important to accept responsibility for my own actions, but also to try and make the best of even the most unfortunate situations. After numerous Google searches, I learned that orange embodies the personality traits that I think I value most about myself: effervescence, vivaciousness, and caring. So maybe it was meant to be that my orange skin finally matched who I was on the inside. Call it what you will, a crazy mishap or flat out mistake. But I wouldn't change a single thing about my first, and only, spray-tanning experience. Yes, I turned a couple of heads in the process, but I am glad I did. In the end, embracing my individuality is the most important thing I learned. If I could walk away from my experience with any words of wisdom, it is that sometimes the worst predicaments turn out to be the best memories. So, experiment...and I mean playing with a little color never does any harm.
