"You were red and you liked me because I was blue. You touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky, and you decided purple just wasn't for you."
This title probably sounds like it's from a poem or one of those friendship books you had to read back in elementary school. It's actually from an anthropological study done by R. D'Andrade and M. Egan. They study and discuss the impact and emotions that colors can evoke in people, which is pretty intriguing if you ask me. Their study basically found that some cultures respond differently to certain colors than others, but that associating color with an emotion is a universal act. This got me thinking about emotions in general and how everyone has different ways of responding to and dealing with their emotions.
My friend had been going through a rough time recently, and said she just couldn't bring herself to cry. She said she felt numb and didn't know what was wrong with her. My other friend and I comforted her with the notion that not everyone is going to deal with their emotions in the same way. Some people may cry frequently (i.e. me), while others, even though they're still immensely upset, just can't bring out that emotion into physical tears. Sometimes, I wish I was that way. In my mind, it'd be a lot easier to be upset and to hide it rather than not being able to hold back tears, though I'm sure those people would want the opposite.
It's also important to note that the way we deal with things changes as we grow. A couple years ago, I never cried. Never. Like not even when watching The Titanic or The Notebook. Now, only a couple years later, I cry all the time--at cute puppy videos, at a paper I have to write, when a friend and I get in a disagreement. This wasn't a conscious decision I made; it's just the way my body chooses for me to respond to things that happen. Perhaps this will change in the next few years, and I'll go back to my non-crying days.
Whatever way we feel and whatever way that we respond to these feelings is valid and acceptable. Never let anyone tell you that you're over or under reacting, because that just isn't true. Everyone should feel safe and accepted for the way in which they deal with things.
