Monday, February 06, 2006
COLOURS @ 8:41 PM
No time to blog, so here's my commonwealth essay for you guys to read. xD 27/30 marks. i'm proud of this essay! time to mug!!!
COLOURSAs I wake up each morning, bright gleams of yellow fill our bedrooms. Welcome to another bright sunny day! Opening my curtains, I see lush shades of greenery and a calm horizon of blue blending into the pale, metallic colours of civilization. What more a better sort of day can we ever expect than one ever so vibrant and full of meaning, so colourful?
Colours. Such is their complexity that they’re able to affect our emotions, our feelings, our moods. A child is simply fascinated by them. Setting his hand upon a box of colour pencils simply opens him up to let his innocent and creative mind flow to no end. A stroke of red, a blotch of blue, a tinge of yellow to create that perfect little world of his; his Utopia, his dreams, his hopes, his future. That little red cottage, the smiling pink dinosaur, an ocean filled with colourful fish, or simply a green tree; filled with joy, laughter, happiness. Or that blue drop of rain, that yellow strip of thunder, a boy staring out a dark window; filled with sadness and grief. A person would specially select the colour of his lodgings to suit his characteristics, so suit his feelings. Should he choose a pale shade of peach to express his calm solitude, or deep red to portray his strong passion and emotions? What more can be so wonderfully expressed but with colours?
Colours. Such is their intricacy that each different hue would bring about a different sensation, a different atmosphere altogether. I remember when I was six years old, my parents gave me the freedom to repaint my room in any colour I wanted. I initially chose bright leafy green and a rich shade of yellow. In the spate of events that followed, some mix-up in colours was inevitable and my room ended up with a slightly darker olive green with the same shade of yellow. It was disastrous. A supposedly country-like, serene and natural feeling seemed to have turned gloomy and dark, making me feel very uncomfortable. The feeling’s just like one of entering a car with a caramel leather interior and racing brown interior. As similar as they might seem, the sensitivity of man triggers such a different reaction to them. A photo of my friend and I after a wonderfully memorable day takes one million colours to preserve this memory which I’ll never forget. What more can require so much attention to detail in order to please?
Colours. Such is their exuberance that they are used to celebrate every moment of life, of people, be it fireworks of celebration, flags of ceremony, and lights of life. Walking down the esplanade along New Year’s Eve, I can see the brilliant lights of the city skyline, portraying a warm, lively yet peaceful feeling. Be it the neon blue lights on top of the Esplanade, or the warm orange lights lighting up the Fullerton, the ambience is simply one that creates so much of a zest, so much of a stir in my heart. At the stroke of midnight, powerful burst of fireworks light up the dark blue sky. Strips of blue, green, red and yellow explode into marvelous display in the sky. The effect is simply impactful. When celebrating at processions, performers display their costumes, their accessories, all filled with bright, attractive combinations of colours. Their smiles, dances, laughter seem to bring the colours to life, leaping around with the utmost vigour. At this point, people are brought together, to celebrate together, to be together. What more can bring people together in one united voice, in one united celebration?
Yet, why is it that colour can create such a divide? That it should be the reason, the sole reason of discrimination, of hate, of separation that has lasted for ages around the world? For years, people have been oppressed simply due to their skin colour. They’ve been beaten and tortured, suffering under the hands of people just because the tone of their skin is slightly different. Blacks are suffering under oppression. They have lost their rights: their rights to land, to voting, to defend themselves and even the law. From the times that the Americans brought the Africans over to be their slaves, there has been discrimination and superiority complex, resulting in an inbuilt mindset in many Whites that Blacks are their slaves and ought to be treated like slaves. Since then, even with advancements of technology, of knowledge, of intelligence, this “fact” seems to have remained as it is. Have they conveniently forgotten about human rights? Or is it that they cannot look past the façade of man? Are skin colours so important in judging a person? Is not his character, his personality and capabilities of a much greater importance?
To fight out of the oppression, the Blacks, not only in America, had to go through so much violence, so much pain, so much agony. Family members lost, hope dwindling day by day. The jeering, the mocking, and the pain not only physically, but psychologically… Only through the strong will to fight, staying together and supporting one another did they manage to snatch their dignity back. The toil was long and hard. Through decades, through tons of blood, through gallons of tears they fought. Thousands, if not millions, died. Yet, many people today still suffer under discrimination. Racist jokes, racist ideas and racist people still stand at large today. Have they not learnt? Have they no compassion, love nor respect? Colours become complicated, they become intricate, they become exuberant, all for the wrong reasons. They can be so rich, so stunning, so memorable, bringing joy, bringing peace, bringing excitement. Yet, humans have chosen to paint colour into the wrong context, using colour as an excuse of power, of selfishness, of evil. Here, all the beautiful and rich images in my mind start to fade. Gone is the brightness of yellow, calmness of blue, the lushness of green, the passion of red, replaced with only colours of grey, shadows of black, and the coldness of white. Why are they no longer colours, but each different colour by itself?
As I ponder, the sun starts to set, a duller blue takes over. The green trees seem to have lost all vigour, the buildings just plain cold. Everything seems to have lost its meaning and life. Ah yes, life. That’s what colours are about. They portray our lives. Be it an emotion, a celebration, a feeling or our mentality, colours can portray it all. The colours will always be there. It’s how we want it to be, how we want it to affect us. Brothers and sisters, we are the creators of our own lives, our own future. Do not let colour divide us, let colour unite us. Give each and every one of us an equal chance to live. Let us not be separate colours in the rainbow, but the rainbow itself. Let the fireworks in the sky not be blue, green, yellow, or red, but as a multi-colour, beautiful display. Let us not be Blacks or Whites, but people. Let’s not be black, green, yellow, red, blue or white. Let’s be together as colours.
he left a mark
