Vivienne Kim Week 5 Response

1. Army Green.

2. Soldiers marching to and forth across the screen, standing tall for what's right in their minds and integrated with comrades who would watch their backs.

3. To the mind of a lonely, yet loud child who is fierce in ideals and craving for companionship, it's not surprise this was her favorite color, different to the giggling girls in the elementary playground.

4. Her mom tries to convince her otherwise by having her wear countless skirts, stocking, light colored blouses resembling sunflowers and sky blue. She complies, because she loves her mom very much, but otherwise doesn't change her mind.

5. When she grew into middle school, well, she wore her army green pants and a jacket she 'borrowed' from her gangly brother that was the same color. Even now in college, she still has that jacket in her own closet back home, thick and protective with shorter sleeves. It's still snug as she remembers.

6. Her mom has given up, her dad disapproves which is a lot more effective, but she still is that lonely child, just a lot less close-minded in the idea that girls who like pink were weak. Girls were girls, whatever colors they wore, and everyone was entitled to anything. (or should)

7. Red

9. Middle school was a warzone. She was no longer loud, but her towering walls are closed-off to outsiders, for she's learnt her lessons when it came to trusting wrong people who used her kindness up. She reads too much history books and manga (which is a violent combination) and decides she loves the color red. It's bloody as the current lifestyle she has slid into.

10. It's a step up from army green to her mom, but her reasoning surely would've seemed worse.

11. Well, they're not wrong. Mom leaves on too many business trips, dad is stressed as hell, her brother won't talk, and suddenly, the full-frontal battles are becoming too overwhelming even for the girl's obstinate nature.

12. She has a high pain tolerance. And, well, she's clumsy by nature. Accidents is a given as she grows too tall and her shoe size of 7 remain the same. It's hell on her balance. She now has other reasons of what red meant to her. It's the color of carelessness.

13. Red is slowly growing out of being her favorite color. However, it's still important to her, and that's enough of a reason to still count it as something favorable. She hoards more than should be considered healthy.

14. This lasts until high school. She learns to let things go.

15. Orange

16. Life comes back full circle. She has become acclimated to failure and the fact it's her fault. She didn't write her homework assignment down. She missed classes. She's stressed and doesn't eat. The list goes on. First year was a bitch.

17. William, her brother, is literally the most important person in her life. He's the source of her confidence, pushing her to rise up to occasions because she's used to failing other people, but she refused to fail in being a role model for him. That's a burden she can carry without bowing.

18. It hits her suddenly looking around the dinner table with all her cousins, her relatives, her relatively content parents, that life is good. There are millions of other people who don't have so many people supporting them, who don't have a home or food or rights. Shifting perspectives, she is very very lucky.

19. Someone asks her what her favorite color is. She tilts her head and her answer is immediate.

20. "Orange." she grins cheekily. "It reminds me of my brother. He's bright, annoying, loud, and hard to ignore. And depending on the person, you whether love him or hate him."

21. She's half joking. 10 year old her would hate orange. Now, she likes the fact it reminds her wistfully of the loud, brash girl she was back then. So ignorant of everything, yet so hopeful. Like she said, life comes back full circle. Let's hope this is a good run.