Monday, June 24, 2024
By:
Since I’m writing this from America’s capital, we will be spelling it with an “A”, not an “E”. Sorry Brits, around here we call it
Gray.
That’s the color of the evening sky as I write this. The sun has set, taken its leave, but the pitch black hasn’t quite replaced it yet. In its stead is a wispy shadow, the clouds aglow with the memory of the sun’s last kiss, turning the sky into a warm, resounding
Gray.
That’s the color of getting older. I feel like a lot of people in my life have been doing that recently. This past Wednesday on Juneteenth my younger brother turned 17, and by some stroke of miracle we were able to spend it together despite living hours apart. He loves baseball, so we were able to get him a
Gray Nationals shirt that he wore to the game against the Diamondbacks, where we watched the Nats win 3-1. It’s bittersweet seeing him grow up. I’m so proud of the man he’s becoming, but so upset when I have to slightly raise up my chin to talk to him because he’s tall and grown and not my baby bro anymore. After we hugged goodbye and parted ways, I went back to the dorm to celebrate another birthday, this time one of the interns, one of my dear friends Charles who was turning the big 21. 15 of us were gathered around the table as Charles sliced up a delicious yellow cake topped with white and
Gray powder. The following night we went out on the town to celebrate. I threw on my
Gray drawstring shirt and my
Gray khaki shorts and my
Gray low-top shoes and headed out for another adventure, where we laughed and we danced and we joked about how Charles is becoming an old man, and somewhere hidden in those jokes was a genuine understanding that one day our knees will weaken from years of playing and dancing and celebrating. And our faces will wrinkle and form valleys of smiles and laughter and memories. And our hair will pepper and fade and dry up, leaving behind a desert of
Gray.
I think the color gets a bad rap. It’s always seen as bleak or boring, but I think there is beauty in it. It’s very neutral. Very calm. It can complement any color or go with any outfit, and interestingly enough, some of my favorite things seem to match those 50 Shades. It’s the color of the
Gray cup of water I’m currently drinking from or the
Gray sherpa hoodie I’m currently wearing or the
Gray laptop from APS I’m currently writing on. Me and this laptop have gone through a lot lately. If you remember my persona project, these last weeks have seen great progress. I’ve started the process of interviewing my fellow interns, and it has been an extremely powerful experience getting to hear their passions and their goals and their stories, and being able to package their cooperation into resources that have the potential to empower countless people like us, giving them more agency over their learning and their life. It’s great. And hey, you can’t say “great” without
Gray.
That’s the color of change. When day becomes night and boys become men and fire becomes ash, in the metamorphosis is a powerful, profound, yet quiet gray.
Reidyn Wingate