People will sometimes ask, “What’s your favorite color?” It’s a simple way to break the ice or share a fun fact when introducing yourself to someone new.

My own favorite color is turquoise blue. But that’s actually evolved over the years. I volunteer for an organization whose signature color is turquoise. As volunteers, we’re given a T-shirt in that color to wear, or we can choose something from our own wardrobe in the same color scheme. I’m not a big fan of T-shirts, and I’ve been part of that organization for more than 20 years. Over time, my closet has slowly filled up with turquoise pieces. Somewhere along the way, the color really grew on me… and now I kinda love it.

When I was a child, my family included three siblings – I was the oldest, followed by my younger sister and finally my baby brother. When I was about five or six years old and had just started school, I came home with an important announcement. Everyone at school had a favorite color during art time, so clearly we needed to have favorite colors in our house too.

I chose blue. My sister picked red. My brother was not quite two years old, so we made the decision for him and declared that his favorite color would be yellow. As he grew up, we reminded him of this often – that yellow was his favorite color.

And so it was.

Today my brother is 61 years old. If you ask him his favorite color, he still says, “Yellow… because my sisters told me it was.”

It’s funny, but it also makes you think.

What are the things that might be defining the color schemes of your life? Not your literal favorite color, but the way you see the world. So many influences can color our perspectives – media, friend groups, family dynamics, past experiences. All of these play a part in how we interpret the circumstances around us.

There’s a whole rainbow of colors to choose from out there. As we form our opinions and beliefs about life, it’s worth asking ourselves why we think the way we do. What voices or influences might be shaping – or coloring – those viewpoints?

Colors are beautiful. Choose the ones that reflect who you are. And remember, with new experiences and new understanding, it’s okay to change the palette.

You’re not stuck with just one color for a lifetime… well, unless maybe it’s yellow!