Discourse in colour

Colours make up most of our lives, and most of us can take it as a granted thing in life. Whenever I think of blind people, I immediately wonder what they think of colours. Most blind people are not able to understand what colours are, and most never will. Such a simple concept that makes up a whole lot of our lives. We connect colours to emoticons, changing our mood depending on what colours we see. Our skin colours defining who we are to others, a symbol of status, a visual history. Whenever we see people of different colours, we are able to relate to their history, their hardships and their origins. Pigments in our skin, cooking in the sun.

Which brings me to my main point, why do people enjoy tanning so much? The ultraviolet rays from the sun, penetrating into our skin, radiating the cells. Oh the thought of our skin cells melting under the heat of the sun sure sounds lovely, but I also get the added effect of looking like a different shade of colour? Count me out. What is so appealing about turning into a baked crispy brown, or if you're lucky, an even lovelier tone of orange? Yet people go through all the trouble to increase their chances of skin cancer, to achieve what? Maybe if you really wanted to be darker, it would be just as entertaining to work under the heat of the sun in the cotton fields, or the open pit mines. I may be a hypocrite since I'm pretty browned myself, but it's cause I've been out at camp in the sun, and working in the sun for the past 5 years. Nowadays I've returned to being a vampire and avoiding the sun as much as I can, like the computer nerd I am. I don't feel any reason to go out and sit in the sun, waiting for cancer to get me. Sure sunscreen blocks out some UV radiation, but there is still the chance that the angry kicking cancer will catch you. I'd rather not take the risk.