October 11, 2021

When I was young, my parents referred to me as their “flower child.” The “hippie” of the family. When we would go to a playground, and my three siblings would throw around a baseball, I would often be found on the swings kicking my legs as high as I could, hopeful that I would reach the clouds. I loved to dance in front of mirrors and choreograph routines. I loved to color with paper and markers, outlining, shading, and highlighting, overwhelmed with excitement every time I picked up a different color from my new Crayola 64-Count Crayon Box. I had an innate appreciation for artistic creation and what it stood for. Colors gave me a sense of ease - they made me happy. I gravitated toward yellow specifically, the color inducing within me a feeling of calm optimism. And although this feeling was not one I intended to stray from, with maturation, I developed newly found interests in more science-based subjects, clinging to the concrete formulas and mathematical equations of STEM, rather than the joy and positivity of yellow. I began to become impressed by patterns and sequences, and I loved to learn. Soon enough, order and structure guided my every step.

As my school work became more complex, I dedicated more time to my studies. Simultaneously, that little girl who appreciated color vanished. The COVID-19 pandemic put the world on pause: one that many needed. However, students like myself became deprived of a component that makes the University of Michigan so unique: yellowness. My freshman year, I didn’t get to sit in a crowd in the Big House. I didn’t scream at the top of my lungs every time a touchdown was scored. I didn’t get to throw my fist in the air as I joined the rest of the stadium in singing ‘Hail to the Victors’. I didn’t feel hopeful. I felt colorless.  

My incoming Sophomore year has been accompanied by more hope due to my exposure to and appreciation of yellow. This year, on September 4th, I woke up for my first game at 6:30 a.m. I rolled out of bed and immediately began to get ready. Music blasting and overcome by excitement, I was proud to be a Michigan Wolverine. To be completely honest, I had not experienced this feeling since opening my acceptance letter. My friends and I took pictures, our outfits coordinating with different shades of yellow (or as we Wolverines like to say, “maize”), and as I stepped foot in the Big House for the first time, I was invited by the shining yellow sun warming my skin; I had been waiting for this moment. Yellow apparel seemed to fill every corner of the stadium. It moved me. I felt like that little girl again. I felt my appreciation for color, for yellow.

Students and loyal fans wave their pom poms in the air each sunny Saturday, allowing yellow to once again radiate its lingering positive energy and good vibes. Once again, I feel hopeful about overcoming challenges placed before me, and, most importantly, having people that have my back every step of the way. It provides a sense of unity, creating and embodying the bond of a special community. It is a community that is strong and motivated, and one I always will be proud to be a part of. This community is the University of Michigan. This community is happy, cheerful, energized, and bonded. This community is YELLOW.