Everybody, Everywhere: And it was all yellow

When I was about eight or nine years old my mother walked into my room, examined it critically, and announced that it was time to redecorate. I was too old for the patchwork quilt covering my bed, too mature for the teddy bear prints on my walls, she declared. This was a Big Deal. My mother loved few things more than decorating, and she attacked the challenge like a Kenyan runner digs through a marathon. We embarked on an epic quest to what amounted to every furnishings store in the metropolitan New York City area. We poured over wallpaper samples, tested mattresses in bedroom sets, and debated the merits of blinds over shades. Our project symbolized the first time I was encouraged to participate in an adult decision, and I remember feeling proud and extraordinarily grown-up.

Truthfully, I didn't really care what kind of furniture I had or where I got my bedding set. But I was absolutely passionate about the color scheme. I wanted a yellow room. And not the delicate, pale yellow my mother had in mind. No. I yearned for neon yellow, the kind of yellow bright enough to singe your eyeballs. Yellow was my favorite color. Yellow was the color of sunshine, and daffodils, and new pencils, and taxi cabs in the city I loved so much. Yellow was the bright taste of lemon Italian ice. Yellow was the shade of my Johnson and Johnson's Baby Shampoo, which mystically removed the tangles from my waist-length hair.And yellow was a hot summer day and an icy tumbler of lemonade.

Yellow made me happy. And it's no wonder: Yellow is bright, joyful and stimulating. Yellow has been shown to increase optimism, instill energy, spark creative thought, stimulates mental processes, activate memory, and encourage communication. The practice of chromotherapy (or light therapy, a holistic treatment thought to encourage healing) relies on yellow to stimulate the nerves and purify the body. Moreover, it is thought that yellow helps people become more organized and to adopt an optimistic attitude.

In the end, I got my yellow bedroom. And my childhood memories are strongly associated with the color. Yellow symbolizes a simpler time of lazy afternoon sprawled on the floor reading and evenings hunched over homework and sleepovers with friends. In my yellow room, I felt cozy and secure.

Which is why I was so happy that this month's Everybody, Everywear challenge involved yellow. Sliding into this bright striped crop top instantly made me feel cheery and light. And made me question why I don't own more yellow garments.

Forever 21 crop top; Vintage thrifted lace skirt; Forever 21 sports bra; Gap sandals; Vintage thrifted bag; TIKKR watch; Forever 21 bracelet