I See Colors

Today is green. I decided that as soon as I saw the cold winter sunlight pouring in through the window. Today is that really relaxing kind of cucumber green that means meditation and no worries and wet hair because you're too lazy to dry it. It's a summer kind of day, but it's not, because it's a winter kind of day. It's a day where I can be myself and not worry about how that will effect other people.

I'm sick today. Ugh... Didn't I see it coming? I just knew. But in a way, I'm grateful. Being sick means I have an excuse not to do anything. Not even the English project that I accidentally left at school (oops). So, as part of my non-activity, I've decided to write an entry about colors.

You've probably guessed what I'm going to say already, just by reading the heading on this entry. But let me explain. I'm not the kind of person who spends their time surfing the net, looking up disorders and self-diagnosing themselves, mainly to get attention. (I actually don't really know anybody who's like that, but that isn't the point.) I've told people this before, but they either make fun of me (thinking that I'm the kind of person I just explained I'm not), or they agree in that way that makes you feel like a little kid, being indulged. But I'm going to throw all caution to the wind today, because it's a green day. I'll tell you something about myself.

Synethesia- a condition is which one sense is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses. (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/syne.html)
For example, seeing letters and numbers in color.
Now, I'm not saying that I'm a synethete. That's taking it a little far, don't you think? But I think that it's possible. When I think of letters and numbers, I see them in colors. If I see a word in a color, and it doesn't match with the color I know it should be, then it feels really wrong. The colors of the numbers and letters never change, although some of the hues are hard to explain with words. When I listen to music, the sounds have colors to me, and this is even more realistic than seeing letters in color. And for me, feelings are colored too.
I don't want to say that I have this condition. First off, because it sounds crazy. But also because it is very possible that I just have and over-active imagination.
But If I do have it, I wouldn't be surprised. Synethetes tend to have certain traits, such as:

• It occurs in women more than men
• The people who have it are often left-handed
• They are of normal to above average intelligence
• They inherit it from family member

I meet 3 of the 4 requirements, and the forth one (the inherited one) I wouldn't know. But like I said, it's very unlikely. Only 200 out of every 100,000 people have this condition.

Even if I don't have it, I enjoy my colored perceptions, and I think that synethesia is extremely interesting. I can appreciate it with an artists eye. If you're interested in learning more, the link above is where I got all of my information, and there is even more cool stuff on the website. Check it out.

If you're interested, here is what a sentence would look like to me synethetically. Some colors predominate others, making one word be tinted a certain way.

I see letters in colors. This condition is called Synethesia.

Thanks for reading! I hope you don't think I'm a freak.

--Kacie Renn