It probably comes as no shocker that colors and I do not mix. I prefer my life to be dark and dreary. Black clothes? Check. Black furniture? Check. Black shampoo. Check!

I blame my parents. They chose to have me knowing fine well that I’d have to grow up in the mid-2000s emo/pop-punk era.

Nah, there’s no way they were prepared for the fringe bangs, finger gloves and band posters. (Picture a sunny yellow room covered floor to ceiling with Pete Wentz, Brendon Urie, and Gerard Way. Okay and maybe some Jonas Bros, but who could blame me.)

I was the classic angsty teen. And now I’m an adult. Same angst, slightly different haircut.

It’s like that “Mom, it was never a phase. It’s a lifestyle” Tik Tok trend that featured All Time Low’s “Dear Maria, Count Me In.” Now, I’m way too old for Tik Tok, but I do relate with this particular message– even if it was mostly made by people who were young children when “Dear Maria” first came out in 2007.

However, I’ve come to realize that every once in a while, colors are okay. In fact, they can actually be good.

I finally live in an apartment complex that allows you to paint your walls, and I really thought I’d go with the whole black/grey/white thing for my bedroom. I had all the furniture and décor picked out. All I needed was the paint. And what color did I buy?

Blue. And not a dark blue. A light, sorta baby blue.

I surprised even myself. I was so captivated by this color, but it wasn’t gloomy. It wasn’t depressing. It was bright and cheerful. It was nothing like what I thought I wanted. It was nothing like what I thought I was.

Just like music, colors have the ability to completely change your mood, to open up your mind, to alter your state of being. It would be a shame to close yourself off from all of that just because you’re stuck on a favorite.

So that’s the reasoning behind today’s playlist. 40+ songs to get you into a colorful mindset. Maybe you’ll be inspired to branch out and try something new like I did.

Or maybe just stroll through the paint section in your local home improvement store. You never know what might jump out at you.

Featured image courtesy of Pixabay.