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All rights reserved.
To the one and only CORE. You helped me find my color and share it with the world.
Rose grew up in a loving home with a mom, a dad,
and a split-entry house in the suburbs.
She slept under the stars.
She learned with blocks.
She learned to crawl,
to stand,
to walk,
and to run.
When Rose turned five,
she slept to prepare for the first day of school.
With a kiss on each cheek,
she was prepared for her first day.
She got her picture taken
and then sat at her desk.
She noticed the others’
uncolored clothes and dull hair.
She looked up and saw her teacher’s grey apple and colorless face.
After school,
she walked home confused.
She kept quiet at the table.
Pink cheeks were easy to make fun of.
So the kisses had to stop.
Pink clothes were laughable.
So Rose bought grey.
But she still couldn’t hide her pretty pink face, even behind her books.
So she painted her hair grey.
She fit. Sort of.
Her new found frame worried her parents.
CONGRATS GR ADS
By graduation, she was completely monochromatic.
For college, she packed and then unpacked.
With her head down,
she made her way to her first class.
The room filled
like the spectrum of visible light.
She looked up, surprised to find an emerald-coated face.
The campus challenged her late thoughts.
She joined her next class, with the same outcome.
The more she learned, the more she was challenged.
She became a mentor
and a mentee.
And she started to help more than just her mentee.
Her parents saw the transformation.
Rose challenged others, to challenge their beliefs.
Rose recognized, and pursued
what had always been her color.