From Navy to Shamrock

I think I’m having an identity crisis.

As long as I can remember, my favorite color has been a nice dark navy blue. I’ve always found it regal, unassuming, and precious, but the other day, I felt a switch in my brain flip.

It started when I put on a new green shirt I bought. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I noticed the shirt’s color and cocked my head at it. I loved it. All of a sudden, that particular hue took my heart and ran.

I still like navy blue, but now, when I see my favorite green, I almost can’t help but smile. In fact, I might go so far as to say that this new green has captured my attention far more than my old favorite ever did.

How can that happen? Did I change all of a sudden? If so, why? If I’m being honest, it almost feels wrong to admit.

Green? I mean, seriously, green? No. That’s not my favorite color. For 28 years, I’ve almost exclusively loved navy blue. How can I suddenly change?

And yet it’s true. Green is my new favorite color. I can’t explain why—I can only say that it reminds me of fresh gardens, beautiful mountain meadows, and rolling Irish hills.

Stop.

Maybe that’s where it happened—the seed planted that grew into change.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s because I visited Ireland. I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. I was in Ireland for almost exactly 24 hours this last summer, around Dublin mostly. In that time, I drove 4-6 hours through ancient hills, farms, and narrow roads.

These gorgeous views, combined with a handful of college papers I’d written on Irish history, seared into my mind and left a permanent mark. And perhaps that mark hit somewhere a little too deep, thereby altering something as internal as my favorite color.

Shamrock green.

That’s the one I like. To me, it is the color of vitality, wisdom, and ancient knowledge. It’s the color of stories both told and untold. The color of dawn and dusk, the color of potential, and the color of fortune.

Look, I don’t know why we have favorite colors, but we do, right? And I know even less about why and how a person’s favorite color can change so suddenly. But the fact of the matter is that it happened.

My favorite color has changed, and I think that’s a beautiful, fascinating thing.