Colors of life....

The last unit I teach for the year is on birds. I teach my students how to identify them by noting; size, song, behavior, field marks and color. The last of these items "color" always leads to the discussion about why the males are so bright (to attract a mate, proving himself strong and capable being that he can stand out and still survive) and the females are more dull, most often brown (allowing them to blend in and camouflage themselves while sitting on the nest).

This conversation tends to lead to the comparison between humans and birds and the question as to why it is that with humans, women are the ones to don the bright colors and put on the makeup (versus nuptial plumage) to impress.

In the bird world it is the female that chooses the mate. Whereas with us, it has become more the males job to choose his female.

Putting the whole "who chooses who" aside... the conversations got me thinking about myself... and the colors of my life and perhaps why I dress the way I do. I tend to like brown. It makes me feel safe, grounded, connected to the earth. I don't like to dress in bright colors that would cause me to stand out. I like to blend in to the background.

Maybe I was a bird in a previous life. Maybe that is why I have not yet been chosen....