A Very Green Color Walk

For my photo essay, I chose to document a color walk that I recently went on. Over Christmas break, I was sitting on my couch, mindlessly scrolling on Instagram, when I randomly came across a video of a girl my age going on a color walk. A color walk is when you go on a walk outside, while choosing to focus on one specific color during that time, and, along the way, you find the beauty of the world around you. I absolutely loved the idea of a color walk from that moment on. This concept combines two of my favorite things: going on walks and the color green. Especially during this time of the year, when it is coldest and gloomiest, I always find myself feeling sad and unmotivated. Green has always been my favorite color because it reminds me of positivity, happiness, and growth. I hoped that this color walk would open my eyes to see the positive, lively, green things that are all around me, even during this “sad” time of the year. I was amazed how much I loved this color walk journey. Although it was extremely cold, I was happy to get some movement in, appreciate the beautiful green things around me, and find some sources of happiness and motivation during this time of year. I would highly suggest the concept of a color walk for anybody looking to get some steps in and get inspired, so dress accordingly, grab a friend, choose your color, and get walking!

Going into this assignment, I wasn’t quite sure what kind of approach I wanted to take. I was unsure of who I wanted my audience to be or what my purpose was going to be, so, of course, I consulted my mom. When I called my mom, I explained to her the ideas that I was bouncing around in my head, and she told me to do the color walk because that “sounded like something I would love.” Great, now I have my idea! But who is going to be my audience? And what’s my purpose? I didn’t have these questions answered until I finished my color walk. During my color walk, my main focus was just to find green. Every time I saw something green, I made sure to follow the rule of thirds in my pictures, and I also wanted to focus on simplicity throughout these images, too. I felt as though making my pictures as simple as possible would help emphasize the plain beauty in the world around me. As I looked at the pictures that I took, and reflected on my experience, I just felt so joyful and motivated. Prior to going on this color walk, I just felt stuck. It was cold outside, it had been snowing, we hadn’t seen the sun in what felt like days, and I just wanted happiness. This color walk brought me just that. I felt so appreciative of the world around me, I was noticing things that I had never noticed before, I was happy to go on a walk outside again, and I just felt inspired. I answered my questions. My audience through this is, well, everybody. Everybody experiences times where they feel down, uninspired, and unmotivated, and I think a color walk is a great way for them to clear their minds, get inspired, and get moving. My purpose is to encourage people. I encourage people feeling this same way to choose their favorite color, go on a walk outside, get inspired, and gain a new perspective of the world around them.