As high schoolers and adolescents, we are at a point in our lives when we use our emotions to a greater extent than any other age group of humans. Different feelings evolve out of new experiences we have. So, essentially, throughout high school our emotional vocabulary doubles. And with these new feelings comes the need to express them. Though our parents and teachers still have some control over our actions, the easiest way for us to express ourselves is through our clothing. But here’s the dilemma: What you wear not only affects yourself; it also affects everyone you see, everyone you talk to, and everyone you interact with.

You wake up on a rainy Monday morning, and you just don’t want get out of bed. Your alarm goes off for the last time, and you unwillingly get up and throw on some old, grey sweatpants and ratty, white T-shirt. You arrive at school, and for some reason everyone just seems to be down. Now, it could be the weather, but could it also be you? Look at yourself; you’re wearing possibly the dreariest clothing items in your closet!

So where do these emotions come from? After years of research at Temple Medical School, Doris Jeanette, Phys.D., writes, "Colors have certain wavelengths, which can be felt and experienced. Emotions have certain wavelengths, which you can also feel and directly experience." This means that the colors you put on your body can flow directly to your emotions and the emotions of the people around you. The product of this information can be construed in two ways: Even if you don’t realize what you put on one day, it will affect the way people feel around you, or if you pay attention to what you are wearing, you can adjust your daily emotions.

The first primary color of the spectrum, red, embodies passion both positively and negatively. It triggers the senses of excitement, power, sensuality, anger, forcefulness, impatience, violence, rage and revenge. The pituitary gland in the body releases the hormone epinephrine, which leads to rapid breathing, increased heart rate and the flow of adrenaline. Red can speak to your more immoral actions. Seeing someone with a red shirt on is not enough to make you go out and do something crazy, but it could very slightly increase these feelings in your body. For example, golf experts note that Tiger Woods consistently wears the color red on Sundays or the final day of competition in a tournament. In December 2007, Golf magazine published an article stating, "Tiger wears red on Sundays because the color means good luck in Thailand, his mother’s native country. But there’s more to red than that. As the color of fire and blood, red is associated with energy, war, strength and power."

The other colors of the spectrum have both similar and opposite effects on peoples’ emotions. Yellow, the second of the three primary colors, can trigger intelligence, joy and organization but, in the contrasting direction, causes criticism and laziness. The third primary color is probably the best-known and widely used color, as it is the easiest color for the eyes and brain to recognize and focus on. Blue has qualities that completely oppose red. In clothing, it can generate feelings of tranquility, love, acceptance, patience, understanding and cooperation. However, if used inappropriately, it evokes fear, coldness, passivity and depression.

Orange is the hottest of all colors because it is made up of the two brighter primary colors, red and yellow. It emotionally triggers steadfastness, courage, confidence, friendliness, and cheerfulness. Its opposite effects are ignorance, hostility and sluggishness. Green is the secondary color most prominent in nature. It is a combination of yellow and blue and its properties vary depending on which color is dominant. Its natural connotation evokes hope, growth, good health, freshness, soothing, sharing, and responsiveness. If used negatively, its attributes become envy, greed, constriction, guilt, jealousy and disorder.

Granted, you can’t control the "use" of the color you are wearing, but this research more describes the effects of a color on different people at different times. Dr. Jeanette of Temple University also states, "The colors that you wear affect you much more than they affect the people around you." So tomorrow, why don’t you put on something you "need"? If you’re feeling down, wear a little orange or yellow, or balance your upward emotions with a little bit of trendy brown.