Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.- Johnny Cash
Johnny had his reasons for what he did - and so does 1DOS Foundation. The red shirts are special to us for a couple reasons, but the main one is that it makes us stand out. For many of us, in our years of obesity and struggling with overall wellness, we would hide ourselves, hide our bodies, hide who we were. Our clothing was our camouflage. I wrote about this experience, and my coming to terms with it, here.
The red shirt is the exact opposite - it's us standing up, standing out, and letting the world know that we are here, and we are a force to be reckoned with. Red is about standing tall, shoulders back, in a mental power pose. Red is the embodiment of "We Got You, You Got This".
There is something about that power pose, that "look at me" red, that makes us feel more in control of our own lives. When we feel more in control, we can crush those goals we once thought were unattainable. The camouflage is dropped; we are owning who we were meant to be and unapologetically telling the world "I'm here!"
When the Shiver is in effect and the red shirts are swarming, the power pose is even stronger. We see the red around us and know we aren't swimming alone.
So when you wonder why we wear the red, it shouldn't be too hard to remember. In the red, we are unforgettable!