I have always wondered why ‘the blues’ were called ‘the blues’. Blue was the burning, iridescent blue of the sky. Blue was the mighty, unfathomable blue of the deep. Blue also happens to be the passionate, royal blue of the greatest football team to ever grace the earth: Chelsea Football Club.

Thus, the phrase ‘the blues’ never seemed to make sense to me. As a naïve, unburdened, unfettered youth I couldn’t process how ‘the blues’ were, well, blue. It just didn’t sit right with me.

“Blue is the tired, lonesome blue of long nights and early mornings, filled with too much work and not enough friends.”

But now, as a cynical, scarred university student, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the colour blue. Blue is the moody blue of twilight, when the sun has had enough, and you have too. Blue is the blue of dreary rainfall, and for those with glasses (by my reckoning a majority in Cambridge) is the blue when little raindrops linger upon the lenses, casting that deep blue blurred sheen on the rest of the world. Blue is the tired, lonesome blue of long nights and early mornings, filled with too much work and not enough friends.

A year and a bit in (and out) of Cambridge has taught me that blue is not just a simple, primary colour. It has, like many of us, a darker side.

Blue is not that simple. Not that easy. Just like its real-life counterpart, water, it is both the paddling pools of life and the raging might of the ocean deep. If I were writing an essay on the colour blue, I would say that it is nuanced. Meaningful. You can’t take it at face value.

“I would hazard a guess that you are in a state of one of the two blues: the joyful, free blue of happiness; or the weary, doldrum blue of 'the blues'.”

If anyone does end up reading this, I would hazard a guess that you are in a state of one of the two blues. The joyful, free blue of happiness; or the weary, doldrum blue of 'the blues'. In that case, I have this to say to you. If you’re feeling the first blue, then embrace it! Love it! Enjoy it! Life is a gift, and can sometimes take you to highs you can’t even imagine in your hyperactive overthinking brain. Live long and prosper, may the hair on your toes never fall out and may the odds be ever in your favour!

For those who are feeling the more typical week 5 blues, then I feel you. Times may feel worse than they ever have, but keep your chin up. Ride the waves, weather the storm, and wait with hope for the dawn behind the dark. I leave you with the words of a brave and wise Hobbit: ‘There’s some good left in this world Mr Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.’ So, fight! Battle through! I believe in you! And see you on the other side. I assure you, the sun will shine on us again.