Color is everything! And it is everywhere! Just look around you. All these great diversity of colors is creating a life that is more meaningful and engaging. Nature itself has devised ways in manipulating these adorations in ways that suites any given purpose. We humans are not exempted on this color variation. And nothing is more pronounced than the color that is endowed to us by our skin.

Our skin has its own natural way of showing off. On a large part, our skin’s color is mainly due to the pigment melanin. Melanin is manufactured by the melanocytes, cells that are found among the basal cells of the epidermis.

If you are thinking that a white man is very different from the black, the answer is no. It is exciting to know that the number of melanocytes found in every human is almost the same regardless of race. The defining factor is whether how much melanin is produced and the number of pigment granules.

Aside from giving us our color, melanin also has its own protective function. It protects us from the harmful ultraviolet rays because melanin granules tend to move about the cell’s nucleus and form a shroud over it. If you are “itching” for some tan on the sun, all of us knew that exposure on a given amount of time darkens our skin. In this scene, the melanocytes does not increase in number but because the amount of melanin produced is increased. No wonder, so many white Caucasians are extremely addicted in this activity. But there is warning though, never stay too long under the sun and when the sun is really hot better do something else.

So, be proud of your color! And do not judge anyone rather. Remember, the value of a person is not measured on looks but it is measured on what he or she can do. Like the melanocytes, it’s the amount of activity that counts.