Paul: I'm....sorry. Is he all right?
Holly: Sure. Sure. He's okay. Aren't you, Cat? Poor old Cat. Poor slob. Poor slob without a name. I don't have the right to give him one. We don't belong to each other. We just took up one day. I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is, but I know what it's like. It's like Tiffany's.
Paul: Tiffany's? You mean the jewelry store?
Holly: That's right. I'm crazy about Tiffany's. Listen. You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul: The "mean reds?" You mean, like the blues?
Holly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat or it's been raining too long. You're just sad, that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid, and you don't know what you're afraid of. Don't you ever get that feeling?
Paul: Sure. Some people call it angst.
Holly: When I get it, what does any good is to jump into a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness, the proud look. Nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany's, then... then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name...I'm sorry. You wanted something. Oh, the telephone.
(http://www.whysanity.net/monos/tiffany3.html)
In case you've forgotten the movie entirely:
****
If I consistently reflect on my life, my short 20 year old life, I'm certain that I get the most moody and blue when breaks from school are ending.
Yep, just talk to me one or two days, depending on the length of the break, before its ending and I promise you that you'll be speaking to the queen of darkness.
I may be exaggerating, but everyone has those moments. You've got the blues. You're down in the dumps. Whatever you call it, you're just out of it. I say, hurry to the store and load up on some ice cream and chocolate.
But the point of this scene is the mean reds, which to me are the complete opposite of the blues. Audrey Hepburn describes them perfectly: fear. You're scared and you don't know why. There's something nagging at your very soul and you just can't seem to figure out what's wrong and/or how to fix it.
I've felt this way many times, particularly when I'm trying to make big decisions. It comes up as soon as I start thinking about the after-college question which I am now seeing many of my colleagues struggle with in real time.
But there are those days, those days that everyone has, where there's just something wrong and you just can't handle it all anymore. Nothing is working; the world is closing in on you.
So you can recognize the feeling, but how do you solve it? I don't think there's a cure, but maybe everyone has their own way of dealing with the mean reds. Do you hop in your car and drive to the nearest Tiffany's? I hardly believe this to be the case with most of us. I find Tiffany's an intimidating store where I start hyperventilating at the price tags. But Audrey finds her sanctuary there; it's the only place where she feels calm and at peace with herself.
Sanctuary. Our cure for the mean reds. Where do you feel safe? What calms you down? Maybe it's a stroll around the block. Or a shopping trip. Or even a long drive. I tend to go on drives to bodies of water. I often find myself at Lake Michigan, listening to the rush of the water and wind. It calms me down.
Audrey's problem is that she can't find a real life place that feels like Tiffany's. Nowhere in the world is as safe as Tiffany's is for her. She can't commit to something unless she finds that stillness and calmness.
Now, I don't know if that's even possible to have that kind of stability. I hope that I never feel anxious or get the mean reds when I find a permanent home for myself. However, I think that it's a innate human occurrence. We get the mean reds and that's just the way it is.
If you've seen the movie, you know that it's Audrey's neglect to move past the mean reds that propels the movie and makes her the character she is. So let's not be Audrey. Let's find a way to deal with the mean reds because they're going to happen. The point is to learn how to make sure that they don't overtake your life.
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