Congrats..it shows that you are improving, and enough for it to be noticed. I did not get stripes, but when I received my blue it was an incredible feeling (actually more than my purple for some reason).
Plateau's are good because that means a growth spurt is just around the corner
im glad they do it this way, with stripes, it helps you know that you are getting better, especially when you feel you aren't and it keeps you motivated to get those others stripes!!
"I see, it's like in ancient tribal cultures where the human sacrifices considered it a form of becoming one with the god they were sacrificed to. In that case, I'll have to change the angle of my counterattack by exactly 2.587 degrees on the Z-axis and have a fresh tube of Brillcream ready as a back up."