Whenever i use composition mode, my text shows up like i’ve highlighted it and no amount of fiddling in preferences has changed it. It might have something to do with “override text colour with colour”. When i unclick that box, the highlighted portion turns white, while the little bit left stays grey. Could i have some help fixing this please?
Yup, your text is definitely highlighted, in white, so in most contexts the highlight will be invisible. 
Try selecting all of the affected text and use the Format ▸ Highlight ▸ Remove Color menu command. It’ll be easier to try from Composition Mode, where the problem is obvious.
omg, thank you. Such an easy fix. I never thought to look at highlighting, just assumed it was gone. Now i can go back to editing. Sigh. Thank you again!
Thank you. Had the same problem. This definitely fixed it.