If you were to wander by a certain college classroom on a Thursday morning, and happened to peek in, you would see students in an abstract watercolor painting class. Most of them have taken courses with this wonderful teacher before. Most of them know what they are doing. But there is one student, just left of center, who you will most likely find with her head resting in the tips of her very tense fingers, looking around at others' work, furrowing her eyebrows as she looks down at her own, trying to remember what the assignment was, and wondering . . . What are the fracking rules?!?
There was a kind comment from the person next to her, "Just relax, don't think so much . . .," to which she replied, "Have you met me?"
And then there was the day when she clearly heard the teacher say, "Rectangular . . . touching the edges . . ." Then later, as the teacher passed by this student's rectangular, touching the edges piece, constructively commenting on its empty square center and boxiness . . . she thought in her head, with clenched teeth, "But that's what a rectangle is!" more confused than ever.
Thank goodness for the friend who met her for lunch and knows her (and her need-to-follow-the-rules-control issues), who said, "You just need to add an "ish" to everything."
I give you, "Rectangle-ish". . .
This class is going to be SO VERY GOOD for me.