Students must complete the page within a predetermined period of time because it is one of many skills being tested to gain acceptance into the school's "Gifted" program.
Alas, an artist took too long "creating art."
Instead of quickly drawing a smiley face or a bug inside of the outline ... or even yellow sticks depicting sunbeams, Cassidy took her time creating!
Using the entire page as her canvas to create a hair salon, Cass paints a scene of customer sitting in a chair getting his hair cut by a stylist as another waits her turn.
Colorful bottles line the shelves of the salon establishing a colorful array of "product".
The stylist has a pair of scissors in one hand and "Hair Spray" in the other, wears a necklace, a pink shirt and brown pants.
The customer wears a blue shirt, glasses and, apparently happy with the experience, a broad smile with outstretched arms.
The funniest thing about it are the "institutional" words on the page encouraging participants to "THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX."
Cassidy did that but because she failed to comply with the allotted time constraints, she did not meet the minimum requirements to be accepted into the "Gifted program."
What's wrong with this picture?
I'm not just referring to institutional testing but many of the social, religious, governmental and family "norms" inflicted on people.
Making things great almost always takes longer than anyone ever thinks.
Just like great things are mostly outside of predetermined expectations.
Each of our lives is a blank canvas for us to create the person we wish to become.
Most people ... teachers, preachers, politicians, even those who love us most ... place constraints and their own expectations into the artistic act of "creation."
It's one of the things wrong with the world!
We can never really be ourselves when listening to the demands of others.
I thank God for artists, musicians, renegade preachers, honest politicians (an oxymoron) and family who really do encourage us to be everything we're capable of being!
These are the true heroes in the world!
Not those other leaders ... the teachers, preachers, politicians and family members ... who are all the same.
And to you Cassidy, I say "YOU GO GIRL!"
