Selective Vision

                When our teacher announced that our first assignment in our drawing class would be to draw our front door from memory, everyone was surprised and confused.  Most thought the assignment was too easy for a college drawing course.  After all, we see our front door multiple times each day, and a door is an easy thing to draw.  I thought it would be simple, as well, until I compared my drawing to the actual door.  I had only drawn the things I use, such as the doorknob and keyhole, and completely forgotten about other parts of the door.

                Several days later, a friend pointed out several chimneys on the roof of our building that I had never noticed before.  Like some of the details on my front door, I had never seen them because I had never needed to see them.  Most people have a similar problem.  We tend to see only the things we need, and close our eyes to everything else.  We spend our lives in this partial blindness, and that prevents us from seeing the beauty and diversity of the world around us.  We miss opportunity after opportunity simply because we don’t look for them.  By being aware of our surroundings and trying to see more than what is immediately visible, we begin to get more out of our classes and experiences.  Our ability to learn and grow increases as we look beyond the surface.