As it turns out, the first piece of work I ever handed in was a lemon.
I remember my first day at school. The teacher gave out butchers paper and crayons and asked us all to draw an orange. So I set to work, drawing a nice oval shape and then filling it (without going outside the lines) with yellow coloured crayon. I was very proud of my lemon.
At the end of the lesson, one by one, we stacked our artwork on the teacher's desk. I watched her take one boring orange after another and place her generous red tick on each. I sat crossed legged on the carpet, eager for her to come across my refreshing lemon surprise.
The moment came. My lemon was unveiled and the teacher's face darkened.
WHOSE IS THIS!? she called across the room, waving my art in the air, setting her evil eyes on my face. THIS IS NOT AN ORANGE. IT IS A LEMON! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DRAW AN ORANGE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!
Now all eyes were on me and I watched as the teacher dropped my lemon into the waste paper basket.
I was devastated! How can it have gone so horribly wrong? Didn't she understand?! It was my best work yet! It was my surprise, a gift for her, my reaching out! Orange smorange!
But she didn’t see it that way.
So, I say THANK YOU to all the teachers who, over the years, accepted my lemons.
Love Jo X
jojobee
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