Of Diamonds and Squares

An elementary school teacher of mine once distributed a series of puzzles to everyone in the class. I wish I could explain this act as something grand, something of the ages – like a new psychologically-approved study to increase brain power 40% – but in reality she handed out little Ziploc baggies filled with brightly colored blocks of varying shapes which we were told to assemble into a square. After what seemed like hours staring at what perpetually returned to a light blue pile on my desk, hoping somehow the blocks would melt together cohesively, I managed to fit the blocks together into a perfect diamond. The resulting feeling was twofold: relief at having created something discernible, and disappointment at having created the wrong shape. These feelings quickly amalgamated into something resembling pride and excitement when my friend Kory brought to my attention that by turning the supposed "diamond" around so one of the elongated sides became parallel with the desk's horizontal pencil holder, the shape would magically transform into a square. Amazed, embarrassed, and thankful to Kory, I gathered my prize (probably something sweet and holiday-related – my favorite), and moved on to a new shape or maybe we gave up on the puzzle altogether and watched the most appropriate holiday special of Charlie Brown.

I guess what I'm trying to say through a painfully dull and minor memory is that it's all about perspective. And this concept has been something I have clearly struggled with since the days when learning was still a bright, messy pile of blocks on a desk. And sometimes it takes that one person to nudge you along by offering new perspectives. It is a key ingredient in transforming diamonds into squares. It has been about two weeks into the experience of living in a new city, trying to find out what it is I truly want, and, honestly, a slight hint at which shapes I've already built doesn't sound half bad right now.