An Art Class

I took an art class taught by a master painter. I had a dozen of classmates willing to learn from the master. One day, our teacher displayed a painting of his own. It's an incredible work of art, and he wanted each of us to copy it.

I was about to begin working when I turned to look at the person next to me. I was surprised to note that he has a larger brush than me and a different kind of canvas. I looked around at the rest of the class. Some students have acrylic paint, others watercolor, still others oil—and everyone was using different colors. Though we all had the same assignment, we each had completely different materials. This frustrated me. Some students have the materials I prefer for myself.

I was not the only student to notice the disparity. A hand went up on my left. A girl with only a ragged brush and three pale shades of blue on her palette is noticeably agitated. "This isn't fair," she told the teacher. "How do you expect me to duplicate your painting when the people around me have so many colors to chose from?"

The teacher smiled. "Don't worry about the other students," he said. "I've carefully chosen brushes and paints for each of you. Trust me.You have what you need to complete the assignment. Remember, your goal is not to create a painting that mirrors the person next to you, but to do your best with the materials I've given you to replicate my painting."

Authors Note: This was copied and revised from Joshua Harris' Boy Meets Girl (Different Students, One Master). Thank you, Sir Joshua. This story taught me a lot.