People often remind me that I never do things the way I am “supposed to.” I don’t tend to follow the prescribed course and even when it’s one that has requirements along the way I tend to find alternative ways to satisfy them. I don’t believe there is such a thing as a normal way of doing things because every person’s experience even of the same thing is unique, but I was reflecting last night on the fact that I can’t even follow a simple recipe exactly. Never mind things like testing out of requirements or making my own path to a mountain summit. Following a recipe should be simple, but instead I have to add things, use less or more of things and make it my own. Last night it was gorgonzola cream sauce, my version of which turned out great and last week it was snickerdoodles, which I thought were pretty good too. I was thinking about it in terms of architecture vs building. A builder takes a plan and builds it as exactly as they can and it’s good, it’s consistent, they know that it works and we need builders. An architect looks at plans, understands the foundational elements and then creates something new. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but I think for some we just can’t help trying. We need both builders and architects, cooks and chefs, it’s not about one being better than the other it’s about acknowledging that we don’t all fit in the lines and for some there is a creative fire and a refusal to conform even if we wanted to. There is nothing wrong with the lines and beautiful things come within them, but for me I am thankful for the confidence to color outside them even when I fail.