A teacher called the child's mother to show her a large sheet with a drawing of large squares on it. The mother was puzzled, so the teacher explained: “Like all other children, your daughter was asked to draw chickens in the barnyard. She drew the wire mesh. This is very disturbing.” A creative child will see things in a new way – instead of following the rules, a creative child will change them, will shift perspective. This child took the chicken's perspective. She grew up to be a world famous pianist. From an early age, she asserted with great intensity her way of approaching things and has the following remembrance (Grimaud, 2006, pp. 1–2):
“She is never satisfied!”
As a small child, I heard these words a thousand times.…Long before I understood what these words meant, I made them into a family, much like my stuffed animals. Their family name was “Un.” They were the “Uns,” and each of them had the same ability to put a surprised or worried look on my mother's face.…I created a family tree for them. The great-grandfather of the words was Uncontrollable.
After Uncontrollable, there came quite often Unsatisfied. Then Unmanageable. Or Impossible, Undisciplined. Insatiable. Insubordinate…Unadaptable. Unpredictable.
Hélène Grimaud's memoir of her growing-up years, Wild Harmonies: A Life of Music and Wolves, offers profound insight into the rocky path of a highly gifted, creative, and passionate person growing up in a world that does not always understand or appreciate such energy, intensity, and passion.