How Children Are Like Nail Polishes

You probably looked at the title and either laughed out loud or said huh?  Well, in a masters level child development class we were reading excerts from several of the child development theories from their own books.  For the class we were studying Jean-Jacques Rousseau, we had assigned reading of his book Émile, or On Education.  If you're unfamilar with his role in child development education, well, so was I.  While I'd heard that his ideas on government had a big impact on the creation of the U.S. and French governments, I had never read anything he wrote on education until grad school.  Anyway, he wrote this book outlinining how he would raise and teach an ideal citizen.  To demonstrate, he made up this imaginary child named Émile.  He personified this character as he detailed how his "child" would grow up and his ideas for how to teach him.  A little wacky, yes.  The fun thing about grad school is that your professors tend to create more fun assignments and less rigid papers.  (Or at least that's been my experience.)  For a class assignment, we had to write our own mini paper on how we thought children were like an inanimate object.  Since I had just painted my nails the night before, I chose nail polish.

So without further ado, how children are like nail polishes:

1.  Some are glittery, some are matte.  The matte ones take a good topcoat and a little time to really shine.
2.  Some are bright and draw your attention; some are pastel and tend to fade into the background.  Both require your attention to them to avoid chips.
(Looking back on it, 1 and 2 are really similar.  Oh well.)
3.  Each are meant to be with you only a short time.  After a certain length of time, it's time to move on.  But you often glimpse back at each with fond memories.
4.  As you add another coat, the true beauty of each starts to come out.
5.  You must be patient for your polish to dry.  Sometimes a bump or air bubble adds to the charm.
6.  Sometimes the colors separate.  When this happens, you need to hold it with your hands and hug gently.  A little rocking back and forth can bring the color back together.
7.  Sometimes you get a little polish where you don't want it to go.  With a little loving guidance, you can lead it back to where it needs to be.
8.  It takes multiple tools to do a good manicure:  A good polish, a brush, an emery board, an orange stick, cuticle scissors, cotton ball, and polish remover.
9.  Some pairs mix beautifully on one finger, and some mix horribly.  It's okay either way.
10.  Alone, they are beautiful, but get a group together, and you have a rainbow.

And a bonus one I thought of just now (consider it an alternate 2, if you will).

11.  Sometimes you smear the polish.  When this happens, you try to work it out, but if that doesn't work, you can always wipe the slate clean and try again the next day.