Overdefine

Most students want to overdefine every flower and leaf. In the assignment above, I spoke of “the essence of flowers.” If you overdefine and explain every petal, you will lose the sense of softness and mystery.

The adolescent search for a new and a reliable identity can perhaps best be seen in the persistent endeavor to define, to overdefine, and to redefine oneself and each other in often ruthless comparison […]