Whee! Flashback! ^_^ i thought about this as I was walking home, lol:

When I was in 1st or 2nd grade, I'm not sure which
(possibly even 3rd), my teacher told me to go put something in the trash
can. I took the item, I think it was either a ripped up or balled up piece
of paper, and walked around the entire room, around the desks, to the trash can,
put it in the trash can, and returned to the teacher along the same route.
My teacher then told me to look at where the trash can was, I saw it, and looked
at it. Then my teacher asked me why I took the long way around the desks
to put the paper in the trash. I think my answer was a confused submissive
'i don't know, but the tone of your voice sounds like i did something wrong' shrug. Then my teacher told me, you could have walked through the desks to the trash can, and back, it would have been smarter to take the shorter route. I honestly
don't believe that I saw that route as an option before setting off on my
journey. Then my teacher told me to take a look and think about where I'm
going and take the shorter route.

i think that lesson stuck with me... :)