Don't Mess With Alaska

My parents recently got back from Alaska, and they mentioned this t-shirt they saw for sale:

The joke reminded me of something I used to not understand. I was such a dummy. I remember in first grade our teacher asked the class what the biggest state was. We all guessed incorrectly. A lot of us guessed Georgia, which shows how the world revolves around a 1st grader.  The teacher pulled down the classroom map and asked us again, "Which state is largest?"

We still couldn't figure it out. We were so frustrated that she repeatedly insisted "Texas" and "California" were incorrect answers. It took her a long time to tell us the correct answer. Alaska. And we totally didn't understand. Look at the map- Alaska is way smaller than Texas and Nebraska.

Literal takeaway: when I was a dummy I didn't understand scales on maps.
Figurative takeaway: when I was a dummy I couldn't zoom out, take criticism, and see the bigger picture.