Diamonds in the River

Reflection on the day: So, we've all heard the phrase, 'diamond in the rough', right. It's a phrase that always bothered me. I like the implication of potential, but along with 'potential' it implies that somehow, 'rough' isn't good enough. Rough or rugged seem to be terms that are ok when describing men, relatively anyway. But when you use them with women, not so much. And when did rough start to imply anything negative? I'm sure Kristy the Wordsmith could tell me but I prefer to wonder. When I first started working with stones in jewelry, I preferred the highly polished and brightly colored. But now, I can see the brilliant simplicity of a simple grey river rock... Because in that simple, rough and natural stone, I can see the river itself...