Janel attempting to paint Kanji

This was cultural night at Sokendai. I was supposed to paint the Kanji for "beauty", but the woman teaching us couldn't take it very long and she grabbed the bottom of the brush and helped me out. There is a certain order in which you are supposed to make the strokes, and Japanese people cringe every time I try to write. Why? An a is an a no matter how you write it!