coloring outside the recipe.

so i've been trying to learn to cook this past year, but i've learned it's very hard for me to follow recipes. i kind of look at cooking like some look at blank canvas, as a space to create. i like to just do my own thing, throw in a pinch of this and a pinch of that and see how what happens. it drives my dad nuts since he is a firm believer in following the rules. but i've always enjoyed coloring outside the conventional lines, because i think that, sometimes, it's what you discover beyond those lines that turns out to be the greatest. how will i ever discover a new combination of spices to give basic spaghetti sauce a twist or learn that sometimes throwing a pinch of brown sugar in a vegetable soup makes it so delicious if i only ever stick to the recipe?