Drawing What You See

Do you draw what something looks like in real life, or do you draw what you THINK it should look like?
It's hard to draw what is in front of you, because the lines that make up something often don't look like anything at all. The edge of a table is just a slanted line. A person's face is really squiggly and weird looking.
Try this: Pick something, like your hand, or a flower, or something in your house. Put it in front of you. Now, try to draw the outline of it EXACTLY as you see it. Just follow the lines, wherever they go. Don't try to draw a thing, just draw lines. You may be surprised at what you get.