Q is for Questions

I remember when I was four years old I was extremely angry with myself because I did not know how to read. I saw adults reading and so I thought that I should know how too. I would look at the books, and turn the pages and pretend, but I could not figure it out on my own. I needed to be taught.

This is true for everything in life and at every age. Just a year ago, I was invited to participate in my university's research symposium. The only problem: I didn't know what that meant. I actually wrote one of my professors an email and said “What's a symposium?” (A research symposium is an event where researchers, whether they are students or instructors, share their research with others and engage in conversation about their work.)  I laughed about my naivete at the time but I know it can feel uncomfortable to ask a question, especially when it seems like everyone else knows the answer. (Believe me; they don't.) The point is, regardless of whether we are 4 or 24 or 94, we are still learning.

When taming the College Beast it's important to give yourself permission to simply not know. You have never done this before. There is no way you will magically know all of the tricks to tame the Beast. But you will learn what you need to over time. Your secret weapon? The weapon that will defeat all obstacles?

Ask questions!

Ask and ask and ask some more. And when you don't understand, take a deep breath, remember that you are still learning and ask again.