"Wait, can you repeat that again?"

That was the first time I ever asked my TA or anyone other than a peer to repeat something I never understood. I felt rude asking that almost feeling the scorn of my friends saying, “Dude, did you not get that the first time?” But when I turned around, I was shocked to see everyone nodding their heads in approval of my question.

The next day, as I sat in another lecture, another friend whispered in my ear a question we both had as to some concept. I asked our question, and again to my shock, everyone in the small lecture hall didn’t look at me funny, and continued with their notes and resumed with the rest of class.

After that, I went to a larger class that consisted of about 150 or so people in a rather large lecture hall. Again, I had a question that I, unfortunately, did not muster enough courage to ask in front of so many people. I asked my friend beside me if he has an answer, and he immediately shot his hand up and asked the question to the professor. He paused and replied to the question, and unsurprisingly, no one shot me a look of scorn. Everyone accepted the answer and moved on with the lesson plan, either vigorously finishing their notes or waking up after a short in-class nap.

From this experience, I learned the cure to something that has plagued classrooms everywhere in America: Not asking questions. It’s a primal instinct of ours that we as humans do not want to distance ourselves from the tribe, our tribe being our classmates or friends we sit next to in class. However, collecting the courage to ask a simple question can come in handy. You remain engaged in class, and the professor sees you as into what he is saying, earning bonus points for you. Even if it’s as simple as, “Excuse me, can you repeat that?” It’s true what they say that at least one other person has that same question you have. In college, everyone asks questions, whether or not we know about it. The same principle is true in lecture or during lunch. Having confidence in asking questions is a crucial component in learning about anything.

I remember my old music teacher once saying, “If it's the wrong chord, play it

loud and proud, because that's the only way to learn!” The same principle applies to college. It’s better to ask a question in your classes section or make a silly mistake in an example problem, but it's much better than doing those same actions on a test. Be brave and ask questions, because no one got anywhere by not challenging the truth!