One Question.

That’s all it takes.

You don’t need to ask for 30,000 signatures on a petition, or start protesting on school grounds. Sometimes, all you need to do is ask.

As a college student I notice a lot of my fellow classmates complain. They complain about school work, food, organizations, money, the list can go on and on.

Yet, just the other day my friend emailed her professor for an extension on her paper. She didn’t complain and turn in a crappy paper. Instead, she decided she was going to do something about it, and all it took was a simple question. She got the extension, and now she’s going to turn in a less crappy paper.

Now you may say, “oh that won’t work” or “it won’t happen all the time.” Well, you don’t know unless you try.

You develop feelings for someone? Tell them, ask them if they do too. You don’t know what could or will happen if you don’t try. Regret is one of the worst and horrifying feelings. What if you end up falling in love? You don’t to have a “what if” feeling on your back.

It’s funny because we grew up in a society where most “things” were handed to us. It’s why I believe it’s hard to ask. Ask for a raise? Well why should you when minimum wage will be raised, or after a certain amount of time of working somewhere your pay already will be raised for you. You won’t need to ask. Want time off? Lie. That’s what most people do instead of just asking for it. Even I fall victim to this.

In high school, teachers pat students on their back. They talk with them in the hallway. They make sure that they’re doing their paper on Andrew Jackson’s Downfall. They’re reminding them every class that a paper is due sometime soon. There is a calendar at the front of the classroom with a reminder when the paper is due.

We go to a college, and it's a different world. Professors could care less. Calendar? They have no time to keep up with that.

Can’t figure out why you didn’t get that job? I mean you dressed great, your hair was blown out, your resume had been checked over five billion times, and you even came fifteen minutes early. You obviously should have gotten a call, and should be starting on Monday. Well instead of thinking about everything you did wrong, ask them what you did wrong. Send a follow up email. Thank the person who interviewed you for giving you the opportunity to interview you. Make a good image for yourself.

Dude, this is your life. If you spend your life complaining because the food isn’t good enough or you don’t know why you didn’t get your dream job…that’s your fault. It’s no one else’s but your own.

I’ve experienced enough to know that just by asking or opening up to someone, you can relieve a boulder off our shoulders.

So, what if they don’t answer? Write a letter, keep emailing, call them, or hell, show up to their door step. Do what it takes, and if you still receive no answer, at least you can walk home knowing you tried and did everything you could.

For example, I’m about to be a sophomore in college. My first half year sucked mostly because of the food on campus. A few of my classmates in my animal rights class decided to stop complaining about the food and actually do something. We were able to set up a meeting with the Senior Director of Dining Services pretty quickly and now he’s implementing more options.

Can you believe that? All we did was send him an email and ASK if he could implement more vegan/vegetarian options. We didn’t wait around for the options to come. We didn’t make youtube videos complaining about the dining hall food. We asked if it could be changed. Maybe it won’t be a gourmet meal, but we did what we could.

We did make petitions, but we didn’t need too. He was super receptive, and even made it clear no other students had reached out and asked for change. Can you believe that? Thousands of students eat their food, most of them complain, and yet none of them say anything.

All they needed to do was ask. Express their opinion. It goes a long way.

Say, tweeting, posting, singin, or whatever it is people do instead of facing the problem head on won't accomplish anything.

So yeah, my piece of advice. Ask. Email an author if you’re curious about the character’s life after a series. Maybe you want to try a half jelly/half crème donut at Dunkin Donuts; just go to their website and ask for it.

Don’t say, “What if.” It’ll ruin you, trust me.