I want you to close your eyes. Now, picture the best teacher you ever had. Think about the qualities that made them such a great educator. Did they make a difficult subject enjoyable? Did they make the coursework applicable to your life? Did they challenge you to think critically and push you to be your absolute best?

For me, it’s that notion of critical thinking that is so vital to learning and is something that is often avoided or taken for granted. Be honest. How often do you sit in a class while the professor stands there reading off of the PowerPoint, barely engaging with the students? Or, when a midterm or large project is due, do you get anxious when there are not clear-cut directions and the professor tells you to figure things out for yourself? We feel lost and confused and ask around in the class to figure out what they are doing so at least someone can provide us some structure. We stare blankly at the PowerPoint slides, knowing that we don’t need to pay attention since we can just memorize them later.

What we don’t realize, however, is that it is this ambiguity that finally allows us to challenge our minds. It pushes us to take an extra step and engross ourselves in the material, rather than simply memorize. We begin to learn what is being taught to us, rather than pushing a lot of meaningless information into our brain right before an exam.

College is supposed to challenge us to become better individuals. It is meant for us to dig deep within ourselves and work hard so we can grow to a point where we become comfortable in the uncomfortable and view a challenge as more than a risk to a grade. College and the material that is taught to us should be done in a way that not only allows us to think and learn, but also influences how we think and learn.

So, think critically with me here. Weren’t some of the best classes you had the ones where the professor allowed for open debate? Didn’t you learn the most when you were engaging with not only your classmates, but also, the coursework? Isn't what you remember from previous classes the material in which you buckled down, worked hard and deeply thought about what you were learning?

What we need to realize is that we need to think critically more. We need to engage with our professors, other students and most importantly, the material, more. We need to not waste our education and the sacrifices that our parents have made for us to be at this amazing school. We should take advantage of all the amazing resources that are right at our fingertips. We should study what we want to study, not what will get us the best job or what we would make the most money in. We should study what we are passionate about, which is then the stepping stone to engaging and thinking critically. How can we learn as much as we can when we are lacking the passion for the subject?

The moral of the story here, is don't sell yourself short of a great education.Take advantage of every opportunity to learn, challenge yourself and grow. If you find yourself in a great class where the professor encourages you to think critically about the subject material, don't take that opportunity for granted. As students, we are smarter than we think we are. We simply need to trust ourselves and be a little more fearless when it comes to going that extra step and thinking deeply about what we are studying.

If you do, you will become grateful for the experience and wishing you would have done it sooner.