Ask Questions…

We have all been in a situation where we find ourselves dealing with a really hard problem and we don’t even know how to approach it. We lift our heads up and see all our classmates working on this hard problem with ease as if it was child’ play to them. The question comes up of “how is it that they understand this problem and I don’t?” We want to solve this problem and get it over with but are too scared to ask for help. We fear that others will judge us thinking that they will tell us were too dumb to solve this problem and shouldn’t even be inside this class. I know this from experience that I’ve been in these situations many times. The only thing I learned in that time was how to spend an hour staring blankly at a problem I never understood.

The first step is always the hardest, going up to your neighbor and asking for help hoping that they will say yes. But after that first step your fear goes away. You’ll be surprised of the kindness people will offer when you most need it. Many of those students have also been in your shoes and understand that some problems aren’t always friendly. Some even enjoy teaching and explaining to others how to solve a problem step by step. Both you and your neighbor benefit, you get to finally understand how to approach your nightmare of a problem and your neighbor gets to enhance his/hers understanding even more. Not to mention that you can now solve this problem and maybe even use the same steps that your neighbor provided to solve other similar questions. There is always the possibility that this certain problem could be in the upcoming test and if you never asked for help then you would probably skip a problem missing crucial points on the exam.

Everyone has felt fear to ask question when they don’t understand a concept, but we can’t let this fear hold us back. If we do then we’ll never move forward and if we never move forward then were left behind in the past. Remember that many others have been if your shoes before and are willing to help you when you most need it. Ask questions when you don’t understand and you will learn. For those who do understand these hard problems give aid to those who need it. In teaching them you get to improve your knowledge of the problem. Give help to those who need it and help will come to you. So remember everyone ask questions.

First time for everything…

I must say in life there is always a first time for everything, first school, first A in a test, first failed exam, first interview, first internship, and so on. In my case this is my first research internship experience. I was going into uncharted territory with no clue or previous experience to help me out. I never thought of asking my friends of how it was to be in a research internship and if maybe they can give me some advice.

Fast forwarding, I was finally introduced to my mentor. She explained to me the project she had been working on and how I was going to help her with her research. I was given a tour of the building where I would be doing all of my research and was introduced to the many other grad students working in the building. At first I thought I was going to be the only undergrad intern working in there. However I was wrong there are actually a decent amount of other undergrad interns working on their projects just as I am. I have already began making friends with everyone around. Were all in the same boat each us learning something new in our projects. Everyone there is very friendly and many offered to help me in my project if I had any questions. When I first was introduced to the lab I was left intimidated. There was so much equipment that I had never seen and I couldn’t even begin to think what each machine did. All that changed after the first week, my mentor explained all the functions and purpose of each of the machines in the lab which made everything less intimidating. Nowadays I have a better understanding of how to use the equipment that I will need for my research project.

Since I had never been in a research internship before I didn’t know how my mentor and I would communicate. Before arriving I thought that I would meet with my mentor only a few times a week and then would be left alone to work on the research project. Thankfully I was wrong, I actually get to be in the same office as my mentor as well as with another grad student. Both of them are very helpful when it comes to asking questions. They are both really good at explaining the concepts and purpose of the project that I am working on. Sometimes it seems that I have two mentors. What I really appreciate from them is that they understand the situation that many of us undergrads are in. They have been in our shoes and understand that sometimes we feel lost or left out because everyone around you seems to be incredibly smart. I’m greatly encouraged to ask questions whenever I don’t understand the project.

These past few weeks have been a great experience for me. I am really looking forward for the upcoming weeks to come. Each day brings a new lesson to learn and each lesson expands the knowledge we have.