Easy as αβɣ

Before I get into the specifics, there is something I want to clarify: I despise asking for help. There are three possible reasons for this:

1. There have been many times when the help is ineffective because I usually can't follow the process of what the teacher is talking about, and as a result, I get more confused.
2. As a child, I felt patronized when being given help.
3. I'm generally anxious about being an inconvenience to someone else, even if the person I'd be asking is a teacher.

Generally, for most of the time I've been in high school, I almost never lost in the process of anything. If I got off course, usually the first explanation would get me sailing again. Math was definitely an area I didn't find too much trouble in until...*sigh*...vectors...
(one thing to know for sure: 3 ...'s = 👎)

Almost every day for this previous unit, I went to the teacher's desk during our work time in a panic. I felt super self conscious because I usually do well in this class, and this time around, it seemed like I was the only one who didn't get it. The teacher presented in a way that made sense when taking notes, but the math didn't click. I was lost.

After class one day, I was leaving feeling anxious and confused; I felt like crying. As I was about to leave, my teacher told me something I had not really thought about before:

This is a good unit for you because it's the first time in a while that you don't just get it. With the career want to go into, you'll come across problems more complex than any problem you'll have in math class. You just need to find a starting place.

I had forgotten that I actually have had to start from scratch before. In seventh grade, I needed to find a way for me to not hash out in anger all of the time, and that took help. In ninth grade, I needed to gain confidence in myself to perform in Individual Speech for the first time, and that took help. In eleventh grade, I needed to look for a brake in my brain for when my brain is moving 1,000,000 miles/minute in the wrong direction, and that still takes help.

Asking for help isn't weak. It isn't anything to be ashamed of. It's not a position that makes you seem any less smarter or less competent. Help–whether in the form of an explanation, a person to talk to, a prayer, a song, or a voice saying, "You're not alone."– can be enough to make you a bit stronger.

💕