To Order:

Buy Now

A Note from the Author:

Start acting a “FOOL”

Kaitlin Endres

During the time I was earning my Bachelor of Science degree, I was the black (caviar) sheep of the classroom. I went to a small public university in Oregon called Oregon Institute of Technology, and my class sizes were usually around 20-30 students, sometimes less. Because my high school major was Cheerleading with a minor in Boys, I showed up for college less than prepared (but more than prepared for the young men’s emotional Olympic Games, so, there’s that). I started in Math 70, below even basic entry-level freshman math. From there, I took several more years of math classes until I aced two terms of Vector Calculus and checked math off my list of required battles - err, classes, to graduate. The other young men and women seemed smarter than I was, better at studying, and they were definitely more prepared for all the pop quizzes and extra assignments. I felt like a fool and pretended along with them as they answered questions about chemistry, biology and mathematics. I’d even do that pitiful try-to-say-the-same-thing-but-you’re-one-beat-behind-the-rest answering technique. It seemed easier to “fake it until you make it” like so many people advise us to do. But what happens if you never make it? What if you silently start falling more and more behind?

There is a Chinese Proverb that says, “She who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; she who doesn’t ask a question remains a fool for a lifetime”. To be transparent, the quote is actually “He” not “She”, but I think its okay to take creative license here in favor of progressivism. I decided that instead of slipping away into a world of faking it and not making it, I would rather step up to the Petri dish and start asking questions when I didn’t understand. The fear of people thinking I was stupid was not as bad as the fear of actually remaining stupid. I started speaking up, acting a “FOOL” for five minutes at a time, but I knew that no matter what, I wouldn’t end my day as a FAKE. So many times the other students would agree that they didn’t understand either, and I felt validated that my questions were relevant. Times happened when I really was the only one out of the whole class who didn’t get it. The professor would suggest I stay after class. Fine by me, private lesson!!! Five years went by, and when it was time to graduate, I knew I had earned this degree the honest way - hard work and dedication. Nothing was fudged, no one else had done the work with my name on it but me.

It was during graduation time that something happened that still to this day gives me the most pride of my life. I had earned magna cum laude honors and filled my resume with volunteer activities and accomplishments outside of the classroom, but the biggest honor was to be selected to speak on behalf of my entire health sciences graduating class. I’m so glad I chose the life of a part-time fool instead of a full-time fake.

Is there something you are going along with, but not really grasping the understanding? When was a time you faked it, didn’t make it, and regretted it?

Warmly,

Kaitlin Endres

To Order:

Buy Now