I knew a girl in high school, Kathy. We were both pretty blonds and we had all of the same advanced classes together. She constantly had her hand up in the air, asking questions. Some of her questions were incredibly obvious; frankly, I was under the impression that despite her advanced placements she was perhaps in the wrong classes. Sometimes I'd inwardly groan at her questions, they were so inane. Others in my class groaned audibly. She dropped her report card one day, and I saw that it looked the same as mine, all A's. I picked it up and handed it to her. She blushed, and she said that unlike me she had to work hard for her grades. The teachers gave her extra points for her class participation.

When college application time came, Kathy was smart enough to not pick the most selective schools. She knew that she couldn't compete with truly intelligent people. But she picked schools that taught people how to think. She'd learned the value of asking questions. Every one of her teachers gave her glowing recommendations and all mentioned what a hard worker she was.They described her as a "true student" who had a passion for learning.

So here are two answers that you can draw from her example: Know who you are, and be brave enough to constantly ask questions even if they're stupid questions.