Wanna Know What Happens When the Know-It-All Doesn't Know It All?

Warning: this post will be much more introspective than previously released material. Perhaps this self-reflection is a result of the many cheese-filled hotdogs I've consumed lately. Reader beware.

In response to the question posed in the title of this post: she freaks out.

Moving to a new city by myself has yielded new experiences, many of which I welcome with open arms. Sometimes, however, I find myself in a situation in which I don't know what to do... and I shut down. Rather than ask for help, look dumb, or do something wrong, I'd rather do nothing at all. Allow me to share some examples.

The first know-it-all freak-out was produced as a result of the need to send mail out. Where do I put outgoing mail? Somewhere in the apartment complex? Do I go to the post office? Should I know this already? Is this something people know? Have I been handicapped by living in small towns? Is that why I don't know this?

It took me about a week to grow the courage to ask the guy in charge (who knows WHAT his title is) at the leasing office the answer to this question. I threw it out there, rather nonchalantly, as he turned over my mailbox key to me. Turns out, my mailbox is just outside my apartment, AND there's a slot marked "OUTGOING MAIL" right there. If you check out the photo, you'll see second floor windows in the background of the mailboxes; yeah, those are my windows. Maybe if I left my apartment more, I would have noticed those. And I was really worried about where to send mail from...

The second instance came about when I received my FIRST PAYCHECK FROM WAKE FOREST!!! (I don't use multiple exclamation points very often, so let's really take a moment to celebrate this - the paycheck, that is; not the exclamation points.) Upon handing over my check, the ever-so-insightful girl at the HR office says, "And that's a live check, so you're going to want to cash that." Oh, why thank you, genius of the planet. What else would it be?

With dismay, though, I realized that I hadn't really had to cash a check in a long time. And I just opened accounts at a new bank (shout out to Wells Fargo), and I really didn't want to look dumb there, either. I let the check sit over the weekend. And Monday. And then, finally, on Tuesday, I Googled how to deposit a check. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Seriously, people. I Googled that, for fear that I would do it wrong and people would... what? People would what? Put a dunce cap on me at Wells Fargo, right there in the lobby?

Still laughing at myself; just a minute.

So I successfully cashed my first paycheck yesterday! Woot! I totally didn't screw it up. No dunce cap, no clever rhyme about my shortfalls; it was all okay.

Wow, this is a long post. Who knew I had so much to say about things I DON'T know. HA! This is therapy for me, folks, just let it happen.

Here's to asking for help when you don't know what you're doing--

Emily