Curiosity Killed the Cat for a Reason

Often times I catch myself being the person observing everything and waiting for others to ask and answer the questions I was thinking. Mainly because if I’m questioning something than I figure there is a good chance that someone else has the same question and will ask so I don’t have to. It might not be the best idea, but it works and sometimes saves me from the embarrasement of a dumb question. I particularly don’t like asking questions for this reason, but sometimes even quiet people like me have to ask questions, and they aren’t always genius questions. A time I wish I could go back and redo was last June.

It was the very end of June and summer vacation had only been a week or two so far. The 4th of July was approaching, the first holiday to start the summer off great. I usually never make plans, they just randomly pop up when it is most unexpected. Last year I hadn’t made any plans yet, until my friend invited me to their fourth of July party they were having. It wasn’t anything extravagant, it was simple yet sounded like a lot of fun. Without any hesitation at all I agreed to go. Of course I had a follow up question however, most people might ask what should they bring or who else is going; but not me, my question still makes me question why I ever asked it. I had asked my friend when it was.

Of course the holiday explains when it is, but for some reason I totally forgot that the fourth of July, is quite literally on the fourth day of July. I had never wished I could go back and redo a moment more than that one. I of course knew when it was, but I asked anyways for whatever reason that I can not explain. After asking my very dumb question, the response I got just confirmed and made things even worse. They just looked at me for a quiet moment then burst out laughing. I felt my cheeks turn red, and they felt like they were burning up because I was so completely embarrassed. I know I could never forget that feeling, and of course when you don’t think your face could get hotter or more red someone points it out and it becomes an even more embarrassing time than you ever imagined.

Even to this day I am still reminded of this moment where my thinking and common sense seemed to have failed me. I’m sure I will never live it down and it will haunt me till the end of my days. I know there’s times where I have been embarrassed, but nothing compares to asking a question you already know the answer to or a question that is so dumb that it’s borderline not worth asking. Although, for whatever reason it is we get this compulsion to ask, or we just ask before our brain has had time to really think about what we were about to blurt out. The only thing that helps to make it better is knowing that many others have been there too, they understand just how awful it is and how much you just want to take it back and pretend like nothing at all happened.

In the end we are all human and we all make mistakes. I think it’s a given that we all know that there is a such thing as a dumb question. Although, no one wants to be rude and agree to it, it’s one of those subtle things that everyone just knows and understands. People may act like it isn’t true and all questions are valid, but you and I know they are lying straight to our faces and just trying to be nice. It’s okay though, everyone has these moments, the ones that manage to stop their urge to ask the dumbest of questions are lucky. Just ask anyone who has asked a dumb question and they will tell you that you truly saved yourself.