Melatonin

I was sitting in an English class in middle school. It was a pretty small class; everyone knew everyone else, and we all got along pretty well. It was the kind of class where no one was afraid to speak their mind, and we bounced ideas off of each other all the time. It was not unusual for us to talk about the characters and plot we were studying in books, and to pick each others brains about certain vocabulary.

There was one word that tripped us all up. The title of the book we were reading eludes me, but I remember it tackled many broad themes such as race, and familial obligation, as well as love and revenge. It was a pretty intriguing book. We were all thinking of the word melanin, what causes our skin to be certain shades. Nobody could remember the word. We were studying for an upcoming test, that would make a big impact on our grade. 

I was sure I knew the answer. I studied for this test already, and I would have been prepared to take the test now, instead of having a discussion about the practice questions. Or so I thought. Although I was confident in the word, I posed it as a question. “Isn’t it melatonin?” I asked the group. No one said a word for a minute. It sounded right. Almost. If the teacher wasn’t there, I’m pretty sure all the other students would have actually believed that this was the word we were all looking for. No one really knew the answer, so as far as they knew, it was perfectly feasible that the word I had chosen was the answer. Some kids didn’t even do the practice test. Some didn’t even understand the question they were trying to answer. The teacher chuckled a little. Not loudly. He wasn’t trying to be mean or anything, but it quickly proved that the answer I was sure was right, was far from correct.

The other students quickly whipped their heads around to see the teacher’s face. He barely covered up the grin that was still there. “Is he right? Is he right?” the other kids chorused. 

“I’m not going to tell you. Do you all think that’s the right answer?” the teacher asked. Although no one could come up with a better answer, they admitted that they thought I was wrong. Who could blame them, when the teacher practically snorted upon hearing my answer. 

We debated the answer for a few more minutes before the teacher finally caved and gave us the right answer. “It’s melanin. Melatonin sounds pretty similar, so I could see how you might think that. Melanin is for skin tone, melatonin has to do with sleep”. Everyone cracked up a little after hearing that. Now, I can see how this mistake is pretty funny. At the time though, I was pretty mortified. 

I resented the teacher a little bit for selling me out with his laugh. It made me not want to ask questions in that class for a while afterward. At the end of the day though, I can’t blame him for reacting the way he did. This is probably the stupidest question I’ve ever asked aloud. 

I’ve thought of a lot of stupid questions. Like a lot. I have moments where my entire brain shuts down and can’t conjure the answers to the simplest of questions. But this was the stupidest question that sticks with me because of how people reacted. The teacher laughed, and as soon as the other students were in on the joke, they laughed. I’m sure they were trying to laugh with me and not at me, but at the time it didn’t feel that way. My cheeks must have been on fire, and I felt a little bit dizzy as soon as I realized how stupid my question had been. I asked to use the restroom soon after, because I needed a few minutes to be out of that room. 

This event has stuck with me for a couple of years now. At first, it stayed with me because I was so embarrassed. Now, it sticks with me because it’s funny. Really, I’m sure it’s not that uncommon of a mistake. I mean, unless you’re super well versed in medical terminology, who really knows the names of hormones that enable sleep. To be honest, I shouldn’t feel so badly about not knowing that in middle school. 

Asking questions is a really important part of learning. Even though my question turned out to be pretty dumb, I’ll never forget the difference between melanin and melatonin now. Also on the bright side, I bet my mistake helped other people in the class learn too. This will not be the last stupid question I ask, and chances are, it won’t be the dumbest one either. 

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