Yes, I’m that person. I’m that girl who sits there with both hands raised, ready to ask a question or offer an opinion any time the professor so much as looks in my general direction.

Every time I walk down to the front row, I realize that I am the polar opposite of the students in the back who bring their food, earphones, and laptops to the lecture.

Now, neither seat in the lecture room is necessarily wrong, but I am thankful that some force of gravity pulls me to those front seats. When sitting in that front row, the class becomes yours.

If you take your tuition and divide it by the number of classes you have, you’ll realize how much a day's worth of classes cost.

The cost is several thousands of dollars...

I'll let that sink in for you.

By missing class or by not paying attention in class, you lose out. By sitting in the front row, you get more use of out those thousands of dollars.

Also, you're not the only one there in the front row. There are others like you. In other words, you get to know the other “over-achievers” like yourself.

You get to sit with a group of people who care about learning and will pay attention to the lecture whole-heartedly.

You get to create a little community of five (or so) people when the class has 700.

Another perk you have from the front row is that you get to actually feel a part of the lecture. Raising your hand and communicating with the professor, you become a part of everyone else’s learning experience as well as your own.

You get to ebb and flow with the lecture and ultimately create a relationship with the professor. Through daily participation in lecture, your professor will eventually learn and use your name.

Eventually, you'll find yourself comfortable enough to go to your professor's office hours, maybe get on their good side...

Who knows, somewhere down the road, they may be the one who writes a letter of recommendation for you. It all starts with you choosing to sit in the front row.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I didn’t feel right at home sitting down in my usual seat, as I say hi to the girl who always sits in the one next to me. I can raise my hand to ask a question and not have my voice sound like a mouse from the back row.

I can feel the freedom of not being afraid of my voice and that is truly powerful.

So yes, I’m that person. I’m that person whose voice you might find synonymous with that of the professor.

Yet, I recommend you be that person too.