<p>for one class i'm taking, i'm in a really small class of around 15 people and feel extremely awkward and lacking in self confidence. and it really doesn't help since i'm very shy by nature and everyone else seems to know each other. i feel that the teacher really dislikes me since i never participate but i'm just too intimidated as everyone seems really smart and outspoken and this just makes the contrast between me and them even greater. i really dread going for this class which totally turns me off what we are studying, and this just makes me feel even more stupid in class which is a stupid vicious circle actually. so... is there anything i can do to change?</p>
<p>I would get to know the professor. I was a little self concious when I got here because a lot of the students in my department had stronger backgrounds in our subject than I did and I didn’t want to look stupid, but I went to office hours to see the professor and shared my questions and ideas from class then. Once I got feedback from the professor I realized my ideas could compete with the rest of the class a lot better than I thought they could.</p>