Personal Essay

Why is Math so hard?

For the first few months that I began studying at Muntinlupa Science Highschool, i bombarded with 70’s, and I’m not talking about the decade. Yep, I received failing grades in the first semester, especially in calculus, and statistics. But mostly it was calculus. To be honest, I did my all when it came to Sir Docs lectures, but I just couldn’t seem to follow the first time around. I was actually surprised on how my classmates were able to stand up recite, and answer those difficult equations on the black board. Man was I culture shocked.

I remember the time when I managed to steal a few minutes of my math teacher Sir Doc. This was so that I could have a one on one tutoring with him. Ah yes, Conic sections my favorite. I had so much trouble trying to do basic algebra that Sir Doc was surprised at how I even graduated the 10^th grade. I was so down back then, and so disappointed in myself. Why didn’t I listen to my math teacher back in junior high? Oh how I regret those days when I was basically sleeping in most of their lectures.

To be honest, I like math. It’s just not my thing you know. I don’t understand why people hate it so much, but now I know why. Let me flashback to another glimpse of my episode as Gene the math dunce. It was during our remedial in pre-calculus that I had the opportunity to lift my extremely heavy grades to at least a 75 higher. It was all about exponential rules which I enjoyed. It was one of my favorite topics (maybe because it was the only thing I understood). So yeah, basically I still struggled with math.

But if there’s one thing I learned other than sleeping during lectures, and creating straight failing marks, is that you won’t improve if you don’t really immerse yourself, let alone step outside your comfort zone. You need that step, in order to spread your wings anew. So yes I still have difficulty with mathematics but at least I’m able to follow the lectures, and solve a few equations here and there. Another thing I’ve learned is that life isn’t all about math, or engineering, or equations. It’s what you love that improves you. So even though math is hard, I love it in its complicating difficult way.