Brick Walls and Math
I've always hated math - mostly because I need an explanation to understand it. Academics have always come (a bit too) easily for me, so math was my one stumbling block, the one subject where I couldn't look at the problem and immediately see the solution.
BRICK WALL
"I can't do it!" I'd cry in my younger years, and burst into tears whenever anyone tried to explain. If I didn't understand IMMEDIATELY, then I had 'failed' and there was no way I was ever going to be able to figure it out. By high school, I had learned to recognize the 'brick wall' for what it was - a mental block of my own stubborn creation that I could easily surpass with patience. I learned to be the Roadrunner instead of Wile E. Coyote... painting my way through perceived difficulties.
Recently I decided that I need to get back into school, and finally take the ACT test. I was slightly worried about the math portion, since I haven't taken any classes since junior year (16 yrs old, 4 years ago) and I know that a lot of math is remembering formulas. Yikes.
So I was scheduled to take the ACT on June 11th, and on the tenth I found an old ACT practice test. Hmmm! I breezed through the english portion (obviously) then got to math and almost immediately started crying.
BRICK WALL
Throughout that night, I realized both how powerful and how fragile my mind really is. I painstakingly re-taught myself algebra and trig, geometry and statistics. There were some problems I spent 15 minutes on, knowing the whole time that during the actual test I'd have about roughly one minute to solve each equation, using skills I haven't even thought about for years. But I got through it. The next morning, I realized I wasn't able to take the actual test (lack of proper ID, of all things) but I feel vindicated anyway. I had my friend correct the practice test, and only two were incorrect. Now, it may be trite to exalt in completing a high-school level test at age 20, but goddamn I'm proud of myself!!
The next night, I had a dream in which I needed to calculate my height using the length of my shadow, the Pythagorean theorem, and the quadratic formula.... I woke up feeling short and confused, but still vaguely victorious. I AM going to college, and I WILL succeed once I get there.
BRICK WALL
"I can't do it!" I'd cry in my younger years, and burst into tears whenever anyone tried to explain. If I didn't understand IMMEDIATELY, then I had 'failed' and there was no way I was ever going to be able to figure it out. By high school, I had learned to recognize the 'brick wall' for what it was - a mental block of my own stubborn creation that I could easily surpass with patience. I learned to be the Roadrunner instead of Wile E. Coyote... painting my way through perceived difficulties.
Recently I decided that I need to get back into school, and finally take the ACT test. I was slightly worried about the math portion, since I haven't taken any classes since junior year (16 yrs old, 4 years ago) and I know that a lot of math is remembering formulas. Yikes.
So I was scheduled to take the ACT on June 11th, and on the tenth I found an old ACT practice test. Hmmm! I breezed through the english portion (obviously) then got to math and almost immediately started crying.
BRICK WALL
Throughout that night, I realized both how powerful and how fragile my mind really is. I painstakingly re-taught myself algebra and trig, geometry and statistics. There were some problems I spent 15 minutes on, knowing the whole time that during the actual test I'd have about roughly one minute to solve each equation, using skills I haven't even thought about for years. But I got through it. The next morning, I realized I wasn't able to take the actual test (lack of proper ID, of all things) but I feel vindicated anyway. I had my friend correct the practice test, and only two were incorrect. Now, it may be trite to exalt in completing a high-school level test at age 20, but goddamn I'm proud of myself!!
The next night, I had a dream in which I needed to calculate my height using the length of my shadow, the Pythagorean theorem, and the quadratic formula.... I woke up feeling short and confused, but still vaguely victorious. I AM going to college, and I WILL succeed once I get there.