I want to tell a story about a personal accomplishment that I am experiencing this year due to
hard work. In 2020 my math level was 0. I did not go beyond my 9th grade of school and had no
math training due to the dropping out of school early.
I studied for my GED in mid-2020 and suddenly passed.
Later, in early 2021, I enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and had to do a math placement because I never attempted high school. The result of this test was that I had to take an algebra class before I could take the pre-calculus, which is the requirement of my CS program. I studied math really hard all summer and ended up being in a pre-calculus class, which was something crazy for me because this summer of 2021 was the first time attending a math class in my life.
Today, I passed my final pre-calculus exam and achieved an overall pass rate of 96% in this class. I made one of my weaknesses, one of my strengths by working hard at it. I'm neither perfect nor a mathematician, but I get better by working hard. Because, like many fields, mathematics is all about practicing to be better. The more you practice, the better you become. In parallel, I passed 4 other courses this semester; Art History 101, Human Development 101, Computer Science Python Course, and CIS CCNA-2 Course. In each class, I achieved no less than 92% overall grade which ends the fall semester with a cumulative GPA of 4.0.
In the spring semester, I will be in calculus class. It's a little scary, but as always, I will do my best to be the best version of myself and be successful in this class. I want to leave you here with a recommendation for a book I am reading. The name of the book is "A Mind for Numbers, How to excel at math and science". Don't be biased by the name, it's not just a math and science book. You may be familiar with the course on Coursera “Learning how to Learn”. This book is from the author of the course and can be read on its own or in addition to this course. It will guide you through techniques for learning and achieving success in math and science or whatever subject you are studying. Here is a page of the book about procrastination and discomfort. Enjoy.