Seriously, Learn Math. It'll Change Your Life

Hi, so freshman year summer, I jumped into CyberMath Academy. Straight up, my first class was intense. Felt like I was in way over my head with all these brainy kids and teachers. For a few weeks, I was totally lost, thinking I’d never get it. But slowly, AoPS flipped the script. It taught me to actually like grinding through math, even when it worked.

$math work in harward campus$ Math isn’t just for the geniuses.

The biggest lie people believe is that being good at math is some natural-born talent. My high school buddies would clown on me for being a math nerd. They just assumed it was easy for me, but the truth is, it was the opposite. Math didn’t come naturally. It was something I constantly worked at. For every rule I could explain, there were like a million problems I messed up before it finally clicked. People act like you either “get” math or you don’t. But most of it isn’t about some magic brainpower; it’s about how you tackle learning. If you go into math thinking you’re gonna fail, you probably will. Just like anything else, getting good takes practice. There are tons of super smart mathematicians out there, but they all started at square one, just like us.

Math teaches you unexpected skills.

For me, the coolest part of CyberMath Academy was the monthly writing problem. It made me explain my steps and taught me a unique way to communicate. I still catch myself using that specific writing style I picked up while typing out math proofs for those classes. Usually, writing and math are seen as total opposites. You don’t exactly picture mathematicians as poets. But I’ve found they overlap all the time. Who knows if a math whiz like Newton would’ve been such a big writer and philosopher if he hadn’t done math, or the other way around? Math can seriously broaden your mind in ways you wouldn’t expect.

Math builds toughness.

I spent whole July wrestling with those CyberMath Academy Summer Camp challenge problems. Some kids could breeze through the weekly stuff in minutes. Me? I’d often spend hours on the tougher ones. But I don’t regret a single minute of learning to solve problems and write proofs. That process taught me to patiently push through stuff even when I’m clueless. I learned to be okay with struggling and not knowing the answer right away. By tackling problems we don’t know how to solve, we get more patient, build stamina, and learn to adapt to new situations. Basically, the more we struggle now, the stronger we’ll be later. Math can teach you to be resilient when life throws curveballs.

Math is actually creative.

People rarely think of math as creative. Usually, it’s seen as cold and calculating , totally different from art or English. But you can learn a ton about creativity by studying math. For example, when ten different students write a Calculus proof, no two will be exactly the same. Sometimes they explain similar ideas in their own words, but other times, kids come up with totally unique proofs that are clear and smart. Math lets you explore the connection between creativity and structure. You learn how creativity thrives within a framework, whether it’s a proof, a government, art, or anything else in SummerMath Camp at CyberMath Academy .

Math skills are useful everywhere.

When people found out I was taking and actually enjoying hard math classes in high school, they always assumed I’d major in science or engineering in college. But guess what? I’m an Anthropology major at a liberal arts school. It’s important to know that not all CyberMath Academy kids end up being math majors. Advanced math classes aren’t just for future math professors. Anyone who’s curious about math can dive in and still chase other passions. The skills you learn from solving math problems apply to everything in life. Critical thinking is key, no matter what you do. The resilience I learned wrestling with those challenge problems now helps me when I’m struggling to put my thoughts into words for a paper. The structure I learned writing geometry proofs now helps me approach studying different cultures in creative ways. Problem-solving is an talent you learn in math, but it has the power to help you in all aspects of your life. Sam (CyberMath Academy Student – 2019)