01 / MATHEMATICS
Mathematics
Build understanding instead of just memorizing procedures.
THE STORY
First exam after the mindset shift — 37/40.
3.82 GPA, engineering — still going.
Still doing the full derivations from scratch, not just quoting the formula.
SOLIDWORKS Design Associate — certified.
I hated math.
In 5th grade, I failed a math exam for the very first time.
And that was just the beginning. All the way up until the 10th grade, I failed every single math and physics exam I took.
For years, I was convinced that I simply wasn't good enough for these subjects and I couldn't wait to finish high school just to major in anything as long as it doesn't involve math.
Then, in the second semester of the 10th grade, I decided to change the way I studied and thought about math.
I stopped treating it as an impossible subject that I can never be good at and started trying to logically understand how math and breaking down complex theoretical problems using simple logic to make them easy to analyze and solve.
The difference was almost immediate.
On the very first exam I took after making that change, I scored 37/40.
The following year, I became the only student in my school to score 200/200 in both mathematics and physics.
And not only am I now studying engineering, something I never even dreamed I'd be doing back when I was struggling to pass those exams, I'm still scoring full marks and doing exceptionally well especially in the subjects everyone seems to struggle with.
And that's why I teach.
I know what it's like to understand the lesson while you're sitting in class, then look at a problem on an exam and have absolutely no idea where to start.