I am sure that many of you can relate to this next statement: I suck at math.
Math has never been my strong suit, and after getting an undesirable grade on my first exam last week, I knew that something had to change.
My Algebra professor and I have a bit of a language barrier. I am not 100% sure what his accent is, but it sounds Russian. He is extremely hard to understand even after hearing him speak four days a week since this semester started, and he speaks so fast!
I have done every single homework assignment he has ever assigned, (and we get homework every single day), but I did not do very well on my first exam in that class. I was positive that I knew how to do every type of problem he could throw at me, but then I received my test which appeared to be in a foreign language. I barely knew how to do answer any of the questions, and it was very discouraging.
Our midterm for that class is this coming Wednesday, so I need to figure out some way to improve my grade. This past week I have been using mymathlab.com quite a bit. My teacher had us set up accounts on this website, and there are questions of all different kinds based on the chapters we are currently working on. It is great extra practice outside of class.
Another resource I have been utilizing this week is last year's midterm. My professor emailed the class a sample of what his midterm looked like last semester, and that has also provided me with some very relevant practice. Also, my boyfriend is a mathematics major in the honors program at Albertus Magnus college with a 4.0 GPA, so I have been making sure he is around while I am doing my math homework to check my answers and give me assistance when I am confused.
I would visit my professor during his office hours for some extra help, but I feel as though it would be a useless effort. He is very difficult to communicate with, so even one-on-one time would not be very helpful if I can't fully understand him.
I am wholeheartedly hoping that my extra efforts in the past week will give me an edge on my midterm. I feel as though I am doing math problems 24/7, so I am looking forward to my hard work finally paying off. I am not one to accept failure. Failing at something just shows you what you need to work on so that you can do better next time. This applies to every area of life, not only school. If you lose your job, a relationship doesn't work out, or get into a car accident, you can take what you did wrong in these circumstances and grow from them. Sometimes we have to learn lessons the hard way, but these lessons always make us better in the end.
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