Not only did I pass College Algebra, but I did so with an 86%, when the class average was a mere 61% (with no curve). Looking back, I didn’t even study that hard for it (no more than an hour per day, including homework. I never studied past 8:00 PM, and if I felt myself getting frustrated with something, I’d get up and go for a walk or wash the dishes before coming back to my work). Needless to say, after I got that grade back, I fully realized that I wasn’t stupid. Indeed, STEM wasn’t out of my reach after all! 

With a new boost in confidence, I decided to go as far in math and science as I could, once I got all of my other prereqs outta the way (AKA, once I stopped finding excuses to procrastinate). Over the summer, I took Philosophy and Art Appreciation, then over the fall I took Psychology 101, Digital Photography, and Colorado History, almost none of which taught me anything new (aside from the occasional useless fun fact, or how to use my camera better). Nor did I particularly enjoy any of those classes, except for Philosophy. But Philosophy rarely pays the bills, and I wasn’t about to analyze history for a living either. So, that left me with a major/career in STEM. 

Since I didn’t particularly enjoy any of the liberal arts classes I took, this semester (Spring 2024), I was ready to take on a course or two that previously scared the ever loving shit outta me (and still kind of do). That, of course, being PreCalculus. A beefy, five-credit PreCalculus course. 

I’m not quite sure how I feel about it just yet. I’m about a week into the course already, and it’s a bit tough but not overly so (I’ve just gotta brush up on my trigonometry skills which haven’t been touched since high school). Once the basics click in my mind, I can usually figure everything else out. If I can’t… well… I’ll usually have it figured out by the time I finish taking Toby for a walk. Funny how that works. 

Compare that to the first couple weeks of College Algebra, and I think I’m gonna have an easier time in PreCalc than I did in College Algebra. Will PreCalc still be challenging? Of course! I’m not a math genius in any way, shape, or form. But, challenging courses are way more fun and easier to do than boring courses. I mean… I couldn’t even get myself to watch 7+ hours of Harry Potter movies for 30% of my grade in Literature because I hated it so much. Meanwhile, if I don’t set alarms, I’ll skip lunch in order to finish my math homework. 

That said, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I enjoy math/science. But I don’t hate it either. Considering where I once was with math and science, the fact that I don’t hate math or science is a goddamned miracle! And maybe… just maybe… I’ll learn to enjoy it someday.