When I was a kid, it was very hard for me to have a favorite subject because I liked all the subjects equally. Although I succeeded in science most times, I couldn’t single it out as my favorite one.
Fast forward to one particular day when I followed my elder brothers to an after-school class. I was in primary 3 then, and they were way in junior high school. They were studying mathematics at that time, and all I heard was pi R squared. To be very honest, it just fascinated me, and it then became my mission to find what it was.
According to the syllabus at that time, I had to wait about three years more to get to that topic, and it was too long for me. So I made it a point to follow my brothers each and every day to that class. On days they did other subjects, I just made it a point to sleep, but on days they studied mathematics, you should have seen my eyes—so bright and alert like an owl.
At a point, I came to accept that I had no choice but to wait till I got to that grade before learning that pi R squared stuff, so while I waited to get there, I put all my efforts into studying mathematics. And I must say that was one of the best decisions I ever made as a kid. I came to love math so much and realized it was the easiest subject to ever exist on this planet.
My favorite thing about the subject is how you can know the answer right from the beginning and then confirm it after you’re done. Most of my math exams were my highest papers, and I always knew what I was going to get before the results were even released. And that’s because of the math tricks I learned later from the most intelligent mathematics teacher I've ever seen in junior high school.
I remember going for math competitions for my school and the teachers always getting surprised as to how I came up with the answers. It was a whole different ball game when it came to math. And the cool moments were when I used to tell my math teacher his exam questions were wrong. Oh no, I’m not even boasting about this. He actually liked me for that particular reason, and most times, he only said to start work after he realized that I had finished going through the questions and I was not saying anything.
After I got to senior high school and the university where I learned that I could use a calculator to make my work even easier, it became more fun. I wonder how my life would have been if I didn’t go to that class with my brothers that day to hear that pi R squared. I probably would have grown to fear math like most people I know, but I’m glad the story changed for me.
Image is mine
