1. Bismillah

I am old, possibly older than you, dear reader. It has come to me, however, that on the subject of learning, age does not matter at all. Thus, I have taken to myself the promise that no matter what happens, that I will learn math - algebra especially - before I reach the end of my days.

Math, to me, is like an apex atop a mountain that I have yet to reach. It is by no means an enemy to me but I dislike the fact that the thought of it gives me this uncomfortable feeling of dejection. I shall like a future where, when I think of algebra, that it will instead give me happy thoughts and waves of positive emotions.

It began, really, from way back. Perhaps growing up, I may have heard a number of people expressing their dislike of math and that may have caused my lack of inclination to it. They said that it was too hard to grasp. Perhaps those words were subconsciously etched in my thought system such that when I finally encountered math, I found myself quite reluctant to embrace it. Arithmetic, I mean the basic operations, did not seem to be so difficult. Later as I advanced further in my studies, I saw the gaps in my learning and realized that my foundations could not withstand the heavy topics of algebra.

More recently, there were those who told me that algebra was easy. When I asked them to explain so that I could understand, they could not go beyond merely showing me how they solve algebraic problems. Later they admitted that solving the "math" of it is easy but the application of it, in other words, solving real everyday problems that require algebra, is not easy.

This is, perhaps, why I believe that I have to learn math on my own, as a personal journey, not as a mere subject that I need to get a passing grade for in university. It is too much of a stretch if I were to say that I should be majoring in it. At my level right now, it is unlikely that any math department is going to accept me.

Thankfully there are plenty of online resources in math which I can browse through and study at my pace. Some require payments. For now, I shall make do with what is readily available.

This blog, however, is not just going to be about math. It will be about life with math. I hope that as I write here that there will be some progress, albeit little, in my pursuit of math. Likewise, I hope that whoever is sincere will come to find whatever they are seeking for.

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