All throughout my high school career I have known two things: one, I was good at English. Two, I was not so good at Math. Not terrible mind you, just not good. But I was always able to “get by” as they say. I worked hard enough doing additional research on math concepts that I was able to get a “B” and move on. But this was not so by the time I reached my senior year. I had to pick my final math, and my options did not look good. Calculus? Sounds scary. Trigonometry? Sounds super scary. Statistics? Eh, I’ve never really thought about it. But how bad could it be compared to my other two options?
Turns out, pretty bad. At least for someone who was never really good at Math in the first place. I think it would have been a challenge for those who were average at it, but doable. I, on the other hand, was just trying to keep my head above water. All my life, I had never, ever failed a class (this was partially due to the fact that my parents had a pretty high standard as far as my grades went and a F, D, or even a C would never do). But as I forged onward in the course, my grade point average just got lower and lower. At this point, if I got a another single bad grade, it would lower my grade to a failing one. I was at a loss. I had done the worksheets, read the lesson slides, and watched the tutorials but for some reason or another, it just wouldn’t click.
I told my mom about this and she thought a moment before saying, “Have you tried reaching out to your teacher?”
In short, the answer was “no”. I had always managed to get by without help. I hated bothering people (even though this was literally their job). I just didn’t like asking for help.
But as I continued to struggle in my class, I thought about it more and more. And finally, I was struck with an epiphany.
I always found it weird that when baby animals were born, they learned so much quicker as compared to a human baby. Deer walked within minutes of birth, the same for cows. Ducklings within days of hatching could swim. Baby Chicks were pecking along side their mother’s within a weak. Humans? Well, we can’t even hold up our heads. Pretty much all we can do for a long time is cry. And that’s when I realized that babies learn the most important skills for survival first. For ducks, it’s swimming. For Deer, it’s running. For Chickens, it’s pecking. And for people, it’s asking for help.
And so I did.
I messaged my statistics teacher in a plea for help of any kind, and through a series of quick emails, he directed me to a resource folder that I didn’t even know existed. Inside, it contained tables that were detrimental to my course work. He also sent me links to various live-lessons and video clips that expounded upon my lessons.
And just like that, my grades started improving. And now whenever I don’t understand something, I know exactly where to go. I feel like even if I don’t understand something, I’m not at my wit’s end. I still have plenty of resources and tools that can help my understand a concept better and, eventually, help my pass the class, not just with a passing grade, but a good grade as well.
Now, thanks to my high school career I know two things: One, I am good at English. Two, I’m not a natural at Math. Three, that’s okay, because I should never be afraid to ask for help.