My Experience with Maths as of August 2019

Maths has never been my strongest suit. Growing up I never got the best grades in math. However ever since I transferred here I have seemingly got better. I remember being surprised by my grades in IGCSE Maths. I never thought I was capable of that. I would usually be working on the side by myself on problems only ever asking the teacher about problems I didn’t understand, which was more common than I thought.  I remember being stuck at a problem during an exam and remembering every single detail after it just so I could solve it (I eventually forgot it). I get fixated on one problem so much sometimes which is something I am trying to improve on. I used to be so afraid of asking questions, however, I’ve now learned that everyone needs some clarification every so often and it is much faster than focusing on one problem for days.

My Journey in Math has just begun and after my first lesson in IB Maths, I realised that there are a plethora of skills I could apply to Maths this year. Coming from IGCSE Art, I have learnt to be creative and to think outside of the box, skills I never thought might be useful in Math. I have always been curious as to how things work (something that has led me through many roads) and how Math equations always have a finality to them. A question left with no answer just waiting to find its elegant end and there is satisfaction in finding that end.

I don’t like myself in photos or videos so I hope this written response is adequate enough.

A Reflection on the Article, “Creating Our Own Happiness” by Wayne Coyne

Wayne Coyne’s essay on the human experience of happiness explores a positive sense of the world through simple experiences. Wayne shares with us his idealistic view on the world and his longing for a happier place to live in through his use of real-world experiences that he shares with us. He sows the realities and horrors of the world into the text such as his holdup while at work and the “dead-end job” which he had to go through. He weaves his brighter experiences in as well, encompassing the wide range of events that take place in our lives. He uses the motif of “I believe” in the beginning to highlight our different beliefs that we, ourselves hold and the immense breadth of perspectives we as a human race hold as well. Although almost becoming an overly optimistic opinion, he reminds us that the world has always been what we make of it, using the motif of “I believe”. He explains that it has always been up to us to be happy, it is only if we choose to be that we truly are.