Math is fun. Math is beautiful.

I apologize in advance. I will try not to laugh maniacally or melt into a puddle of smugness. It will be difficult, but I will try. A little.

Guess what I got on my math final?

Guess!

I'll give you a hint - it raised my grade 3 percent. Three percent.

I got 101!

As in the number of Dalmations.

I guess it should be a bit sad that this is really happy news for me. But it isn't. This definetely ranks on one of the list of Best Things That Have Happened to Me This School Year. Maybe number 4, or number 5. I have yet to actually make the list.

Finally. Finally, finally finally. I got 101 on the final. I have an A in math. It doesn't even matter that it won't show up on my high school transcript. Because when I go to college I'll laugh maniacally and shove my college transcript with my A [and B...] in everyone's faces. Then I will be sad because everyone will hate me.

Finally. I actually feel smart now. [It's wierd, how much you identify with what you're good at. Except when it fails. It's hard to continue believing that you're a good student if you can't even get good grades.]

I studied. Actually, that's not what I'm particularly proud of. I did study, in a cursory sort of way. But what the trick is, more than studying, is the ability to think when it really matters. And I'm happy, because finally, I did this. I probably went over both tests [it was a two-day final] five or six times, because the first time around only a few problems made sense. But relax, think, organize your mind, figure out what you know and what you need to find...

My math teacher is right. All of my math teachers from the past three years were right. Math is beautiful. Calculus is beautiful.

And now my excitement has worn off, and I'm slightly embarassed that after a long hiatus I have written another post about math.

Guess what?

I found this out yesterday.

And I still laugh/cry when I think about it.