Trigonometry's Struggles by Jason

Trigonometry's Struggles by Jason - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

During my Sophomore year of high school, I was enrolled in a basic math class which our school called "Math 3." This class focused primarily on trigonometry functions, geometry, and algebra. Coming from Math 2 my Freshman year, I wasn't that confident in my abilities. Growing up, I despised math class, if you would've asked 10 year old me to subtract 65 from 100, I wouldn't have been able to do it. That's how bad it was back then.

On the first day of class, I immediately felt out of place, as we started right away. The first day, we were introduced to trigonometry; words like "sin," "cos," and "tan," flooded my minds dictionary. I have never been as afraid of a triangle as I was in that very moment. i found myself spending hours pouring over these different equations, trying to decipher the meaning of "Tan(30) x 18.9." Despite my best efforts, I received a grade of 2.0 on my first test, 2.0 is my schools equivalent of a D.

However, I was determined to overcome this challenge. I began by seeking help from my teacher, who provided guidance on how to approach these different equations in a more effective way. I also got help from a popular educational website, "Khan Academy." Which showed my videos on how to solve these different equations, and how to plug in numbers on a right triangle. Finally, I allocated more of my free time into putting pen to paper, writing down these equations one after another to grasp a concept of how to write the,, then I would solve them, until I got every single one right.

fast forwarding to junior year, I was enrolled in Math 4. I excelled in that class, maintaining an above average grade all year! Now today, my senior year, I am enrolled in Physics at my high school. Which focuses heavily again on trigonometry. The first test we took, I excelled, with a final grade of a 4.0. The message I hope to show through this essay, is that perseverance always overcomes in the end. If you really want something, you have to put the effort in to achieve it. There's always people in your corner to help you, for me it was my math teacher, and to an extent, Khan Academy as well.