It may shock you to know that I was a giant Math nerd in high school. (gasp!) I memorized 85 digits of Pi, I made it to the A Team for MathCounts in 8th grade (take that, Dan Ketchum!), and as an alternate at the NY state Math League Meet my Senior year. Yes, I still have my Math League shirt, and yes, I made my own for Math League. One of my math teachers pretty much told me that if I was asking for harder work to do for homework, It'd be hard for me NOT to get an A+ in his class. As a self-proclaimed "Math Nerd," there have been times that I thought I'd lost the mathematical spark. Like the time I ended up getting a C in a math class in college (it was only one and my senior year), or when I decided not to go to grad school, or the time I worked for an insurance company and I felt like a drone.
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Well, my friends, my love for Calculus sparked once again. I was visiting my "best high school math friend" when I was home last week. Kevin gave me a tour of his apartment, as I had never before visited. There was a specific closet which is dedicated to math. He had all his college notes in binders, labeled and placed on a bookshelf. On the opposite wall were all his high school math books. No, Kevin didn't steal them from Churchville-Chili, he is now a math teacher.
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I gasped, my jaw dropped - I was stunned. How could I not have a math closet after all these years? I like Sudoku's before they were popular! Why had my interests veered towards sewing and sports. Where did my dedication go? Once I realized that I can still out-math Dan Ketchum, I felt a bit better. And to you, Mr. Laley, I tip my hat. You were voted most likely to succeed in high school, and a closet dedicated to math is about as successful as one can get. Euler would be proud. You've inspired me to re-memorize pi.
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