My math journey
Transitioning from high school math without any kind of proof background is probably the biggest mental shock one can experience. Personally, I went from being at the top of my class, to always feeling like I must catch up. Therefore, every mathematics student must learn that one quality that mathematicians possess is a propensity to persevere. The first surprise that I encounter as an undergraduate math student, is that in mathematics you must write a lot. My high-school-self thought that I would be working with equations, images and symbols all day long. However, most of my proofs are filled with words like therefore, thus, implies, therefore, by contradiction, counterexample, by the (famous mathematician name) theorem. These words are the ones I use the most when trying to describe and explain my “thought process” (Learning that “thought process” is an entirely different story). Secondly, math problems became extensive. The longest proof I have written was 3 pages long, one ...