It was kind of cute the other day . . . I always spend three hours in the Math lab right after my math class (which meets two days a week). It allows me to get started on my homework when the explanation is fresh in my head, it is fairly quiet, and there is always at least one math professor on duty and several math-knowledgeable lab aides (one of which hates me because my questions frequently stump him) to help with any problems or questions that arise.
I don't get ALL my math homework done in that three hours, (well . . . once in a great while I do) but I do get a good start on it. Anyhow, because I am there so much, several of the lab aides and teachers recognize me and talk to me when they see me around campus or in the lab itself, which is kind of fun.
So I was in the lab on Wednesday, and spread out my stuff (book, paper, notes, etc) to get started on my homework, when the professor on duty, that I like A LOT (he is VERY good at explaining concepts) came up and asked me how I was doing. I answered that I was trying desperately to remember everything I had ever heard about logarithms and he stayed and talked to me for like twenty minutes (GRRRR . . . I wanted to get HOMEWORK done, but he is nice, so I didn't mind too much).
He said how impressed he is that I am so dedicated about spending time in the lab, getting the help I need to succeed in my class. Then he told me that when he was in high school and college he HATED math . . . he struggled with it SO badly. Because of that, he decided that he wouldn't let it defeat him, so he worked EXTRA hard, and one day the lights came on and he GOT it . . . He actually decided to become a math teacher BECAUSE it was such a struggle for him. He figured he would have both a lot of empathy for people who struggled with the subject AND he had had to work so hard at 'getting' things, that he knew a lot of different ways to explain concepts.
Then he told me that I was doing exactly what I needed to do to be successful in my class . . . that it is obvious that I take it seriously . . . I am always there . . . I take good, detailed notes . . . and I am willing to take the time to really WORK on the concepts, including getting outside help when needed.
After he walked away, I realized that he had just done like this little cheerleader pep talk for me . . . I am not sure exactly why . . . I was having a really good day and the sections we are studying now are not ones I find particularly frustrating . . . but it was nice of him to 'cheer' me on . . .
YUP . . . apparently there ARE math cheerleaders . . .
HEY . . . does this mean the tooth fairy really does exist TOO?!?!??
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