Ever since my years in elementary school, I have done well in math. I was placed in Advanced Math in 3rd grade and I have been two years ahead of my class since then. However, last year I was signed up to take AP Calculus which is one of the hardest classes at my school. I was one of the youngest in a class full of the smartest seniors at my school, but I thought it would be a piece of cake for me. After making a 73 on my first test, I learned I was in for a new experience. I wanted to find a study group, but being a younger girl in a class where older boys dominated made that a bit harder. I crawled out of my shell and made friends with four of the boys in my class who all did extraordinarily well on the first test. We formed a study group together where I shared my notes from class, because I paid better attention than them, and they explained anything from the notes that I did not understand. This new method of studying gave me a 90 on the next test, but I did not stop there. I did all my homework and double-checked my work to make sure I understood. I would go to my teacher before every test to get extra practice problems, and he would help me if I had any questions. His practice problems were old AP questions that helped me understand how the test would be structured and how I should budget my time. Between the study group, the homework, and my extra practice, I ended up passing my AP exam at the end of the year. I am grateful that I did not give up and that my teacher and classmates did not give up on me.
