How’s your relationship with math?

Would you ever start over?

I am giving myself grace as I study math at 28 years old, starting in 3rd grade. Today, I did addition and subtraction exercises.

I toggled between doing the math right on paper and doing the math mentally and then putting the answer on paper. I’m by no means interested in ‘fast’ mental math, but I am interested in being able to do math in the air as slowly as I need to.

Below are a few images for you to see the messiness of it all.

Surprisingly, I didn’t get goosebumps while completing the exercises today. Math usually brings up a lot of childhood trauma, and I get goosebumps, and sometimes, my eyes get watery.

One hypothesis is that I’m, for the first time, not judging myself for getting things wrong. I used to say, ‘You are too old not to know 8+4.’ Honestly, the statement might be true, but I’m following it with ‘..and it’s okay to learn it again.’

So, how about you? How’s your relationship with math? Would you ever start over this drastically? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.