A Brief History...

So I think that now is a better time than ever to talk about why I did this program, or why I choose math in general (before the classes start and I get too busy to write about it).

All throughout high school (and even middle school and grade school), I didn't feel like I fit into any kind of group of students. I was in advanced math and science, along with advanced English and literature. I'm well aware that many students (especially where I went to school) were in both of these categories, but most of them had preferences. I did not. They either hated math and science, but needed to take advanced classes so they wouldn't in college; or they disliked English and literature and loved math and science.

Expect that’s where I’m wrong. In my high school, at least, no one loved math. Why would anyone love math? Only science was loved. I grew up with a stigma attached to math. Most teachers (especially in younger grades) feared math, and that fear was transferred to their students. It was never portrayed as something that you could study in the long run, but only something that was needed for other subjects (which is just bologna). It’s not that I didn’t want to study math, I was just completely unaware of the possibility that I could. Math never seemed relatable. It never seemed interesting.

Except at home. My dad is a high school math teacher. Not just that, but he was an Art major in college, so he can appreciate the beauty of math. I have this distinct memory of my first introduction to “imaginary numbers”. I was around 9 or 10 and I was sitting in the kitchen, eating a peanut butter and jelly on toast (mmmm….), and my dad just starts talking about how there are “other” types of numbers that we aren’t “used to”. He said there were imaginary numbers. Not that I really knew what he was talking about, but, hellooo, tell a little kid there are numbers called imaginary numbers, you could get them hooked on math in a second. He just made math seem so interesting, so intriguing, so beautiful. He never put pressure on me to study math (neither of my parents have ever put pressure on me with school, and I really thank them for that). I have to say though, I still did not even consider math as something I wanted to study. It was just something I liked a lot.

I went to St. Mary’s College of Maryland in the fall of 2007 as a future Biology major (I don’t like to tell anyone this, though, because I really don’t think I knew enough to know what major I wanted. And I don’t want people to think that I dropped bio for math because it was “easier”). Anyways….

I had an amazing biology teacher in high school. Ms. Baker is the reason I liked biology. Biology wasn’t the reason I liked biology. Then, while being in a 70 person lecture about cellular respiration in college, I realized I couldn’t care less about the material I was learning. And I found myself working on math problems in other classes. Not homework problems, but challenging problems that I got from a separate class that I was taking to help enhance my Calculus experience. I started liking math more and more.

I remember the day that I called my parents and told them I was going to be a math major. I was walking to the campus center, and I knew that it just felt right.

The story only gets better from here…

During freshmen year, a group of us went to a math conference and I was first introduced to the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program. It felt like a long shot. I always wanted to study abroad, ever since my sister did it. It just seemed like a once in a life time experience to learn about something in a different country, and in a different culture. This program is it for math programs abroad. It has the best reputation, the best professors, the best classes, the best professor-teacher relationships, and the best long run opportunities for undergraduates.

It seemed so cool. But it seemed impossible. There was no way that I would be smart enough for it….

In the meantime, I kept learning math, and kept falling more and more in love with it. The summer before my sophomore year I did an REU at St. Mary’s in Knot Theory. But not only did we learn knot theory, but we had a separate “class time” where we learned graph theory (something that was different from what we were doing so our brain could have some breaks). Oh my goodness, it was awesome. It was an amazing experience, and I just thought math was even cooler after I left those 6 weeks.

Sophomore year, I went crazy with math. I even did another REU after sophomore year to research a Combinatorial game (and learn some discrete geometry)

First semester sophomore year I took:

-Calculus 3
-Foundations of Mathematics
-Independent Study in Knot Theory
-Math problem solving class

THEN, second semester I took:

-Linear Algebra
-Differential Equations
-Topology.

Best decisions of my life. I can’t even begin to explain how much I have fallen in love with this subject. Math is everywhere. Find me something in life that has no math, and I will prove you wrong. Not just that, but math is so pure. It’s so beautiful. It’s useful, ridiculous, and intriguing. And I feel happy while I’m learning it. I have to thank my professors at the River for doing such an amazing job at their job. They have pushed me, believed in me, and supported me.

Last semester I was second guessing applying to BSM. I didn’t want to get rejected and feel stupid (I still need some more self-confidence). But I was told that I should. I was believed in, and so I did. And to my surprise, they wanted me! I finished up my semester of Analysis (which I looooove) and Combinatorics (which is super cool), and I started the adventure of a lifetime.

I was asked last night (which is kind of the reason why I wanted to do this post) if my classes at St. Mary’s have been more “self-teaching” or “lecture”. I had to think about this, really think about it, because my professors are tricky tricky. While I have had mostly lecture classes, I have experienced a class type that is neither “self-teaching” nor “lecture” more and more. It’s a class where we have to teach each other. And let me tell you, it is ridiculously rewarding.


And that leaves me here: with an amazing group of people from all over the United States, about to study a subject that I love so much. AND it leaves me with an amazing group of friends and an amazing math department at the River, that I just cannot imagine my life without. I just feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

You know what? I am :)

Thanks for reading my love story….