5 Hours of Sitting----- Just solving two math problems.

Yes, you guessed it.

I sat for five hours yesterday, trying to solve two math problems(my homework) that needed to be solved carefully, lest you commit an error and the entire problem becomes wrong.

Hmmph. I can imagine what a torture it must be(especially those who do not like math) to have a 3-hour lesson in mathematics; just sitting, listening to the professor, solving problems with long solutions, quizzes and all the while your head is in the clouds, just wishing you could go home and sleep, and escape the boring-ness of it all. That'd probably be torture for me too. It's not that that I don't like math, it just gets frustrating when you don't understand a problem(which is exactly the point of my article).

So, you ask, how I could I have possibly spent five hours on two math problems?

Believe me, I don't know either. But I just did. I had no notion of time, I just really wanted to get those problems over with and read a book.

*sigh* Knowing me, I don't like not being able to pass a homework. I'll sit and deal with it 'til it's done(and until I understand it).

What happened was this: I sat, opened my notebook and went through my homework. I did understand most of what my professor discussed during class, but when I tried to apply it to the problems in my homework---- I ended up getting confused.

So I read, read and read. All over again. I reviewed examples from my notes. Still confused. I grabbed my dad's math books and looked for specific solutions. I still didn't understand. I looked through my past and tried to get some ideas. And I think that worked.

With all that searching, finding, solving, thinking and writing, I didn't notice the time. Sure, I went downstairs to eat and drink when I felt like it, but I didn't mind looking at the time. I didn't realize that it was already 11:30 and I was still at problem 1(I started around 8:30pm). "Oh well," I shrugged and said to myself, "I gotta finish this."

But of course, being stuck at a problem for a long gets very frustrating. After 2 hours since starting, I was ready to throw my pillow to the floor. :D But don't worry, I don't do that. It simply attacks your nerves, wanting so much to solve the problem but you just can't understand. Still on I go; review, search, think and write. I'm struggling and frustrated, but I go on.

The time ticks on, and I think I'm beginning to get it. I make progress, solved more equations and I was almost at the last part: graphing. *whew*

My pen continues sliding back and forth across the paper, writing and graphing. After such a time, I finished the first problem. Yay! It was a great relief to have finished even half of what you're supposed to do. Feeling enlightened, I was inspired to write. *scribble*

By 1 am, I was done with my draft. I transferred all of my solutions to a bond paper(just like what our professor told us), along with my graph.

And pretty soon, I was finished.

When I finally put down my blue-ink-pen, it was when I felt all the energy being drained out from me. But at least I was finished. And I learned. *sleeps after*

At some points in our life, we do need to sit back and learn things. We don't expect the answers to come so easily. We sit, stay glued to that seat until we've learned. Just like what I did.

It's such a relief to be able to pass an outcome of all that you've worked hard for. It may have some errors, but I'll learn from those, since I understand most of the picture.

I learned. And that's what matters.

(We find that some of the most difficult things we encounter become worth it at the end. Our struggles and efforts don't go to the wastebasket. Believe me, you've definitely gained something from it whether you felt it or not. :D)