A Place
January 7, 2008“Geo Milev” Mathematics School
I remember the first semester being an incessant struggle for me. I would condemn everything – the teaching style of the professors, the learning habits and the manners of the students. I would refuse to go to class. I would cry. It was all my parents’ fault, as I would say frequently. They made me leave all of my friends and the comfortable familiarity in the Language School in order to attend the supposedly more renowned Mathematical School.
The Mathematical School was far from perfect – in fact I would say it was just slightly better than most of the schools at home in the sense that it had professors, that were slightly more interested in what they do, students that were slightly above average and teaching style that was slightly less professor-oriented. In general, if you want to imagine what a Bulgarian school is like, just think of what an American one is not. No clubs, no sports facilities, no projects, no volunteering, no money, no real discussions in class…just the professor talking, quite often on topics that have nothing to do with the class he/she is teaching.
Nevertheless, amidst the raindrops that fell on my head even when I was inside the school building and the memorization and regurgitation that were the sole efforts I had to make to succeed in some of the classes, I managed to find something for myself in this new school. Coming from a Language School, I had mathematical skills that could be described as average at best. However, in the Mathematical School, the one subject in which one really needed to have a gift, to push, to be creative and perseverant was Mathematics. Over the years, through a lot of exercise, determination and struggle, I managed to rise from the bottom to the very top, and most importantly – no longer was mathematics just something that had to be done; rather it was pure joy, something that I viewed as an amalgamation of inspiration and reason. Had I stayed in the Language School, I doubt I would have discovered this passion.
My parents made a wise decision!
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