"I can do it!" I told myself, just as Sal Khan, the owner of Khan Academy, had encouraged me. Sal Khan had become my best friend in learning.

 

In elementary school, I tackled advanced material like pre-algebra and finding the slope of a line using two points. I remember the moment on my stairs when I finally grasped how to find the slope; it was astonishing, and soon, I could do it in my head.

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However, transitioning from a private to a public school in 6th grade was challenging. I was placed in a standard class, and everything felt void, boring, and pointless. In 8th grade, during the pandemic, I found myself learning pre-algebra again and feeling incredibly bored. We had to stay in the same classroom all year, and I constantly looked out the window, searching for clarity and help.

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Thankfully, my 8th-grade math teacher noticed me and recommended Khan Academy for learning Algebra 1—this was the first time I met Sal Khan. What started as watching a video on inequalities turned into a half-year of fun and addiction. By the end of the year, thanks to Sal Khan, I had learned Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, and the limits unit of Calculus.

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Due to logistical class placement issues, I was inspired to continue my passion outside of school. I took classes, competed in competitions, and conducted my own explorations online. I started by writing a short blog on generating functions and the next thing I knew, I wrote an entire math book on combinatorics and discrete math, lecture notes, and curriculum for competition classes. Math also helped me find a community, including Mustang Math and my new teacher and mentor Mr. Fitzsimmons, who enjoyed many beauties of math alongside me.

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I used to think math was an individual sport, but now I realize, through the principle of inclusion-exclusion, that everyone's world of math intersects meaningfully. I'm excited to meet new people and explore the world of mathematics even further.