"Math is like a language defining our universe." Those were the words of Mrs. Downham my eighth grade math teacher. When I first heard these words of philosophy I barely paid any attention to them. All I cared about on that first day of school was going home to daydream about the wonderful summer vacation I experienced. I was mad at the world for coming up with the idea of sending kids to school. The room was hot and stuffy and I kept praying for a miracle that would let us leave school early. Since Mrs. Downham saw my apparent dislike for the class, she kept me after class when all the other kids got to go to lunch. She told me that she was going to make it her mission to not only teach me algebra, but to make me appreciate it as well.

For some reason...