Quitting is not an option

I'm taking an algebra class at the local college. It's been a really, REALLY hard hill to climb, but I'm getting it. I discovered today that I'm confused in class NOT because I'm dumb but because the instructer goes, 1) too fast and 2) jumps all over the map before anyone can figure out what she's doing. Today I was (for the first time in my LIFE) ahead of the teacher. I jumped ahead in the book and pre-learned stuff she hadn't covered yet. I got it, my homework was a breeze, I GET it.

In class today, she covered the above-mentioned lesson. Even though I knew the material, she had me lost in no time. I sat back to observe, why was I lost? What happened to my hard-earned knowledge? She was writing and demonstrating problem 'A'. A student asked a question about problem "A' and she scrapped problem 'A' and started a whole new one. Same concept, different numbers. I looked around, the students were frantically writing out the new problem, and by the time they got it written down, she was DONE doing it and moving on. Another student asked her to slow down, could she explain the new problem step by step.

Are you ready? She scrapped THAT one and wrote out a THIRD one to demonstrate. Again, the students frantically wrote the equation down and by the time they got it on paper and looked back up to the TV to watch her do the problem, she was done again.

The student next to me tossed her pen down and sat back, looking at me in exasperation. She slipped a note over to me; 'I'm so lost!' the note said. I slipped an answer back to her.

'Get a problem out of your book that provides an answer, then play with the thing until you figure out how the book arrived at that answer, you'll learn alot' was my note. The poor kid closed her book and walked out.

It has taken me three months to get over my fear of the evil numbers that chased me in my dreams, and realize I CAN DO THIS. Will I ace the next test? Probably not, but I won't fail it either. I was going to quit the class, take the zero and figure the book out on my own. I took a week and a half off, just skipped class, but I didn't quit.

To my great sister, I thank her for the tall, refreshing glass of confidence she gives me when I need it!!