Mathing

During the past few months, I have been to many Math competitions such as the Gunn Math Competition (3/27/24), Berkely Mini Math Tournament (4/14/24) and Mustang Math Tournament (4/24/24). Attending these competitions has been an enlightening experience for me, as I have humbled myself, but also gained a lot of self-confidence.

Winning third place in the Gunn Math Competition Team Round (Division B) greatly increased my self-confidence. I learned that I could actually go to big Math competitions with over a hundred people in it and actually win. I was proud of myself and realized that I might actually have the mathematical talent to succeed. However, due to the win at Gunn Math, I got overconfident, and didn't prepare well for the Berkeley Mini Math Tournament (BMMT).

My failure at the BMMT humbled me. I didn't even get in the top 50% in the individual round (I missed it by one point), let alone the top 20%, which I had been aiming for. At the Mustang Math Tournament (MMT), I also did quite poorly in most of the rounds, although my team and I managed to get 9th place in one of the rounds. My failures at the BMMT and MMT taught me how small I am in the grand scheme of things. There were hundreds of people there who were better at Math than me, including some of my friends who were on a different team which placed fourth in the same round we placed ninth. It showed me how much more I needed to practice in order to be considered “good” at Math.

One of the issues I had was that I couldn't perform under time pressure as well as I thought I could. While practicing Math at home, I didn't time myself. I didn't have experience working under time pressure. Next, year, when I practice Math, I will time myself, so I don't have this issue next year.

My experience at math competitions has been very good for me. I realized that I could actually win in big Math competitions, but I also learned that I should never get overconfident, and always practice. I love going to Math competitions and would recommend them to anyone with a competitive drive or a love for Math.