my biggest regret
by vincentwant, May 19, 2024, 3:51 AM
I've mentioned this already in a comment on peace09's blog but ill put it here for reference.
i guess it all boils down to the question of "what makes mathcounts special?" it's not like its problems are particularly high-quality. colleges don't care about it. so what makes it so special? what makes it stand out against all the other competitions?
the answer is simple. as much as i've talked about getting 3-0'd in cdr and certain people getting much lower scores than i know they are capable of, the most important aspect of mathcounts is not the math, but rather the people. There are 223 other people attending nationals, every single one of whom - with no exceptions (*insert peace09 essay here*), worked hard to attend this incredible event. There are so many people that i could have talked to, connected with, or even just noticed.
how many people did i really talk to?
Four.
Out of the 223 mathletes there, out of so many people i could potentially know and make friends with, I talked to four of them, three of which are on my team. 220 people outside of TX that I could have known, and I talked to one. (yall should know who that is.) 219 missed opportunities. I avoided >99.5% of people there.
As peace09 has already mentioned, mathcounts is less of a math competition and more of a math-related social event. mathcounts is the place to meet the best math people from other states, one of few opportunities out there.
by "threw it away", it's not the same thing as doing bad on a math competition - i think we all try our best in all competitions, its just an issue of how well you feel that day, outside factors, etc. basically "luck". the social aspect of mathcounts isnt luck in the slightest. even as a socially awkward person, i'm a lot more social in a math environment such as mathcounts. it's not hard to just talk to a few more people and socialize a bit more. i did not.
the next time i will see many of you will be at arml. for others, it will be mop. for others, i may never see you again.
i threw - not just cdr, but most importantly, i threw away the opportunities.
edit: i just realized how dramatic i made this post (and others) lol, i probably didnt need that but hey its effective
i guess it all boils down to the question of "what makes mathcounts special?" it's not like its problems are particularly high-quality. colleges don't care about it. so what makes it so special? what makes it stand out against all the other competitions?
the answer is simple. as much as i've talked about getting 3-0'd in cdr and certain people getting much lower scores than i know they are capable of, the most important aspect of mathcounts is not the math, but rather the people. There are 223 other people attending nationals, every single one of whom - with no exceptions (*insert peace09 essay here*), worked hard to attend this incredible event. There are so many people that i could have talked to, connected with, or even just noticed.
how many people did i really talk to?
Four.
Out of the 223 mathletes there, out of so many people i could potentially know and make friends with, I talked to four of them, three of which are on my team. 220 people outside of TX that I could have known, and I talked to one. (yall should know who that is.) 219 missed opportunities. I avoided >99.5% of people there.
As peace09 has already mentioned, mathcounts is less of a math competition and more of a math-related social event. mathcounts is the place to meet the best math people from other states, one of few opportunities out there.
(As far as I know mathcounts is the only competition where people from every state attends at the same location. arml is close but it is hosted in four locations, so i'll be missing a lot of people there.)
i've missed one of very few opportunities to meet new people outside of the state in person through math. i had the chance given to me, and i threw it away.by "threw it away", it's not the same thing as doing bad on a math competition - i think we all try our best in all competitions, its just an issue of how well you feel that day, outside factors, etc. basically "luck". the social aspect of mathcounts isnt luck in the slightest. even as a socially awkward person, i'm a lot more social in a math environment such as mathcounts. it's not hard to just talk to a few more people and socialize a bit more. i did not.
the next time i will see many of you will be at arml. for others, it will be mop. for others, i may never see you again.
i threw - not just cdr, but most importantly, i threw away the opportunities.
edit: i just realized how dramatic i made this post (and others) lol, i probably didnt need that but hey its effective
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by vincentwant, May 20, 2024, 2:42 AM
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