Mathematics is about comprehension and the training of the mind to be nimble, clear and logical. You cannot do mathematics with a cluttered mind.
I enjoy Mathematics for the processes that it takes me through, the challenge and the satisfaction.
I consider myself an average student in Mathematics and it was through sheer hard work that I obtained good results. Hence I had less confidence in myself than my lecturer had in me. He saw the results while I knew the effort I had to put in.
I recall spending hours working at difficult questions and being so completely engrossed that time as well as the external world with its noise, chatter and activities would fade out of consciousness. Locked in a different world, these were also the moments when it was most enjoyable, fruitful and satisfying.
There were times when after my mind got so tired trying to find the solution, I went to sleep and in my sleep the solution presented itself. What joy!
The satisfaction that comes from solving a difficult question is indescribable. The greater the effort, the greater the satisfaction. But sometimes, it's "why didn't I see that in the beginning?"
Sad to say, whatever you have learnt, if you have no occasion to use it or practise it, you will lose it in some way. Hopefully the processes remain.
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