As someone who grew up with undiagnosed ADHD, math was never easy. The mantra of math teachers was something along the lines of: “math builds on itself, every brick forms a wall.” Well, my wall looked like a game of Jenga about 10 minutes in. These moments of panic and agony describe my lifelong math struggle.

1.) The panic of working in retail

The idea of working at a cash register almost shot me into a full fledged panic attack when I applied to jobs. Now, working cash register has become less daunting. I slowly double and triple check my change-counting at least twice during every transaction. The customers usually get annoyed, but in the wise words of Miley Cyrus, “ain’t about how fast I get there, ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side, its’ the climb.”

2.) Calculating a tip

I think this one may partially be due to my friends coddling me. Its’ gotten to the point where most of my friends will automatically grab my receipt and figure out my tip for me. I only realize the extent of my codependency when I go to dinner or lunch with a new person, and have to ask them for help after pretending to try to figure it out by myself for five minutes.

3.) Pretending you understand

Math teachers were essentially over my s*** when I was in high school. I think they thought I was just extremely lazy and didn’t pay attention, when in reality I was just THAT stupid. They’d explain and explain, quickly reaching a point of frustration. Eventually, I just acted like I understood to avoid the drama.

4.) Thinking About Doing Taxes One Day

I’d be better off learning to defend myself in jail than trying to learn the math used in taxes. Its’ inevitable that I’ll go to jail at some point for not doing my taxes correctly. I doubt the IRS will take my excuse of “it was an accident.”

5.)When people say they like math

I feel personally victimized by people who say they “like” math. What else do you like? Staring at a wall watching paint dry? I understand being good at math, but will never understand how one can derive pleasure from the configuration of numbers.

My advice to those who are terrible at math: stick it out until college and major in communications.