Participating in one of the most prestigious math competitions on the American continent was a mind-blowing, valuable experience. And despite it being a formal competition, I felt that most activities and questions that were asked in the competition were designed to enhance the fundamental mathematical logic and capability of the competitor, which I sensed happened to me also.

 

Each question and mathematical challenge I faced were not easily classifiable and categorized into "problem types" that only required me to memorize the solving procedure and repeat it over and over again; but were questions that required me to understand the concept thoroughly and genuinely.

 

Being able to receive honors and to stand out from other fellow talented competitors required exceptional effort and time, most of which consisted of me inspecting which mathematical concepts I lacked understanding of. I consciously prevented myself from memorizing the solution itself but instead derived mathematical schemes and notions from the steps that I had trouble with. This helped me gain insight into knowing what exact sector of the logic I could not sufficiently understand, which consecutively lead to the issues in problem-solving.