Geometry

Geometry was one of my favorite subjects in high school, along with algebra, biology, and French. I really got the logic of shapes, angles, arcs, and their relationships (as described by algebraic formulas). Pythagoras was a friend of mine. I see shapes everywhere I look. I am a graphic learner, seeing things (even words) in my mind. If I see something, I can usually remember it, whereas if I hear something, I'm less likely to retain it. It's no surprise then that English and literature were my worst subjects. Concepts without physical form were difficult for me (like trying to interpret the intent of an author, especially a poet. Shakespeare was lost on me). Back then, I couldn't write a coherent essay to save my life.

The steeple on the church of Saint-Martin in Ligueil rises above geometric shapes in the back streets of town.

I was better at French than I was at English. Partly because the level of high school French (for Americans, anyway) is much more elementary than high school English. And partly because, at that level, French was a series of formulas, and the words were little pictures in my head. Still, I never failed a subject, and always managed to get good grades somehow. Some might have said that I was a good test-taker, being able to figure out most of the correct answers without actually knowing them, if that makes sense.

It wasn't until computers came along in my adult life that I could actually get a handle on writing. Typing and seeing my words on a screen almost as fast as I thought them made a huge difference for me. That, and the ease of editing, or regrouping, the words. Again, it's partly a graphical thing, I think, like geometry.