I have always struggled with anything that wasn't basic math. College Algebra is the reason I never stuck with college. No matter how hard I tried I just could not do it.

Did you by any chance go through school when then good old fashioned times tables were unpopular? My son suffered that problem, loves maths and science, wanted to study Physics at university, but the fact that basic grounding was missing made the maths hard work because he was spending to much effort on that simple element even though he could understand the higher concepts. Might not be your problem but worth a thought.

Your not the only one, math is the language that explains structure, and all of life has some kind of structure to it, math showed us the way its put together ,I have to use a calculator to do anything anymore, but when I was an electrictain it was always used to calculate voltage ,amperage, watts resistance conduit wire size,ect ,ect, I wish I would have paid more atenchion in school when I was young! It is the universal language of structure in life.

When we think of Maths we tend to think of numbers. But number is only one aspect of things Mathematical. What is really at the heart of Maths is pattern. Both Liebniz and Newton expressed a conviction that the Ancients had a non-numerical system (still waiting to be rediscovered) that was(/is) vastly superior in its expressiveness than the calculus they offered.

You aren't the only one.

It's flawed if three of us pay ten dollars each get one back each we all paid 9 so 9x3 is 27 but... 30-2 is only 28 where's the missing number?