TITLE: I'm a teenager hoping to become a mathematician, but math isn't my forte. Is it possible?
QUESTION [33 upvotes]: I am a sophomore in high school and have discovered the joys of mathematics.  However,due to sheer irony, at times I find the subject difficult. I am what one could label "lopsided" in my faculties, excelling in languages but always floundering with numbers. This may be biological, for I was psychologically tested and found that my linguistic skills were abnormally high but my spatial reasoning...wasn't (I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome). I do not want this to deter me from pursuing a degree in physics/math and finding work in the field. On the other hand, what if I just don't have the ability and fail? I see the mathematics geniuses at my school (or other students who are just better than me) and I feel horribly discouraged. Recently, I took a math test and felt completely lost, even though I studied diligently and received high scores on other assignments, which may be due to the anxiety I felt as I received the exam. The mere thought of that test kills me, as if it is a reminder that I shall never succeed in the subject no matter how hard I try (I was given a B last semester).  I was wondering if those in advanced mathematics have had the same experiences, and somehow overcame their struggles. Is it optimal I should just study a humanities subject even though this is what I like, or is there some way I could find a path in the field? Also, as an aside, what gives you your passion for math? What is the best thing you find about this subject? Perhaps that can force my motivation to the point where I become proficient...
P.S. If you could point me in the direction of some math/physics related extra-curricular/summer activities and programs, it'd be much appreciated.

REPLY [2 votes]: your question kinda resonated with me. When I was in high school, I was very dedicated and took a bunch of AP classes starting junior year. By the end of senior year I had taken 10, and AP Calculus AB among them. I graduated with a 4.0 and started college with almost a year of college "credits". My first math class in college was Calculus II, which some people liked to call "pre-business" since this class would truly filter out the men from the boys when it came to math. I passed it, not with an A though, since freshman year distractions occurred... Anyhow, I continued towards a math degree but as I took harder and harder classes I realized that though I was pretty decent at math, I was getting very bored by it. The higher the math the more theory and abstraction you get, and the more bored I got... I begun to realize I could not possibly do this for a living - I need more hands-on, more concrete/applied stuff, stuff I could build/tinker with...
I also had started taking some Computer Science classes and I noticed I was extremely good at them. My math background and logical thinking gave me a great edge, and I loved building programs and solving programming "puzzles." Mid-way thru my college career I switch my major and I couldn't have been happier I did! 
The moral of the story is go after what you enjoy and where your strengths are! I've meet some people what were horrible at math, did not enjoy it, and yet had dreams of being Math PhDs -- I called these people masochists. It was worse than the kid whose parents were forcing him to become a doctor, even though he wanted to become a linguist (or whatever). If you go against your strengths and what you enjoy doing you will be miserable.
Now I've also meet people (now my best friend actually) who were pretty bad at math in high school, was a slacker, used drugs, etc. But in college he really applied himself and thru hard work basically ended up being better at math than I ever was!  He bought all my math textbooks when I switched majors! My friend went on to become president of the Math Club as an undergrad, and he is now going for a PhD in math.
Now I commend you for starting to plan so early! My advise to you is to take the hardest possible math classes your high school offers (AP or IB level) and get as much college credit for these math classes as you can. These will somewhat prepare you for college-level math. But be warned that in college professors are hit or miss. Some know how to teach, other are clueless and are more or less there because they have to teach x hours while they get paid mostly for doing their research.
In college you learn to learn. You learn what you enjoy learning and what you don't. Often, you'll have to be able to read thru your textbook and pretty much teach yourself and then go to class with questions for the professor/lecturer. 
Best of luck!
Ps: I'd say that if you pass Calculus II with an A as a freshman, you're pretty well cut out for being a math major, if you truly enjoy it!