How should I try and learn math if higher level concepts don't stick?
I'm a current junior in high school, finishing up AP precalculus and going to attempt calculus next year. I've been a good student, A's in all my classes, a high SAT score for both math and English, and plenty of rigorous classes. Math- up until precalculus- has been difficult, but understandable for me.
This year, especially getting into trigonometry and the much more complicated topics, none of the information I've received has been able to be retained. I'm talking, information is almost impossible to absorb during the lesson, and what I do absorb doesn't stay around for more than a day or two. It's been both incredibly challenging and demoralizing because I'll study for hours at a time and forget every single step the next day. Even when I'm at a point where it feels like I could know a concept, I don't feel confident, and I have to relearn it later that week.
I'm not sure how I'm supposed to approach it differently, and I wondered if anyone has dealt with similar issues or known anyone who has. Math is the only topic where this is a problem, and it's only the less physical concepts, such as polar graphs, trigonometry, the unit circle, etc. I'm incredibly stressed about the AP exam coming up, and feel as if every method I try doesn't work.
I'd appreciate any advice you guys have- thank you so much!