everything is a muddy point

So... this entire class is a muddy point to me and I want to cry of confusion. I feel like the "completing the square" thing is a lot of work for nothing... the other method of just trying numbers seems better and much less confusing. I'm trying to understand to the best of my ability, but I don't learn quick enough to be able to say I fully understand what's going on all the time. Or any time. But before the "completing the square" thing came up, I felt fairly comfortable in what we were practicing.