Let's cut through all the confusing jargon. Here is algebra explained in the simplest possible terms.

1. It's a puzzle. The main goal is always to find the value of a single mystery number, which we call 'x'.

2. The only rule is fairness. Whatever you do to one side of the '=' sign, you must do to the other to keep it balanced.

3. To solve the puzzle, you work backwards and do the 'opposite' of what you see. If you see addition, you subtract from both sides.

4. You want to get 'x' all by itself. So you just have to patiently undo everything that's being done to it, one step at a time.

5. Sometimes the puzzle is a picture. That's called a graph. It's just a visual story of how two things are related.

6. A function is just a recipe. You put in one ingredient (an 'x' value) and the recipe (the function) tells you exactly what you get as an output (a 'y' value).

7. Factoring is like asking, 'What two smaller things multiplied together to make this bigger thing?' It's just working in reverse.

8. That's really it. Every complex-sounding topic is just a combination of these few simple, core ideas.

It's not as hard as you think. It's just a new way of thinking, and you can absolutely learn it.