Likewise, I identify with you on the main points. I liked maths as a schooler, did well in it. As did yourself, I had to memorise formulae for exam and was only allowed a 'basic' calculator. I have maths to thank for allowing me to get the necessary school marks to secure my further studies (which are unrelated to maths). But math's honestly just felt like imitating a machine or a robot. Completely mechanical, it just became a competition of making sure you could make the fewest mistakes in the upcoming exam versus your colleagues.

A majority of it is memorisation, which makes it both very easy in some respects, and hard in others. I still feel in the end it is a bit useless to learn it in the way we do now, seeing as computers can do it in a fraction of a second.