Studying mathematics is at the core of Italian debate of learning
Most of Italian students consider mathematics as a difficult obstacle to overcome; they often compare it to a nightmare. Even the students at scientific high schools have big difficulties in it. Indeed, Italy stays behind many other countries in international math tests. However, math must not be neglected, because of a lot of reasons.
First of all, mathematics is a language, and like all languages, it improves one's thinking skills. Indeed, since it is abstract, it develops your imagination and logic. It requires creativity, intuition and deduction, in order to resolve problems. All the previous abilities expand one's independent thinking, as well as training one's brain. No doubt other subjects like foreign languages, ancient languages and philosophy help you improve your critical mentality. However, it is not possible to base one's thinking only on a certain kind of subjects, nor it is possible to completely replace mats  with one of them. A person has to eat a variety of foods, in order to be healthy; similarly, it is necessary to study a bit of all subjects, in order to develop your mind in a well-balanced way.
A further argument in favour of mathematics is that nature and the universe are ruled by mathematical laws. For examples, objects fall to the ground with a parabolic trajectory; planets and satellites revolve around their star or planet with an elliptical orbit. The golden section can be found in many natural organisms like shellfish and plants, while the radioactive decay follows an exponential function. Furthermore, statistics help us predict the trend of something; for instance, in politics, economy or demography. Therefore, math is indispensable in order to understand the world.
Another point in favour of studying mathematics is that it can be useful in daily life, and particularly in money management. For example, you can calculate discounts, loans, tariff plans, prices, etc. Capitalization laws are based on math functions themselves.
One objection to the last two argumentations is that math and statistics are not able to foretell everything: there are always some unpredictable facts which make the result different. This is true, but anyway they provide us with a general view, which can be very helpful despite the possible changeable elements.
Bearing these reasons in mind, I think that it is necessary to study mathematics. Despite the students' different aptitudes, it cannot be neglected; the difficulties must be overcome with commitment and study.