No worries! It can be overwhelming at times.
A parallelogram has four sides, and the short sides (x + 2 and 4) are equal to each other, as are the long sides (12 and y - 5).
x + 2 = 4
We subtract 2 from both sides to isolate the variable.
x = 2
y - 5 = 12
We add 5 to both sides to isolate the variable.
y = 17