How to prove for each positive integer $n$, the sum of the first $n$ odd positive integers is $n^2$? I'm new to induction so please bear with me. How can I prove using induction that, for each positive integer $n$, the sum of the first $n$ odd positive integers is $n^2$?
I think $9$ can be an example since the sum of the first $9$ positive odd numbers is $1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17 = 81 = 9^2$, but where do I go from here. 

Let $P(n)$ be the statement that the sum of the first $n$ odd positive integers is $n^2$. $1=1^2$, so we have $P(1)$.
Suppose we have $P(k)$ for some positive integer $k$. Then the sum of the first $k$ odd positive integers is $k^2$. Now the $(k+1)$th odd positive integer is $2k+1$, so the sum of the first $k+1$ odd positive integers is $k^2+2k+1=(k+1)^2$. Hence we have $P(k+1)$.
It follows that we have $P(n)$ for all positive integers $n$.
