IDK if I should take Calculus AB.... how much will it really help me in life?

Depends on your future employment.

I used calculus on an occasional basis, made a lot of my problems trivial.

Most people will never use it, but it is a good exercise for the brain to see what you can learn, like an IQ test. If you get a good grade in calc, then you can handle most advanced reasoning.

Maybe not directly unless you plan to go into science or engineering, but it'll give you an appreciation of the power of mathematics to describe the physical world around you. Once you understand the math, it can be used to describe not only the physical world that we see every day, but can also describe the world, both large (the universe) and small (atomic and molecular), that we can't see. The math can then be used to *model* those things we can't easily see and understand them better.

A few people are helped a lot, most not at all. Chances are you are one of the most.