[firedrake] Question on absolute requirement of weak form formulation

Hello, I am a total newbie to firedrake. I am trying to solve a coupled multiphysics system described by 4 PDEs & 1 algebraic equation. I am totally new to numerical PDE solving. I would like to avoid formulating my problem in the weak-form if possible. People recommended OpenFOAM to me, as the codes are written in nearly the same way they are mathematically cast. However, walking through firedrake tutorials, I see that there is a need for formulating the problem in weak-form. The truth is I don't know how to do this. Do I have to learn this art, or is there a workaround recommended ? Krishna