I never use it. I am told by many people that it is a "good" item but i really don't see it.

On my AP mids i always start boots then just work to double dorans then either rabodons, ryleis, or will depending on the champion.

I have the mana regen that i need, i trade well in lane, i get blues and i really don't see the point of RoA.

Can someone tell me what the hell is wrong with me or if they never use it either?

lol play singed....you gonna use it! believe me

"I never use it. I am told by many people that it is a "good" item but i really don't see it."

the question was not only for a mid champions? or was it ...!?

Doran rings do not provide the amount of mana required by certain champions, of which, Rod of Ages is more useful than Archangels because Archangel's doesn't help you survive.

ROA became outclassed when they created Athene's Holy Grail. (it lost its monopoly on being a mana-hungry mage item).

It's still a good all-around caster item, but it's so much easier to Build a couple of Doran's rings, and then something legitimately useful like an Abyssal Scepter or a Rylais.

The only thing setting it apart from the Dorans to Abyssal build you're seeing more often today, is the regen boost when gaining levels; which is nice, especially on Junglers or Top laners.

Ryze, Singed, Morgana, sometimes Blitz. RoA has more HP with it as well, and gives you back hp and mana regen per level up. So this is actually very good for staying in lane. After lvl 18, It isn't much better than Rylai's so you could trade it in if you have the gold.

I had Anivia in the list, but figured that Athene's and Tear of the Goddess worked better

Rod of Ages is still strong, but it is more of a late-game investment that you build early--sort of like taking an early gp10 item. Taking RoA over another ap item is usually a risk because you will be "weaker" while you are building it and for a short while after finishing it, but the item is still legitimately the strongest ap+defense item in the game from pure stats.

Mid-lane advantages often swing much further one way or the other than the other lanes, so taking "risks' is usually more hazardous. That is why you really do not see RoA often.