Nicole Miura-Academic Leadership Journal: IB Program Thoughts

We are going to go loose this time: Just simply express your thoughts on the guidance you have received in terms of your IB program and your career planning.

What have you learned from the process? Especially anything that has surprised you.

What worries you about what you have learned? What excites you?

What is your plan of attack? How are you going to use what you have learned?

Whenever I explain the IB (International Baccalaureate) to a friend or family member, their initial reaction is always, "Oh god, that sucks." Sure, it is a lot of homework, commitment, and time to be spending on school, when most people would like to be out with friends instead, and I am always seeing those "IB memes" in which students taking the program sympathize with each other about how hard life is during the program. However, I feel as if it is an amazing opportunity for me and my future.

Over the past couple of weeks, my sophomore class has been receiving guidance and presentations on IB courses we are to chose from in preparation for next year. I am very fortunate to have arrived at ISC before I began my IB courses, because now I have time to really give thought to the classes I'm going to choose and why. My brother, Andrew, arrived right before his junior year, and had to pick his classes on the spot, without even really knowing what the IB program was. In this process of hearing each teacher present about their subjects, high level or standard level, I have found that I am leaning away from maths and sciences and more toward English and History; last year I probably would have said the exact opposite.

I'm very excited for my junior year, not only because I will be starting IB, but because I am going to be moving in the direction of my career and planning for the future. Whenever someone asks me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I usually respond with civil engineer, architect, or something that has to do with structure. However, when we did an activity in Academic Leadership in the beginning of the semester "What would you do if money was no object?", I responded with photographer for National Geographic. I have always been strongly interested in photography, and I love to travel. However, I think there is a time between childhood and late adolescence that we have to become aware that being a rock star, princess, astronaut, and many other popular "careers" young children often want to engage in is simply not going to support a certain lifestyle. Also, we have to keep in mind that according to the U.S. Department of Labor, 65% of children in grade school today's jobs have not even been created yet (Wayne).

But how are we supposed to decide? Colleges and universities reported nearly 1,500 academic programs in the Department of Education in 2010; 355 were added added over the next few years to stay competitive and current. At schools like Arizona State University and the University of Michigan, students have around 250 majors to choose from (Simon). Hopefully, the IB Program will help me filter my many interests into a general field I want to go into. Luckily, the United States' universities and colleges offer an "undecided" major, so I will be able to look around and get a feel for each before I settle down on one.

Our class, filled with over-achieving and stressed-out geniuses, is dreading IB next year; however I am determined to make it my best year and am looking forward to it. However, what worries me is that junior year is the most important year for college applications, and I fear that with the change from AP to IB, I will take a while to adjust and not achieve my full potential.

Hopefully, I can get a couple of tips from my brother and the other junior and seniors about what to do and what not to do in IB, but mostly I will be "exploring new territory." My plan of attack is to keep as organized as possible. I already have developed a system in which I write all of my upcoming homework, tests, and to-do's on my calendar on my iPad, and it gives me updates on what I have to accomplish that day. In order to do well, I have to always know what, when, and how I need to do my work. Also, I have to make use of my precious time; time-management is something we learned last year and a couple of times this semester, and it is my biggest problem.

Overall, I am excited to become an IB student, and I am looking forward to the bags under my eyes and the stress wrinkles on my forehead!