Dear freshman friend,

Before I entered the ninth grade, I attended a robotics camp where an IB student entering the tenth grade told me that IB would be terrible and lonely. I’ve never told anyone, but in that moment I was so afraid that I wanted to leave the program before entering it. Now, I can tell you that IB has been an incredible journey in which I have received an amazing education and met amazing people. Don’t be afraid, be prepared. Familiarize yourself with the IB program, that way you aren’t surprised later on. Don’t be afraid to make new friends, both inside and outside the IB program. Respect your teachers and your classmates and they will respect you. Get involved in extracurriculars! Join clubs or sports that you are interested in. It’s incredibly rewarding to remain in a club for all four years. Do your work and put effort into it; hold yourself to high standards! Do not worry about college yet; enjoy being a freshman.

Find some friends that you can trust. You can make new friends later in the program too; this year, I became friends with some non-IB students in my orchestra class. Avoid the drama; if you’re friendly to your classmates, they should have no reason to be upset with you. Try to remain positive. You can do it! Recently, I was at the National Honor Society induction ceremony, and the principal of Summerlin gave an amazing speech about character. He spoke on the importance of integrity and having people who trust you. Don’t lose your integrity because of distractions or failures. IB is not easy. IB is not perfect. You and I are not perfect either, but I believe in you. If you decide that the IB program is not right for you, that’s okay too. Just don’t lose yourself.

For me, science and math are areas that deserve a lot of study. If you don’t understand something, ask for help. Never be afraid to ask questions. I have found taking notes to be incredibly useful; writing just helps me remember better. Writing skills are also very important in all of your subjects. Responding to teacher feedback is extremely helpful. Even though these classes deserve the most study, you should still work in your other classes. Don’t forget about your teachers, friends, and family. It’s important to put effort into things outside of school.

Your friend,

Beatriz Galindo

 

Dear freshman,

Congratulations on joining the IB program! Freshman year marks a major transition from middle school to high school, so make sure to start preparing yourself for the 4-year journey. IB is like a box of chocolates being shoved down your throat when you’re lactose intolerant (this makes perfect sense, I promise). If you fall behind, you will continually become more stressed as assignments keep piling on. Make sure you plan your time accordingly; if you do, you will still have time for all the fun things you want to do.

TL;DR Don’t procrastinate.

The biggest potential pitfall throughout your IB life will be procrastination. Like I said before, assignments will start to overload your schedule if you slack off. If you take APES, you will learn about a positive feedback loop: you start procrastinating so you have to put off your next day’s assignments. You then have to do those assignments the night before they’re due, and then your next day’s assignments are put off (and so on).

TL;DR Don’t procrastinate like me.

During freshman year, the two classes you should focus on studying for are APES (if you decide to take it) and biology. These two will comprise a good portion of your freshman workload and will likely be the toughest subjects you will have to learn. You don’t have to agonize over them; as long as you consistently pay attention in class and study regularly, there should be no problems for you. Even though the course material may be tougher than you were used to in middle school, the teachers provide useful study materials and homework that actually helps learn/practice the material. I wish you the best of luck!

TL;DR Don’t be like me, study and you’ll be fine.

Jason Zhang

 

Dear Future IB Student,

IB is a good program but it also takes a lot of your time. My advice to you would to take careful consideration when picking your elective. Your elective can make or break your freshman experience. The more time consuming your elective is, the less time you have left for your school work. As a freshman, I took Orchestra as an elective which was not as time consuming as others; I did not get to practice as much as I needed to because of how much school work I had. I would advise you to not do marching band because many of my friends had trouble balancing marching band and school work at the same time.

IB is time consuming but there are many things you can avoid to make the experience better. The hardest classes that freshman year brings is APES and Pre-IB Bio. These classes are hard but if you stay on top of your homework; they aren’t as hard as they seem. My advice for APES and Bio is to learn what Ms. Allison and Ms. Kennon’s teaching styles are and listen to their rules. They are also the classes to study the most for. The tests for those two classes are hard but it is possible to get an A on them with a lot of studying. The easiest class that you will take freshman year is Government and Economics with Mrs. Devore. Mrs. Devore is also understanding of late work if you had too much homework the previous night.

IB is a rigorous program but it is worth it. The only things you need to know to do well IB is study for everything and manage your time well. Time management may be the most important thing for success in IB. I am sure that you will do great in IB. I wish you luck at IB!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Cribb

 

Dear Student,

If you’re starting out as a freshman, welcome to IB! In order to maintain grades you (and/or your parents) are happy with, I recommend that you manage your time well by completing assignments as soon as possible, especially if you want to participate in extracurricular activities. IB will be difficult at times and you might question why you didn’t go to Harrison or the school you’re zoned for, but I promise that being successful in IB is possible. IB is a great school and it is even better when you’re doing well, but please do not neglect your mental, emotional, and physical health. It is very important to not only make education a priority in your life, but your happiness and well-being also.

Please make sure you reach out to your teachers and friends (or your mentor! I highly recommend having one.) whenever you have questions and always make time to study, even if you have to do it on the bus or in the car. I usually had to study the most for APES and Biology because of all of the information, but both classes were manageable when I completed assignments as soon as possible and when I remained organized.

Another thing I recommend is making friends with people in IB and also outside of IB. Fellow IB students share the same experiences as you, so it is easy to bond with them. It is also really nice to socialize with people who don’t talk or stress about homework the entire day. There are great people at IB, BHS and Summerlin and you can get to know them through different clubs such as Key Club, HOSA, A-Team, Creative Writing, GSA, and classes such as Anatomy, Chorus, Band, Orchestra, Theater, Art, and more. I took chorus my freshman year, and I met people who have become close friends of mine. In IB, most students that participate in sports are on the Swim team, Tennis team, and Lacrosse.

You should definitely make the most of not only your freshman year, but your entire IB experience. Put your best effort forward and make use of the time that you have.

Best wishes,

Jada Hewitt

 

So you have decided to join us in the IB program. That’s really brave of you and I’m glad to have you as a fellow comrade. IB can be tough at times, but it can be really beneficial to your life by providing you with experiences you’ll never forget. For example, I’ll never forget the time I stayed up until 3 a.m. working on a poster for Biology and then forgetting it at home. It was really a bad time for me, but I am here to help you avoid situations like that one. First off, I would recommend that you stop procrastinating on doing homework. Procrastination can make your life miserable at IB and once you start procrastinating, it’s very hard to make yourself stop. You’ll be staying up much later than you need to, and you’ll start to fall asleep during the lessons the next day which leads to you doing even worse in your homework assignments and staying up later to finish them. It is not a good cycle to be stuck in. I would know because I am still stuck within this cycle of procrastination.

Freshman year of IB is also when you will start taking AP classes for the first time. It’s a pretty big jump from a middle school curriculum to a college curriculum, but IB likes to make things harder for you. Just be prepared for the increased amount of work you do in the class and make sure to keep all your notes so that you can study them for the AP test in May. I would also recommend taking APES with Mrs. Allison because she does a really good job with preparing you for the AP test which will be good for your first one. She does give a lot of homework though so you should prepare to do some STNTs every other day.

Finally, I would recommend that you study really hard for Biology and APES if you are taking it. Biology with Kennon can be easy if you just study what you need to study before each class so that you can actually understand the next lesson and do well on her tests. APES tests are very hard, however, so make sure you study hard for them. Only a few kids will be able to get As on them for the entire year so make sure to study hard and become one of them. It will seem like a lot of work at first, but as time goes on, you’ll see that it really is more work than you thought, and it doesn’t slow down as you progress further into the program so you better get used to it fast. Good luck!

Alvin Thomas

 

Dear IB Freshman,

If you are anything like me, you have already questioned why you are doing IB. What’s the point? Why am I doing so much work when my friends and siblings have no homework every night? IB is definitely not the most enjoyable way to experience high school but it pays off in the end, trust me.

Based on my own experience, which might be slightly different than yours, I can give you several suggestions that I wish someone had told me when I was in your position. First, if you are feeling like you are not doing well in a particular class, don’t be afraid to sit with your teacher and ask for extra help. In APES, I was making poor test grades and I knew I wasn’t going to pass the test. I seeked help from Ms. Allison and took practice tests after school in her classroom for several afternoons. I have done a similar process for classes I have struggled in through the years. Secondly, my IB experience has been a little harder than others because I had a job since I was 15 years old and I was running cross country. During cross country season and while I was working at McDonald’s, I had to go to work after running 5 miles or more and then work until 11 o’clock on school nights and do my homework during my 30 minute break. I was stressed; however, I stayed up to study and complete all of my homework. I now work for a law firm and get off at 6 p.m. every night which allows me to devote more time to my study. If you are in the same position as I am in, you’ll get through it and you will be okay. Lastly, avoid watching Netflix shows one after the other because you will get addicted to them and prioritize them over studying for tests that you think you know.

I wish you success throughout the rest of your high school experience and keep in mind that although you don’t see the purpose in the workload now, you will see it senior year when you realize how much more prepared you are for college than BHS seniors. Best of luck to you.

Sincerely,

Jane-Anne Brown

 

Dear Freshman,

As a junior I know a lot more than I did starting here as a scared freshman that had heard all of the horror stories of IB. If I could go back and tell myself one thing it would be to not view the stories of all-nighters and failed grades as the inevitable, but rather as a lesson of how IB students should strive not to be. My three biggest pieces of advice to all IB students but especially freshman are to come up with a plan for getting everything done and to actually follow it, to get involved in something either at school or in the community, and to build up your support system because at some point you will need people. The biggest elements of a successful IB students are good grades, service in the community, and a social life with other people in IB.

The most important thing for any IB student is good grades and hard work in school. The biggest piece of advice I can give in order to be successful academically is to create a schedule for yourself that is realistic but not last minute so you will follow it and still be successful. Freshman year many people tend to make elaborate schedules that in the end are not followed because they are so unrealistic. Keep a detailed planner with all dates and deadlines for homework so that no assignment is left till the last minute or is forgotten.  Make sure your studying is focused on classes that you do poorly in and those that the test counts for a majority of the class grade. Classes like APES and biology are typically the hardest classes, but the way in which the grades are set up the test is not a large percentage of the total score as the result of all of the homework. While many IB students live by the sayings “IB puts the pro in procrastination” and “Just do it later”, the best students are able to maintain all A’s by avoiding procrastination at all costs because once you procrastinate it is hard to get back on schedule.

My next piece of advice is to get involved with something outside of school work not just for your college resume, but to do something you really are passionate for whether that is a sport, a specific club, or helping those in your community. By doing something you really love you are able to meet others, have an escape away from school work, and feel like you are actually doing something useful with your time. In addition colleges and other organizations in the community look for commitment to something and want to see that you are passionate about a particular thing in your life. Also finding leadership opportunities throughout your freshman year is really important because many people, including myself, are unable to get into NHS their sophomore year due to a lack of leadership. By joining clubs and running for positions within them or getting involved in the community finding leadership opportunities can actually be very easy.

My final big piece of advice is to form relationships with the other people at IB, including other freshmen, upperclassmen, parents, teachers, Mrs. Moyer, and Dr. Hardman. Try to get everyone’s phone number if possible because at some point you will have an urgent question or have to work together for some group project. Also work as hard as you can to build each other up instead of tear each other down. Time and time again IB students are so competitive over everything, especially grades, that they end up wishing that others will do poorly rather that help each other do their best. In the end these people will become your family even though you likely don’t know everybody yet, so you need to learn to work together and help each other to succeed because in the end of the day you are all in this together. Try to make these four years as drama free as possible, even though that will likely never happen, because school and all of the after school activities are stressful enough by themselves. As someone that has been through way too much drama in the past two and a half years, i am telling you to try to minimize the stress by cutting out the petty drama.

As a freshman you still have three and a half years ahead of you, which right now seems like a lot. Remember to not miss the memories that you will want to look back on twenty years from now. Go to homecoming, parties, and study sessions with your friends because those will be the memories you keep not the extra hour you studied for Biology so that you could get a 98 instead of a 92. Make sure you always try your hardest on every assignment even if it is only 10 points because those assignments will help you on the test. Look into different opportunities in the community to find a volunteer program that seems interesting to you whether it is at the hospital or the library. Create relationships with your teachers and administrators because they want the best for you and will do what they can to help, and they are the ones that will one day write your letters of recommendation. My final piece of advice to freshman is to cherish these moments because before you know it you will be out of here which currently may seem happy but eventually it will become saddening and you don’t want to look back and regret anything.

Wishing you the best,

Anna Grundig

 

Dear Future IB Student,

I know you’re just starting your first year, and technically you aren’t even in IB yet, but please listen to the advice I have to give you. The way you managed to float through elementary and middle school without having to study in advance for any test or do your homework at home will not work in this program. IB is a rigorous and complicated program, but you will make it through if you heed the advice I have to give to you.

Piece of advice number one: do NOT procrastinate! Ask any junior or senior in the IB program what’s their number one weakness and they’ll likely say procrastination. IB is a very stressful and work-intensive program, but you have the ability to control how stressed out you are at times. For example, it’s smarter to do work in increments day by day in the event that you have a project, instead of spending the entire day before the project is due, struggling to finish everything and make it quality. Doing your project the day before may seem like a cool idea as you won’t have to drag the project out, however you’ll be sacrificing any chance you have at sleep and over time doing this will cause your health to deteriorate. Many IB kids claim to have mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, and procrastinating only makes these issues worse as putting off your projects makes you worry even more and eventually the quality of your work deteriorates likely making you feel more upset. Please, do NOT procrastinate because it is the number one weakness of IB students and it is the reason so many of us have gray hairs!

Piece of advice number two: make friends early on. Being a junior, I can tell you that there are going to be so many nights in junior and sophomore year where you have to depend on your fellow IB students, and making friends earlier rather than later definitely makes things a lot easier down the road. I made the mistake of not being sociable in freshman year and ended up regretting my decision in sophomore year when people had their study groups and close friends already picked out. Make friends early so that you have a lot of time to establish a relationship, so later on when you are stressed and need homework help, you have people to count on.

There are many more things I could tell you, but I honestly feel those extra things I learned, I learned from experience. There are some lessons in life best learned through experience because words can only convey so much. For example, I learned that while it is a smart idea to make friends, one should also keep in mind that no matter how well you think you know a person or how close you think you are with them, people talk. I learned it’s best not to be so free with my feelings and thoughts because in most cases it backfires. No matter how many times I warn you to use discretion with anyone you meet, I understand that’s something you won’t really take to heart until you’ve actually experienced the betrayal of your confidence.

In conclusion, future IB student, the best pieces of advice I have to offer you are not to procrastinate and to make friends early on in the program for homework help if for no other reason. Oh, and have fun!

Tanajia Moye-Green

 

Choosing Bartow IB is a huge step in preparing for your future. When I decided to attend this high school program, I really had no idea what was in store for me except for that this was perhaps my best option in terms of preparing myself for college and beyond. As a senior finishing up the program, I can firmly say I have no regrets. It was tough, and though the difficulty is always relative to the student, everyone has a rough patch at some point—it’s just a part of IB and, really, a part of life. If you’re scared, that’s fine and perfectly normal. If you’re not scared, you will be. I’m just being facetious, but I’m here to let you know what you’re getting into nonetheless.

First off, some good news. I was recently informed that starting with the class of 2020 (which is at least a couple of years above you), about one-third of the IB curriculum is being completely cut out for a large portion of the subjects (the curriculum for junior and senior year). So what does this mean? All the horror stories that you’ve heard from older siblings, friends, etc. are worse than what you are going to deal with in your high school career. Rejoice! With this knowledge, take my (and others’) advice with a grain of salt, as you are quite a bit better off than we were. Nonetheless, you should listen and heed our advice as IB will inevitably remain an intensive exercise in patience, dedication, and time management.

This program definitely isn’t for everyone, but my one concrete suggestion for you, no matter who you are, is that you try. I don’t care if you came from a middle school where you got all A’s without even thinking, or if you had to work hard to keep all A’s and B’s—no matter who you are, you should try. Success, like difficulty, is relative. IB is a program designed to challenge its students both academically and intellectually, in that you are challenged to consider and understand concepts from a variety of viewpoints in ways that traditional high schools don’t require. Therefore, to receive the greatest possible benefit from your time at IB, you need to give it your best. Start with time management and determining the methods through which you learn best, and from there on, it’ll be a relatively smooth ride with a few significant bumps, albeit bumps that are pretty far apart from one another. Use this time to develop your overall academic ability while also figuring out what you’re best at and what interests you most, but make sure to squeeze in time for hanging out with friends or engaging in hobbies. You don’t have to be an adult just yet!

Nick Wibert

 

As much as I don’t want to introduce myself, you will most likely find out who wrote this one way or another. So I won’t bother to introduce myself. If you think I sound sulky, or like a brat, then you are correct. I’m not writing this while in the best mood. But without further ado, let’s get on with this assignment.

First off for advice: if you have some alternative way to get to school, use it. Don’t ride the bus. The bus is not the place to go if you want to relax after a tiring day of school. The worst that has happened on the bus I ride is a fight. The lightest is people screaming/yelling every-single-freakin’-day. And then you have drivers that speed and take corners fast enough you fall out of your seat. To catch the bus means waking up about two hours earlier than if you take a car, if you live far away from Bartow like me. So avoid the bus by all means possible. Second piece of advice: try your hardest not to procrastinate. Laziness is the biggest enemy any hard-working student has to face and I would suppose it’s part of human nature. Very hard to fight against, and much to be lost if you fail to win against it. Your grades will be very hard to keep up if you start procrastinating, but some of you probably know that from experience. Anyways, don’t wait till the last moment to get something done otherwise things will start piling up and nothing will get done. And that’s it for this paragraph.

Oh, wait a moment. There’s something more important than grades and comfort. Your health. It’s probably not possible to keep up your usual sleeping schedule you had in middle school, but do your best. Do try to get at least five hours of sleep every day. (And then I realize how foolish that sounds because of the amount and difficulty of the homework we get. Reality is harsh. Ah wait, reality is the truth, so it can’t be biased. Right?) Not getting enough sleep means falling asleep in class, which then results in spending more time at home trying to understand on your own, which leads to not getting enough sleep, so on and so forth. You think coffee might be able to help you, but having too much caffeine is not good for you, so dial down on that. Doing homework during class is not recommended, but it’s possible when the teacher just leaves you to do stuff on your own. Not that it happens a lot.

Alright. Regarding your service hours. None of them count for the CAS hours that you have to do during your junior and senior year. Just do the bare minimum of five hours cultural and fifteen community service. (We aren’t in detention centers or jail, so why do we have to do them?!) I have no idea what you can do for cultural, so you’re on your own. But you’re only just starting out in IB, or rather, pre-IB, so you have a year and a half to figure it out.

Classes to avoid: regular Bartow classes. Never choose them for electives. Those classes lack the right teachers to give students motivation to actually learn something. You rarely do anything worthwhile in those classes. Those are the kinds of classes you can fall asleep in or do homework and not miss a single thing. They also lower your GPA since the max GPA for those classes is a 4.0, unlike IB and AP classes which go up to 4.5 and 5.0, respectively. I still regret going to Video Productions for my 10th grade year, thinking that it taught animation. It didn’t. Then I had no interest in the rest of the subject, such as camera positioning and lighting for a set. But Engineering recently got a new teacher, and he’s been pretty good, so far. Doesn’t slack off like some of the Bartow teachers. And yes, I’m in that class because I’m interested in the subject. IB doesn’t offer as many choices as it did before.

This is going on to a second page so I’ll end somewhere around here. IB is not a place where you can relax in or let your guard down. If you’re not prepared for that, then it’s best if you drop out now. The classes are not easy, but the teachers are around after school to help you if you need any. Anyways, good luck. You’re gonna need it.

Yue Su

 

Dear incoming freshmen,

You are about to reach a turning point in your life, high school. You have taken it upon yourself to not just attend any high school, but to attend IB. I am sure when making this decision you have heard of all the awful stories that come with being an IB student such as having no social life because you’ll be drowned in homework; however, what you have heard are simply rumors that are not true. Attending IB will come with more responsibilities such as homework, but there are several actions that you can take to avoid “having no social life.” My biggest advice to you is time management. Up to this point in your life, you have probably not noticed your use of time management, but the skill is there. Entering IB this skill will aid you in planning your time so you can fit all the responsibilities of IB, outside school events, and time for personal self-care, which is extremely important. I will not lie to you IB does bring a large amount of stress in your life, but through time management this stress can be minimized. In addition to minimizing your stress through time management, I also highly advice you to pay attention to your health. Making time for good hours of sleep and simply relax time is such as important as planning when you will complete your assessments.

It is possible that despite applying time management, you still find yourself following behind and procrastinating. The most stressful moments are when you have two big tests the next day that you need to study for, but you have not completed any of the homework due the next day either and you have to volunteer after school for two hours. It is times like this where you have wished you had planned out your schedule, but it’s too late and now you are stuck staying up late trying to get everything done – it happens. I believe you have to experience this stress in order to realize the importance of time management so you can apply in the future. After that night you should see the need to plan out your time. I believe the best way to plan your time is by completing all homework assignments that are due the next class the day they are assigned and breaking apart large assignments that are due over a period of time so you can complete them step by step. The latter also applies to studying for tests. By studying a little every night you can avoid the stress of having to cram information the night before. IB will have more responsibilities than a regular high school, but these responsibilities can be managed. Now it is up to you whether you’ll manage them or allow them to manage you.

In addition to addressing time management and health, I will also address standards. Whether we know it or all, we have standards for everything around us. The most important standards are those that you have for yourself. Up to this point in your life your self-standards are set; however, it is important to know that they are not set in stone. Self-standards are important, they allow you to have a focus and aim for success; however, these standards that you have for yourself can result in disappointment. Although I believe this applies to all self-standards, I will like to address the self-standards we set for our school success. Your standards on school success probably revolve around straight A’s and passing all your assessments. These are good standards to have and I believe by having them you are motivated to strive for them; however, with this standard comes the expectation of achieving straight A’s and passing. The point that I am trying to get to is that you should not change your standards because they define what you strive for, but you should remove the expectations attached to them. Strive for success, but do not expect success. Allow yourself to be okay with failure and know that failure serves as motivation to improve. If your test scores do not met your “standards” know that it is okay; however, it is only okay if you put forth your best effort. View your failure as a lesson and an obstacle in your pathway to meeting your standards.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Gonzalez

 

Entering the IB program at Bartow High School is a significant achievement and is anyone’s first step into a major change. They will face many obstacles but with perseverance and hard work completing the program gives a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Throughout the time I have been in IB, I have made many mistakes and learned a lot. One of which is to use vacation time as a time to relax and don’t worry about school. Teachers usually don’t give homework during break so it is a perfect time to watch TV or spend time with family or friends. I regret during freshmen year when I spent my Christmas break studying for the AP Environmental Science exam when I could have spent more time with my family.

Another mistake I made frequently was that I used to use class notes as a way to study for tests. Again in freshman year, I used to use my class notes to study for my tests and the results weren’t very appealing. Then instead of going over class notes, I read the textbook and achieved vastly better grades and comprehension of the material. From that point forward, I would take notes in class to help me learn the material and help with homework; but, when the exam came around I would read the textbook to solidify my knowledge and help me remember anything that I missed.

The most important thing I learned during IB was how to efficiently manage my time. Setting up a schedule allowed me finish homework on time without stressing over deadlines and getting enough sleep to function the next day. The schedule helped me decrease the amount of time I spent procrastinating as well because all of my time was taken and there was no time for procrastination. However, there is a time for relaxation in my schedule because it helps me better retain information and make sure that my brain doesn’t get overwhelmed with too much work.

Overall I feel that the work in IB is not as bad as people narrate it to be. If the vacation time is used as intended, tests are studied for correctly, and time is well managed IB becomes exponentially easier and stress-free.

Jay Patel

 

Dear fellow IB student,

The workload you are given may seem daunting. You may feel as though you are losing time for other activities. However, I would strongly recommend staying involved in your extracurriculars or starting to become involved if you are not already. Unlike most people who will tell you to have other activities, I tell you not for the purpose of college applications. Yes, that is important, but there is another reason that I feel is much more important and that you will hopefully feel is more applicable to you now as a young IB student and will continue to be applicable throughout your life.

Extracurriculars are important for the purpose of time management. Extracurriculars take up time, valuable time. Keeping extracurriculars in your schedule leaves less time for homework. As an IB student that may sound like the opposite of what you want, but trust me it is exactly what you want. With a lot of your after school or weekend time taken up with extracurriculars, you have limited time for homework. This means that you must really focus during that time and not become distracted if you are going to be able to complete your work. People tend to use the time allotted to them to complete a task. I have noticed through personal experience that I often take two, three, even four times as long as I should to complete an assignment if I have the whole evening to do it. Busy people tend to get more done. The more involved you are, the more productive you will be. Just know your limits so you don’t over-commit.

With that said, have fun with your extracurriculars! That’s the whole point: to do something you enjoy and take a break from homework. You don’t want homework to be the only thing you do once you are in IB. Choose something you enjoy. Sports are great because it allows for a physical outlet. If you aren’t into sports or want to add another extracurricular (I highly encourage more than one activity!) then join a club. Or volunteer. Or work with an organization outside of school. Or learn to play an instrument (that’s a great one because it really works your mind but in a fun way). Also, there is a valuable social aspect of extracurriculars. If you find that you don’t have as much time to socialize outside of school as you did before, extracurriculars are a great place to look. No matter what you join, you will be interacting with people and getting in that needed social time.

All in all, extracurriculars are necessary. You need them. You will benefit from them. Just remember to be smart about what you choose do you don’t overload yourself. I truly hope you take my advice and give your mind a break from the work, have fun, and become more productive.

Erica Roberts

 

By joining the IB program here at Bartow High School, you’ve decided that regular coursework was too easy for you and you wanted something that could challenge your skills and knowledge. You want to get into the college of your dreams and do something great with your future; everyone who comes to IB shares the same goal. It may seem a little daunting at first, with classes like APES and Kennon biology giving you a taste of the worst to come, but I personally think you couldn’t have made a better decision than choosing to come here. And to get another thing out of the way, do what you think is best for you; if you’re really struggling to understand a concept in class or having trouble doing your homework, our teachers are more than happy to help you out after school. Take this advice, because I should have – maybe then I would have been doing better in calculus.

Time management is another phrase you’ll hear all the time here at IB as well. I’m sure you heard about it a few times at the orientation meeting, and the reason everyone stresses it so much is that it really hits hard senior year. If you have bad time management like me, you’ll be up all night doing homework and just exhaust yourself more; you’ll start to see this reflected in your grades. I have trouble staying awake in class, which is part of the reason I think I’m doing so poorly in calculus. So, make sure to do all of your work on time and procrastinate as little as possible now before you get to senior year, and get yourself into that habit. Another important thing to note is that getting a bad grade isn’t the end of the world – it just means you need a little more time to grasp the concept before you can really ace the test. If you’re having trouble, seek help; it’s better than trying to struggle alone and not get anywhere. I need to start taking my own advice and seeking help for calculus, which has just gotten more confusing as the year goes on. If I want to pass the IB Math exam, I need to find a way to better understand all of these equations and concepts; the same goes for any other course you might have some trouble with.

The last piece of information I want to impart to you is make sure you enjoy yourself! If you just struggle day in, day out for such a long time without taking some time to rest or recover, you’ll just end up an exhausted mess who won’t be able to do as well on end-of-year exams. Join a sport with your friends, get involved in some clubs, or just sleep through the weekend like the rest of us. What matters is that you’re still happy and able to do your absolute best to get into college. It’s hard now, but the classes that graduated before us will tell you that IB really helped them to prepare for college life and the workload, along with a better sense of time management and less stress on you to meet goals. Choosing to attend this school is just the first step – don’t forget the race still isn’t over. (As a last note, take this time management stuff seriously – get into the routine now and you’ll be thanking us in the long run.)

Joey Penas

 

Dear Freshman,

I know you’re probably not at all interested in reading more “insightful” advice from someone who has “been there” and “knows how you feel,” so I am determined to write this letter in a non-cheesy and completely condescending manner, rather than the lighthearted, uplifting garbage that you’ve seen before. I won’t even throw in any quotes from Gandhi, or perhaps Nelson Mandela; I’m sure you’ve read enough of those quotes to fill a few books. I’m not going to praise you and talk about how smart you may or may not be; after all, if I did that, I might as well just leave this as a comment on the Facebook post your mom made bragging about how her little precious son/daughter got into “the prestigious International Backaloreate [sic] School at Bartow High School.”

My first piece of advice is this: remember no matter how much you may or may not hate these people called your classmates, you’re probably going to be stuck with the majority of them for four years. Don’t try to hard to fit in, just calm down and be yourself. Sooner or later you’ll have the chance to meet every single person in your class, and trust me, they’re all just as weird as you, so you don’t have to try hard to fit in, just give it some time. Yes, you’re weird, and the sooner you accept it, the sooner you’ll feel at home. We’re all weird, why else would we be here? Just be your weird self, that’s what I do, and it works. Embrace your weirdness and find others who fit into your weird circle of friends.

I’m not giving you the typical “be a good student, study, don’t procrastinate, etc.” advice because you’ve heard it a thousand times, and guess what, YOU STILL DON’T LISTEN. Guess what, you’re in good company, so I know that no amount of persuasion I attempt to send your way will change anything, so I refuse to waste valuable minutes of my life putting these tidbits of cliché advice into slightly different wording than you’ve heard thousands of times before. Instead, I will give you new advice. Firstly, don’t whine about honors biology you little baby. I promise it gets worse. On that note, don’t whine about APES, it is one of the easiest, most straightforward AP courses you will take, despite being quite a bit of work. If you think these are bad, just wait for your HL science courses, which, in the words of Naki, “you may as well just put two ‘E’s between the ‘H’ and the ‘L.'” Anyway, my point is don’t whine, it gets worse.

Sincerely,

Alex Shamoun

 

As a junior at BHS, I have a lot of advice to give for incoming freshman. First and foremost, I give the most common advice of managing your time and not procrastinating. Even though this advice is said by everyone, it is fundamental to getting better grades, having a more fun high school experience, and getting more sleep. Whenever I am more on top of my work, I tend to have better weeks. Things that you can do in order to ensure that you do not procrastinate is start assignments early on instead of the night before they are due. I have personally found that starting essays on weekends have proven to get me higher grades and have less stress. Also, I have found that starting my homework assignments on the day they were assigned (meaning they are not due until the day after), really helps to alleviate stress. By implementing simple time management plans and not procrastinating, not only do you have less stress, but also have more time to participate in extracurricular activities. If your essay and homework due the next day is already done, you will have more time to be able to go participate in club activities.

For freshman year IB, I personally found the subjects of biology and APES to be the most time consuming to study for. I would personally recommend delegating the most time to these classes. Also, Algebra and English are not classes to be taken lightly; a good amount of time should be spent for these classes. When studying biology, I recommend going over Kennon’s notes thoroughly. For APES, I would recommend heavily memorizing the vocabulary and notes Ms. Allison gives. To study for algebra tests, I recommend doing the test review sheets given. For English, I advise always being on top of your game (always be prepared for a pop quiz) and always check Ms. Rossi’s website to see what is required of you by next class.

The last thing I would recommend to a freshman is to stay active in extracurricular activities. I personally did not partake in any extracurricular activities freshman year because everything was so new, and I highly regret it. By participating in these, you will become more familiar with the school, people in your class, and will have a better chance in running for officer positions in later years. Do not let a new environment scare you into actively participating.

Sharanya Singh

 

Dear Freshie,

When I think back on how the semester went, I can only say one thing – yikes (again). As a freshman (or first-year, since apparently “freshman” refers towards females), I thought that this would be the worst it got. The reason I thought this would be was because I didn’t know how to manage my time, the lack of people that I was familiar with, and how intense the year would be. Once freshman year was over, I thought that I could finally enjoy my high school years. Boy, was I wrong.

Junior year will definitely test your mental strength. If I had to give one piece of advice, it would to choose your classes wisely. Choosing the wrong combination of classes will cost you greatly. The Bio-Spanish-Calc combination is the deadliest. Never, ever do that combination unless you are very passionate about those classes. Something very important that should be noted is that you are the only who knows your true ability. Do not take a class you cannot handle just because your friend wants you to take it, or don’t take any extra classes if you don’t have the time just because you want to boost your GPA. Worry about yourself, not the college you’re going to or being top of your class.

I cannot speak for every class but for the ones I have, it’s an oof (Roblox™️ death sound). For Biology, it was fine and dandy first quarter. However, second quarter quickly came down and so did my grade. I love Biology, and would never choose any other science offered here, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of time out of your day. *DON’T PROCRASTNATE ON THE FLY LAB* For Business, all you have to do is be good at making up answers on the spot and you’ll be set. For Calculus, being good at math doesn’t help (but taking Applied Calculus at Polk State does). For English, I didn’t think a teacher who used to teach freshman would be so hard. If you’re not already depressed, the Plath poems you’ll read will not only make you depressed, but also make you consider yourself a Jew during the Holocaust. The worst problem that is common throughout your classes are the workload. Every teacher believes that their class is most important, so having balance is key.

That is basically the summary of my semester. For the future… yeah, I don’t want to think about the future right now. I will end this with a Haiku.

Luck on your Exams

Junior year may suck a lot

Uh oh very sad

Magda Beleri

 

Dear Freshman,

Being a student at IB has taught me much about life and success; but the learning has come with many sharp pitfalls along the way. What’s interesting is that I seem to have learned more from those pitfalls than I have from the smoother aspects of my life. What I mean is that the number one thing you can do in IB is fail.

By failing, I don’t mean getting F’s in all your classes. What I mean is that the only way you can get through your teenage years is by failing, again and again. Failures teach you the most about your character and mindset. It reminds you of your weaknesses and desires. Every time you pick yourself up after you fail is what will lead to success in life. I have failed more times than I can count; whether it’s in my personal life, school life, or social life. But what I have learned is that every time you fail and are able to reflect upon that experience, you gain strength, character, and mental toughness.

During your time in school you will fail many times. Whether it’s failing on a test or getting rejected by that sassy señorita you’ve been eyeing for a while. But don’t dwell on these failures… learn and move on. After the grueling cycle of failure after failure, you’ll realize just how much you’ve grown in all aspects of life.

Shashwat Bansal

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness” – Oprah Winfrey

 

I am assuming that, as someone who has just thrown their happiness away for these four years of anguish, you are driven by either pure determination, self-loathing, or parents (hopefully not the latter, but if so then you have my condolences). Whatever your source of strength, you must harness all your will power and keep a constant flow of it, because once it begins to dwindle you are as good as over. The IB program is, without hyperbole, a test of endurance – a test to see who has the most drive to finish the program and who is too weak to continue much further into the abyss. As such, my advice to you is to ask yourself these questions: do you have perseverance? Do you have what it takes to stand yourself back up after the mighty fists of IB pound you into the ground one after the other? Are you driven by enough force to keep you moving forward or do you lack the necessary momentum?

If you are still reading this, I’m assuming that you feel confident enough to answer the questions with at least a whimpering yes. Good for you. However, just convincing yourself that you can survive is not nearly enough. You must have a plan of action, some sort of way to counterattack IB’s divine fists. Through personal experiences, I have found out that retaining a hobby is an excellent way of allowing you to rest your mind and temporarily ignore the looming darkness that will be following for the next four years. I had given up my favorite pastime thinking that I would no longer have time to partake in it, but I soon learned that IB was not as time-intensive as I had been led to believe. Yes, it is time-consuming, but you will still have time to do what you love (even though it will most likely be more limited than what you might be used to). Maybe you like to socialize, or maybe you are like me and decide to lock yourself in your room and watch YouTube videos all day long until your brain rots with too many memes or mathematical documentaries. Whatever you decide your hobby will be, make sure you stick with it so you can stir away from utter madness.

Hopefully your attention span is long enough to have read through those two paragraphs and longer still for you to finish this one, because I could have spent this time writing the other gazillion essays that I have procrastinated in doing and are now due mere hours from the time of this essay’s birth. Talking about procrastination, please stir away from that. It is inevitable unless you are smarter than 90% of IB when it comes to time management, but at least try not to procrastinate with ALL your classes at once. Keep a healthy balance of sleep, procrastination, and recreation. If you care to know about how my daily schedule has degraded, then here you go: Wake Up, Sleep on the Bus Ride to School, Try to Survive the School Day, Sleep on the Bus Ride from School, Take a Nap of a Couple Hours, Go to Karate Classes, Do Homework, Recreation Time! (yes, I do trick my parents into thinking I’m doing homework), and Sleep 3 – 4 Hours. Hopefully you do not ruin your life as much as I did, but at least I am still sane… right?

Jonathan Berrios

 

The first two-and-a-half years of IB are full of way too many formal lab write-ups, STNTs, presentations, assessments, and AP tests for most sane people to continue to stay in the program. Somehow I’ve stuck through it all, and I would say that I regret it if it weren’t for the lovely and intelligent people that I have met along the way. Some of the best friends I have ever had I met during freshman year, and these loving friends have helped encourage me to stay in IB even when we were all surviving on nothing but caffeine and an hour of sleep each. For the most part, the teachers in IB are also extremely intelligent, funny, and willing to help you with any subject you’re confused about. A few teachers may not actually teach you or they may wait until the last possible day to put in any grades, but it is what it is when it comes to them.

If you hope to do well in IB and stress significantly less, you should probably do the opposite of what I’ve been doing these years. If you’re bored with studying for a test or completing a homework assignment, don’t just binge watch your favorite show on Netflix or take a nap. Your future self will thank you if you just get what you need to get done early and get the recommended amount of sleep every night. A lot of IB students may procrastinate and ignore their schoolwork, but avoiding doing that will help you succeed in IB while staying somewhat sane.

You should also take classes that you will enjoy, not just take as many AP classes as humanly possible. Taking classes about subjects you are passionate about will not guarantee that you’ll love them or the person teaching them, but it could make studying less painful and more interesting. Too many AP tests will overwhelm you when May comes, but it’s hard to avoid taking multiple when it comes to the choices of electives offered by IB. Still try to keep your mental state into account when it comes to choosing classes. If your worst subject is math, maybe take Math Studies instead of Pre-Calculus. When going into IB and choosing classes for the next years, don’t

only take your academic life into account. Try to take into account your weaknesses, and don’t overwhelm yourself by the end of year.

Heaven Buchanan

 

Dearest incoming freshmen,

Run. I’m kidding, it’s not that bad. In my past two and a half years in IB I’ve slowly been able to figure out what’s needed to survive. However, I don’t always follow my own advice so I really don’t expect you to either. Take what you want from this, but don’t say that no one warned you.

First, it’s important to say that learning how to manage your time is the overall key to IB. It really doesn’t matter if you do extracurricular activities or not, success depends on how you organize your time. Freshman year I did 5 hours of dance a week, babysat every Thursday and Friday, and participated in the school’s spring musical. It was really difficult for me to balance everything in the beginning because I didn’t know how to fit my homework into the schedule. There were days when I wouldn’t start my homework until ten o’clock at night and I would stay up until 2 in the morning trying to finish my APES and bio. Now I’m a junior and I do even more activities out of school but I’ve yet to pull an all nighter. The only change I made was learning how to manage my time. I highly suggest you at least try to make a schedule for your day after school so that you have breaks to do the things you like.

Now that you (potentially) have your time scheduled well, my next piece of advice would be to give yourself breaks. Some people might be able to sit down and do homework for 4 hours straight, but I am not one of those people. I am quite easily overwhelmed if I know I have a lot of assignments for the same day. What I suggest is doing homework for an hour or so and then giving yourself a fifteen minute break. The problem with giving yourself a break is the temptation to extend it. Then you find yourself at nine o’clock wondering what you were doing for the past three hours. Don’t do that. The earlier you finish, the more you can sleep. You need sleep, even if you don’t think you do.

My last piece of advice for anyone entering IB is to take classes you actually like, especially if it relates to what you want to study in college. Don’t choose electives that you have no interest in or take extra classes if they aren’t going to actually help you. Those classes are the ones that you’ll find yourself dreading and constantly complaining about. I’m not saying to take all the “easiest’ classes, but we’re in high school, have a little fun. Learn about things you like.

Overall, I wish you the best in IB, do what’s best for you.

Best regards,

Fabi Casillas

 

Dear little freshmen,

When I was around your age, I was definitely not prepared to face the challenges of IB. I will admit that I almost failed half of my classes due to procrastination and band (good luck if you’re a band person). Learn how to manage your time and fit everything in, but don’t do too much. If you are a band freshman, like I was, don’t join any clubs right away. Just don’t, because you’ll feel to pressured to do everything. If you’re not a band person, go ahead and join 2 or 3 clubs. You need to have a life. *rim shot* Ok, maybe you don’t, but whatever floats your boat, right?

As to your classes, at the time of this writing, you can choose your elective and your AP class. Pick an elective you like, or one that could help your future prospects. If you want to be a doctor, do Anatomy with Allison. If you don’t pick another class, but one that you’ll enjoy. Unless you want to follow in an older sibling’s footsteps and be valedictorian, take some fun electives to get a load off your back. As to your AP class, do APES. I know everyone complains about all the busy work that you will get, bit it prepares you more for the classes you’ll take in the future. Have fun.

A few recommendations:

+Don’t expect too much. You’ll be disappointed.

+Don’t cry. Us upperclassmen (and some teachers) don’t care.

+Don’t stress out over a B. It happens to everyone.

+Don’t deprive yourself of sleep. Make it a plan to always get sleep. NO MATTER WHAT.

+Don’t get too focused on watching Netflix. You’ll hate yourself when you have 2 STNTs and a lab write up to do in 2 hours.

+Don’t be an overachiever. No one cares enough

+Don’t be stuck up. No one will help you if you need it.

+Don’t be a snake. See aforementioned reason.

+Don’t procrastinate. You’ll die. Maybe.

+Don’t BS everything. You may need the actual facts eventually. Feel free to BS some stuff though…

+Don’t put yourself through a class if you don’t like the teacher. You’ll learn, maybe, but you will dread going to that class.

Follow these “wise words” and you should be fine. (I procrastinated on this essay. I turned it in 53 minutes before it was due.) Procrastinate at your own risk.

Ok bye.

Cody Cirrincione c/o 2019 and the first deaf person at IB-BHS

 

The advice for incoming freshman that I would give to them is the same as it was from my sophomore year. The first and most important advice would be to not under any circumstances take Spanish or take part in the Spanish program, wither this advice stems from my new found hatred for my mother language or from the classes terrible grade philosophy, NEVER take Spanish. Next on the lists of advice is, do not take AP Biology in IB, it may seem fun and you may like Bio but that’s what you though that’s not what’s going to happen after the first semester of ridiculous assignments and test that are only made worse by Spanish and how both teachers seem to plan both of their big tests on the same day as each other.

All this previous advice is for Junior year, as for sophomore year, it’s really easy in some aspect so all you need to know incoming freshman is to look forward to sophomore year. For the freshman year all you need to do is take Apes with Bio and it will be hard but it’s worth it as it prepares for the other incoming rigorous AP courses. Yet again I cannot stress this enough DON’T TAKE SPANISH AT ALL, because you will be deciding this in the Freshman year so it would be better if you just not pick Spanish as your language. It doesn’t matter what you hear from the Spanish kids, Spanish is a terrible course do not take it.

As for all other subjects like math and electives, if you’re ok at math and take stuff like algebra 2 in freshman year then go ahead, and don’t worry about Calculus and Pre-Calc it’s not that bad if you do what I should do more of which is study. Also watch your time in all times examinations because it will come back to bite you and make you miss Five marks on your midterm because you had to use the Restroom, so yeah just be a good student, don’t be an idiot and do drugs, don’t be the class clown, don’t sneeze loud, and finally don’t procrastin…..

P.S. Computer Science is a good elective even though you will always get told off if you fall behind in work. ( P.S.S that’s the class I’m writing this in.)

Jacob Gutierrez

 

Dear future freshman,

As an experienced student in her junior year of the renowned International Baccalaureate, I am obligated to bestow upon you the ideals and responsibilities that come with being a student at IB. Just kidding, I will not write my entire essay like that. Thinking back to when I was an IB freshman, all I remember is APES, APES, BIOLOGY, and APES. I, personally did not do any sports freshman year since I needed to get used to the time management needed to finish all the assignments. I am glad I didn’t, but I still feel like if I had, then I would have felt more balanced. Since it is an IB learner profile to be balanced. I recommend participating in a sport, or at least a club to keep you occupied. It would even help with time managing in the future years of IB. Maybe a sport will take away from that APES, APES, BIOLOGY, APES pattern into something more enjoyable.

Along with IB comes the numerous pitfalls you may encounter. Under the pile of books and assignments it’s easy to fall behind even if you miss a couple of days. I recommend not missing any school days without an actual reason. Not coming to school because you had a test or weren’t “feeling well” are not valid excuses. You WILL fall behind and WILL want to die. I honestly haven’t been through this since I have not missed days without an actual reason, but I have seen others miss countless days and then complain when it is their fault. So do not do that unless you want to have a bunch of homework to do and want to annoy your friends with your whining.

Another piece of advice that I hope you take in consideration is to GET A LOT OF SLEEP. I used to hate staying up late. I always tried to finish all my work quickly so I could get sleep, but of course that did not happen most of the time. I have grown accustomed to staying up late to the point where I can stay up till 2 and still have enough energy to scream Let it Go around my house. Even though it is possible, getting enough sleep is crucial during test time. Usually our amazing teachers have their tests during the same week, just kidding; I mean ALWAYS. Learning to spread out your studying and not waiting until last minute will help you get enough sleep the night before the test, so that your mind is not tired while taking the test. So basically, get a lot of sleep, do a sport if you want to stay balanced, and do not miss school without legitimate reasons.

Good luck,

Sarika Chauhan

 

If you are a freshman at IB, the most important advice I can give you is to persevere. The program is difficult, but that’s the point. The entrance test measures your learning ability and the program is designed to maximize your learning opportunities. If you succeed, your dipoloma will show that you not only studied a lot, but that you were able to overcome significant challenges and that in the future, you will do the same. To make the process easier, my advice to you is this: take pride in your best subjects and your worst subjects, and always look for ways to improve.

When I say best subject, I really mean the “least worst subject.” There is no way to get around the fact that classes here are difficult, so if you want to go far you should find whatever you enjoy the most and focus on it. Ideally, it should be like a sport – something you can motivate yourself to work on and improve at because you value your skill, not because it’s easy all the time. To get through the work that really is bad, find another way to keep yourself motivated. You can set aside some dessert as a reward, schedule a time to hang out with your friends afterwards, or even just play with your pets; pick something you want enough to make the work worth it. In either case, your goal is to take steps to make it easier to convince yourself to work so that you don’t just spend time trudging through your classes and hating every second.

One of my biggest issues as a student was struggling in classes I “wasn’t cut out for.” Either I wasn’t smart enough, or I was too forgetful, or I made too many mistakes… I got increasingly frustrated until finally, I decided something needed to change. For me, it was my calendar. I had been using a beat up copy of the standard BHS calendar and barely checking it, so I started seeking dates for anything I could, writing them all down in a notebook, and keeping it open on my desk at home any time I could to remind me what I needed to work on. It was frustrating at first, but it became my second nature quickly. After that, it wasn’t so difficult to keep track of my work, and one of my issues had been solved. As you progress through IB, I recommend that you try to find concrete solutions to anything that gets in the way of your academics instead of accepting them as intrinsic flaws.

This program is not going to be easy, but it is important not to give up. Just because you struggle doesn’t mean you can’t handle what the program throws at you. Instead, pick something you take pride in and do as much as you can to imrpove your skill at it. Even in your worst subjects, you can still always learn something important, although it may just be a lesson on grinning and bearing it. The best way to function well here is to be proactive and work to solve any problems that might get in your way. With dedication and perseverance, you will certainly be able to make it to the end.

Grady Daniels

 

When you enter IB, you’re going to take much more rigorous classes than middle school. My biggest tip to you is not to procrastinate and organize your workload for the week. Keep an agenda of your assignments so you know what you need to do in the right time constraint. Many freshmen I’ve talked to lost hours of sleep due to their lack of organization in terms of their assignments. Many students underestimate the time needed to do homework. They assume they can they can finish in an hour, and then end up going to sleep at a later time. The severe consequence of sleep deprivation is the inability to pay attention in class; as a result, your grades will suffer as well. Make sure you do homework right when you get home or when you have free time because every minute is valuable in IB.

As a freshman, I think you should use that year to participate in as many extracurricular activities as possible. Usually freshmen use that year to adjust to IB and its workload, but it’s the best time to get started with activities. Even though college applications are a long time away, it is never too early to be involved with the school and the community. Colleges like to see commitment throughout high school, so ninth grade is the best time to start. In addition, ninth grade, at least for me, was the least stressful year for me in terms of workload, so take advantage of that free time. In addition, it is also important to earn as many community service hours as possible. These hours are vital to college applications and scholarships; that’s why you should get started as soon as possible.

In terms of your first year of IB/high school, you should just have fun. People often say we don’t have a social life, but we do. If you get finished with your homework early, you will definitely have time to do what you want. Because you are starting out in a new school, it is important to make new friends which is why you should spend as much time with other people in you grade. Your group of friends are critical to your success in IB. They can help you with homework, remind you of due dates, and be positive reinforcements. Try to develop your social circle with people you know you can trust because if either one of you are caught doing something you’re not supposed to do, there will be severe consequences to you and your friends.

I hope you take these tips into consideration and good luck in your journey through IB!

Mandy Chuor

 

Wise words and what-not? I doubt my words are wise. Perhaps there is some mystical rite or hidden prerequisites that one has to figure out in order to have valid, justified opinions — I don’t know it. I meet so many people who are so confident that they have everything figured out, so sure that their worldview is the right one that they feel a need to teach everyone else the life lessons they’ve learned. I don’t have that confidence. Who is right, whose opinions should I believe, whose wrong, maybe they’re all right, may they’re all wrong… I just don’t know. I don’t even know if my opinions are right. But, I have to give you, whoever you are, my opinion anyway. I won’t tell you what I say is correct, you can do anything with my words if you care to read them. Maybe you’ll even benefit… I hope so, I hope someone out there knows what they’re doing — but I don’t think anyone does.

Lately I’ve been having trouble getting out of the bed in the morning. I have trouble making that decision to go to school or, do anything at all. I just want to lie there and fade away, why eat, why get dressed, why do anything? Some might assume that it’s because IB, the program is quite rigorous after all. When asked: if I had the decision again, would I go to IB again?  I never know how to respond. It’s useless to dream of what might have been, though I do it anyway, the fact is that this is my lot in life. No I have trouble getting up because I often lose sight of what I’m working for. I’ve lost sight of what I want, and often I feel that what I’m doing isn’t exactly on the path to my goals. Then again I don’t even know what I want anymore- certainly it’s not what I wanted in the beginning. Where is my commitment, where are my dreams. Do I follow my dreams, or do I stay realistic — get a paper pushing job because it pays well, climb the corporate ladder and retire at 60? And that’s just a small part of it. In a lot of ways I’m glad I went to IB, I made good friends and I feel educated. I just want an answer, I want to find something I believe, something I really want. I want to escape from the cynicism that’s been so deeply instilled in need. For now all that’s left for me, is going through the motions, do what I have to — smile, nod, laugh when expected, I signed up for this — I’ll follow through.

Enough of this rambling though… I’m in a black mood I suppose. The moral of this story is, well, to not end up with me. If you entered this program, and intend to go further — commit, damn it! If you’re smart enough to get into IB, and you have a dream, something you really believe in, you’ll have no problem. If your here because you parents made you, then try and make something of this opportunity. Don’t be me. Which shouldn’t be terribly hard — I’ve had a metric ton of emotional baggage since the beginning. Just try your best. I’m those are words everyone says, but it’s true, because our best is as good as anyone can do.

You will become what IB makes you. That’s not all that bad. IB will make you educated, ridiculously slow. IB will give you like minded peers. IB will teach you to write 700 word essays in one hour. IB will give you good teachers… for the most part. All you need to do is ride the waves, fight them and you’ll drown…

David Fullenkamp

 

To incoming freshmen,

IB is an incredible program where you can challenge yourself and compete with others that are on the same level as you to make yourself better. I have learned a lot from my experience in this program, and much of it has to do with time management, friends, and not stressing yourself out too much.

Let me start off by saying that I am terrible at time management. Maybe the worst person I know. Even now, I am typing this essay the night before it is due. So, in everything I say, remember that I have suffered the consequences of not following my advice. Time management is one of the most important parts of getting your work done in IB. Sure, the work itself is difficult, but you will not have a problem with that if you simply start before the night it is due. You may think that in middle school, you could do all your projects in one night and you were fine, but it is not the same in IB. When you rush through an assignment, the quality definitely shows and will be reflected in your grade. So please don’t put that essay or science fair board off until the last minute. It isn’t worth it.

Friends are so vital in your IB experience because they know what you are going through. They have the same assignment due, the same questions, the same stress. It’s so helpful to have friends that you can talk to and complain to about your assignments, grades, and everything else going on in your life. When you first get to class on the first day, introduce yourself to new people. Don’t just stay with the people you already know. By senior year, everyone will be everyone’s friend, because “[you’re] all in this together”, just like High School Musical.

At the end of the day, the biggest thing you have to remember is a quote my Junior year English teacher always said, “It’s not that serious.” You have to know that there are things beyond your control and you can’t and won’t always have the perfect grades, but just know that it really isn’t that serious. As long as you try your hardest and improve yourself, you’re doing fine.

Just remember that you’re in high school. Go out, have fun, relax. This is your time to be a kid. Don’t lose yourself in school. There is a lot more to life than that. Good luck, though you hopefully won’t need it.

Vismay Patel

Dear Freshman,

First of all, congratulations on getting accepted into IB. I know that I had many questions when I was coming into IB my freshman year. I am assuming that you feel the same way. My first piece of advice is that you start making friends on the first day of school. Remember that everyone feels the same way as you and that the people that you become friends with are who you will be spending the next four years of your life with. They will be there with you for the good and the bad in the upcoming years. You will probably stay with the people you know and are familiar with for the first few days, but by the first month of school or so, you will know everyone in the class. You are also close with many people in your class since there aren’t many IB students compared to a normal high school which may have hundreds of students in the class, whereas you have just a bit more than 100 students.

The first thing that you will notice is the greater work load. You will start getting homework the first day. There are certain classes that you will find have more homework than other classes. These classes include APES and Biology. Both classes assign homework every day and they will be the classes that keep you up late at night. You may complain at first about those classes, but both teachers are great and they know the material. Another class that you can choose to take is Anatomy. I took it my freshman year and it was a great class because I am interested in medicine. Just do all of the work and you should be good to go. Also take advantage of all of the extra credit provide because it really makes a difference and helps your grade. You will love all of your teachers!

One thing you can do is NOT PROCRASTINATE. I am a procrastinator, but I feel really stressed every time I do this. You do not have as much homework as some people may think you have, at least not every day. If you concentrate on working and work without your electronics, you should be able to finish all of your homework within 3 hours or so. If you do not understand something, ask the teachers or ask any of your friends because someone will be able to help you. Just do not stress too much about adapting to the environment.

Always remember the most important thing: have fun and enjoy your high school career. Do not think that just because you are in IB, you will not be able to participate in extracurricular activities and have a social life. This is just a rumor. My freshman and sophomore year, I did not participate in any sports, but I was involved in the school with my extracurricular activities. I ended up joining swim this year, and I was still able to manage my schedule, meaning that it is defiantly manageable freshman year. Just do not let school work keep you from having fun and going out with your friends.

Kshama Patel

 

Dear Freshmen,

I wish I could give you more advice, but IB has changed a lot since I’ve been here. And honestly, a lot of what I can tell you, you probably won’t want to hear.

Let’s start with some simple advice: the hardest classes are often the most worthwhile. It sucks, trust me. I complained and cried and struggled my way through my fair share of classes. But I’ve learned the most from those as well—not just the most material, but the most about myself, the most about managing my time and my life. Don’t think that every time a teacher assigns you too much homework, or grades something too hard, or expects too much from you, that it’s the most unfair thing in the world, or that it’s all for nothing. Yeah it sucks, but it makes you a better student to just do the work. Try your best. Whether you succeed or fail, you’ll learn something invaluable about yourself.

Something else: do your best work, whenever you can. Your IAs, EE, IOPs, and IOCs are necessary for your IB diploma. Your teachers might not always grade you on these, but IB does. Don’t let an obsession with letter grades in Pinnacle guide your decision of importance of an assignment. I think that’s a good thing to recognize early on. Even with smaller projects that don’t matter for your diploma—you’ll be happier with yourself if you do work that you’re proud of, and it will help you learn, even if you think it’s stupid.

Also: be friendly, be kind, try to get along with your classmates. I think ultimately, the IB environment is what you make of it. Your classmates are going to be annoying sometimes, but don’t let it get to you. I’ve seen a lot of friendships dissolve over the years, and IB is an intense environment that kind of catalyzes that type of reaction. You’ll be much happier the older that you get if you still have a lot of close friends. I think that you need them the most come senior year, and that’s when most people find themselves basically isolated.

Most of all: try your best, have fun, don’t take things too seriously.

Best of Luck,

Abby McDanal

 

Hello, freshman. Hello, other juniors who wanted to see what their friends wrote.

If there’s one thing all IB students can agree on, it’s that finding the right friends is vital. Hang out with people who complain just as much as you! Try not to make best friends with people who like to collude or take advantage of your work. In the long run, you’ll be thankful that you don’t have anyone freeloading off something that took you a lot of time and effort. Trust me when I say it sucks when someone is doing better than you in class rank even though their work is often unoriginal. Whoever you choose to be friends with, remember that you’re in this journey together for a few years to come so it’s wise to stray away from any bad blood.

Another thing I’ve learned is that you will gain nothing from hating any teachers or administrators. As much as you might dislike a certain course, I promise those teachers are there to help you. Ask for help when you need it!!! That’s one of the biggest things I regret, I used to be intimidated by teachers and felt that asking help would make me look dumb considering everyone else seemed to get it. Had I asked for help, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten my first ever B in algebra two (speaking of which, don’t be afraid of B’s. It will only ruin your self-esteem if you’ve convinced yourself that one or two B’s will kill you.)

Lastly, please be aware that not everyone in IB is at the same level. There are math geniuses who you just cannot compete with and people who seem to already be fluent in Spanish, but don’t let that bother you. Just do your best in each course. Not everyone reads textbooks fluently or can get away with a good grade on a bio test without studying. One of the best things you’ll develop here are good study habits, so use that to your advantage.

Other than that, the only thing I want to tell you is to be responsible in school. If you want to go home and do something stupid, okay, that’s on you, but cut the crap when you get here. I don’t want your entire class getting hate for some stupid action you made (this is totally unrelated to anything that’s ever happened in the junior class last year. Totally unrelated.) Good luck! Enjoy those STNT’s (and please don’t tell me you chose human geo over APES).

Kacey Wood

 

In your freshman year, you will learn what it takes to succeed. This is a delicate balance between your sanity, your grades, your responsibilities at home, and other obligations. My best advice to any freshmen who are struggling is to push through the hard stuff, and use any extra time you have to lessen your workload instead of slacking off and taking a break. On one hand it is imperative to take some time relaxing, but on the other, the majority of your time should be spent getting worthwhile tasks accomplished.

Ideally, everyone would only spend an hour or two on homework each night to get everything done, but when distractions and procrastination come into play, a simple homework assignment can take anywhere from 10 minutes longer to extra hours of wasted time. For this, I would recommend not having your phone within reach or sight while homework is being accomplished, and using music or coffee (not after 4pm) to help yourself be focused. Staying on task makes IB considerably easier and alleviates the stresses that come with copious amounts of homework.

Take easier classes to your advantage, but don’t ignore them completely. It’s fine to do an APES STNT in economics every once in a while (once a quarter or so) if you don’t get caught, but it is important to not get in a habit of doing that as your grades will suffer. Rushing through work in the class before it is due makes the work look sloppy and you will receive worse grades on it. Don’t wait until 10pm the night before to start an essay, try 3pm starting your work and see all of the free time that you have to do other fun things or just catch up on sleep. It’s natural to be stressed, but don’t let the stress wear you down or stop you from completing a task; just take a break, drink some water, tell yourself that you can do it, and move on.

Alex Skladanek

 

Dear Freshman,

How excited are you to be in IB? Probably about the same amount as I was when I started (take that as you will). It’s going to be a stressful and hectic time, but you’ll have lots of fun as well.

A word of advice is to make sure to make friends. If you feel overwhelmed with the amount of homework it’s nice to have people to study with or bounce ideas off. It’s also nice to have people to go out and have fun with. Don’t let IB be only stress and schoolwork. Make sure you have fun too.

Another important thing is to stop procrastinating. Right now. Once you start procrastinating you will not be able to stop. It’s like a drug (don’t do those). If you keep up with your work and getting it done early on means you’ll be able to sleep more and you’ll be a lot less stressed.

Those are my words of advice. Best of luck to you!

Sincerely,

Gabrielle Snyder

 

Hello dear freshman! Congrats for making it this far; I want to preface this by saying that I know things may seem difficult right now I won’t lie by saying it’ll get any easier, but keep in mind that part of the reason freshman year is so much harder than sophomore year is that you’re being weeded out to see who can withstand this program. So if this program is what you want, then just keep at it. Persevere and it’ll be senior year in no time. Now…I don’t know what you’ve heard, but in my opinion senior is the most difficult year of IB. In junior year I didn’t think IB could get any more difficult but this past semester definitely proved me wrong. So hopefully I can impart upon you some ~senior wisdom~  that will help you keep your head above water for the rest of your IB career.  

The first thing is that it is never too early to do college research. No one really thinks much about college applications until the very end of junior year at the earliest but you should really get started as soon as possible. These applications take FOREVER and ask for your information you probably didn’t think existed. Research what schools are best for the subject you plan to major in, or for your personal interests. Research tuition costs, scholarships, start booking campus tours, etc. When the time comes, come up with two to three teachers you want to ask to write recommendation letters for you. Most schools require one to two recommendation letters from teachers and one from your guidance counselor. Make sure that the teachers you’re asking recommendation letters from make sense. What I mean by this is if you plan on majoring in a STEM field, it’s better to ask a math or science teacher for a recommendation letter than your English teacher. It’s also important to show a flexible personality/skill set as well, though. So it may be best to ask for one recommendation letter from a teacher who teaches a subject related to what you want to major in, and another letter from one that shows you stand out from other students. For example, I want to major in civil engineering, so it was ideal for me to ask for a letter from my math teacher and from my art teacher, showing my skills in math and in creativity. You can also get letters from coaches, employers, and club supervisors. However, if a teacher implies that you should get a letter from someone else, I don’t mean to sound too harsh but take the hint. I’ve heard horror stories where a kid insisted a teacher write their letter after the teacher told them repeatedly that they wouldn’t be the best option for a teacher recommendation, and the teacher finally agreed but only wrote “I know this student” on their letter. I’m not sure how true that story is, but the advice still applies. 

My next piece of advice is about time management, but not the typical “don’t procrastinate” and “follow this studying format” advice, because I don’t feel particularly qualified to give that kind of advice. There are times that you’ll end up with more work than you can fit into one night or even two. Some people are like robots and can go hours without sleep or a break, but not everyone. And if you aren’t one of those robot-like people, then chances are you’re going to have to learn how to prioritize assignments because it isn’t going to be realistic to finish everything. For example, I might decide to do my chemistry homework first because that’s my worst subject. But if my chemistry homework is also my biggest chunk of homework then is that worth risking not being able to complete what may be multiple smaller assignments for classes that I have a better grade in? These are the decisions you may have to make in the following months, so be prepared. 

Don’t forget that it is important to have fun so you don’t go crazy. And if you can somehow work on school and spend time with friends at the same time (like in an actually helpful study group), then that’s just icing on the cake. Or you could do something fun that contributes to your community service hours/CAS. For example, I volunteer at the SPCA and it’s a fun job so time flies by quick. And if you feel like you’re in a rut, talk to people. If you like it’s more than a rut, talk to people. Talk to a teacher, talk to your guidance counselor, your parents, your friends. Don’t let yourself worry that your people don’t want to hear your problems. Obviously you can’t rant to them 24/7, but in general if your friends aren’t going to be there for you then something is wrong with them, not you. Don’t let people make you think your problems are insignificant or unimportant just because they think their own problems are worse. Surround yourself with people who will build you up, not tear you down. Don’t be afraid to cut ties with toxic people, but don’t confuse toxic with unware but well-intended. Enjoy the rest of high school while it lasts 😀

Isabelle Snowball

 

Entering high school is a factor that can be very new and overwhelming for any freshman but IB especially can increase the overwhelming nature. One major problem is all the preconceptions that freshmen have about IB before entering. They think that IB is super hard and has tons of homework. This is not entirely true because even though it is more challenging than regular high school and also has more homework, you don’t need to be a genius who spends 6 hours every day on homework to succeed in IB. What you do need to be able to do is sort out your priorities, manage your time and find time to sleep.

Primarily, it is important to figure out what is important and what is less important. Once you figure out what is more important, spend more time on that and spend less time on everyday regular assignments that don’t matter as much. Even though all assignments are important, you cannot spend an hour on an assignment that you know is 15 points or an assignment that you know a teacher is not really going to grade. One of the most important classes freshman year is AP Environmental science. Be sure to study for the tests and reading the book will also prove to be helpful. On top of that, space out your homework so that you don’t have none on one day and 7 hours of homework on another day. Time management is an essential skill that will make IB significantly less stressful. Do not procrastinate.

Although ideal, it is very unlikely that you will always finish an assignment the day it is assigned and that is OK. It is OK to wait to do an assignment as long as you have an idea of how long it will take. You should know that this homework will take about this much time and that time management will allow you to go to sleep at a reasonable time. Also, it can be exhausting to wake up at 5:00 each and by the time school is over you might be too tired to work. In this case it is best to take an hour and half nap which will freshen you up and allow you to concentrate. Overall, although grades are important it is also very important to spend time other than doing homework. Find time to spend with family and enjoy your high school years.

Vrunda Patel

 

Dear freshman,

I’m sure you already know that you’re about to enter a world with highly demanding academic rigor, but do not worry because I, and other upperclassmen, have a collection of tips we can give you having gone through IB ourselves. My biggest piece of advice to you is make as many friends as possible. Creating a large friend group will give you many potential sources of help for homework assignments, due dates, and studying for tests. Many current IB students, and many former IB students use an app called Telegram as their main source of communication with classmates because it allows us to easily create group chats accessible to all phone types. Group chats are the simplest way to ask questions to a larger group of people. Another big piece of advice is to minimize the amount of distractions around you as you finish your homework each night; you already have enough on your plate and you’d be surprised at how much longer it takes to complete assignments when you’re constantly switching back-and-forth between your homework and phone.

The most common pitfalls I’ve seen (in freshman year) among IB students are science fair and APES tests. To avoid unnecessary stress when going through your science fair project, DO NOT WAIT until the night before, and it probably would be best to not even wait until the weekend before. Besides the researching, experimenting, and typing your report, the other nit-picky activities involved with science fair take longer than you probably anticipate. And unless you’re planning on moving on to the International Science Fair (I for sure was not), don’t stress yourself out by trying to perform a ground-breaking experiment. If you do want to move on past the school level, however, I would look for advice from someone who had similar interests as you freshman year. Now to avoid the pitfall from APES tests, I found that reading the corresponding chapters produced the most success for me, personally. For the first semester I always got Bs and Cs on the tests because I did not know the most effective way to study. After asking friends who consistently did well on APES tests, I realized that thoroughly reading the chapters over the span of one week was the best way for me to get an A. Going through the chapter quizzes at the end of the chapter reading will also help because you may find that some of those questions appear on the test.

I found that not all of my classes require the same amount of studying. My advice to you for weeks loaded with multiple tests for multiple classes, such as midterm week, is to devote more time to one or two classes than the others rather than trying to study for hours on each subject. Being the only AP class my grade took in freshman year, I found that it was the class that was the most important and deserving to study. I also suggest studying a lot for biology because her tests are not easy tasks. To study for bio I usually made a Quizlet for each topic on the test two nights before, then studied these Quizlets the night before. Of course, every student has their strengths and weaknesses so you may find that different classes than I have suggested are more worth your time to study. These are just some tips you can look to if you see that you may be struggling a bit during freshman year. We’ve all been through it and you can go through it too; so good luck on your first year through the Bartow IB program!

Best wishes,

Victoria Vailoces

 

Freshman year can be quite the wake-up call for some people, as it was for the majority of my class, but appreciate the time while it lasts. Whilst Sophomore year is most definitely one of the laxest times of year, Junior and Senior year will take quite the toll on the average person. Having to balance deadlines for IAs, regular tests, SATs, ACTs, TOK projects and the EE are exhausting, so whilst you’re not dealing with all of those, take that time to appreciate your spare time, when you have any. Once you start getting into a rhythm nearing the end of Freshman year or Sophomore year, everything gets far easier up until the jump to Junior Year.

Junior year is one of the most bemoaned stages in the IB program here. Most people will begin taking SATs or ACTs around this time, CAS begins, you officially begin the EE in TOK second semester, and you start taking your AP science course, which all 3 can be surprisingly difficult in their own way. Between all of these, there’s no doubt that you might have trouble keeping up here. The simple answer is too either not procrastinate or stay up late, and most students will most likely take the latter. While of course staying up late is negative, at the very least be sure you keep falling asleep in class to a minimum. While some classes are more forgiving than others and have notes you can check later, this won’t be true too often. Pick your battles, choose which hill you want to die on, and at least finish projects if you’re going to stay up late to complete.

Senior year, I had been told that Senior year would be the easier side of the 2 years of the full IB program. However, I was never told about how hectic December would be, and instead mainly just warned about the EE. As long as you keep up with the due dates and finish the rough draft, you will be fine on the EE. However, December is filled with due dates and IA plans. Science IAs, midterm exams, the TOK essay and the TOK presentation are either due during this month, or right after Winter Break, and college applications are due over Winter Break at the latest, so you need to be prepared to stay on top of assignments in order to remain afloat. Senior year isn’t too terrible, but just be sure to not fall behind. Overall, IB isn’t too terrible, but the more you procrastinate, the more stressed you will be in the future. Keep on top of your work, relish in life once in a while, and you’ll be just fine.

Christian Hernandez

 

Vehemently Aggressive IB Advice Essay

Greetings, fellow IB Student. I hope that you are doing just fine in the program and need no help whatsoever. However, since you are reading this, I find it unreasonable to make the assumption that you need no help whatsoever. Therefore, I shall attempt to provide you with a record of my strategies for dealing with the stress and homework, through the window of time management. I shall not attempt to tell you what to study for and what to lighten up on, only how to fit whatever it is you choose to do into your schedule.

By far the most important skill to dealing with the stress and homework is time management. By using effective time management strategies, you can significantly reduce the number of problems you need to deal with. For example, if all of the classes that assign you homework end up on the same day, it is not wise to wait until the day after to do all of that work. To reduce the amount of stress placed on your schedule, you should do some of the work on the day that it is assigned, in order to not have 3 hours of homework the next day. If you know that you have some kind of event that will take up a bunch of your time on one day, don’t save all of your homework for that day. Do almost all of it ahead of time, so you don’t have to worry about doing homework all night because of your event.

The reason you need to manage your time is due to the amount of stress you place on yourself if you do not manage your time wisely. One good way to reduce the amount of stress on yourself is to simple not do two million activities per week. Don’t sign up for 8 clubs, then be surprised when you discover you have no time left over. You need at least 1 hour of free time per day in order to do a stress reducing activity and forget, even if only for a little while, about all of the pressure being put on you right now. Everybody needs to relax, including you.

The easiest way for me to deal with the homework load at IB is for me to simply do the homework at the earliest time possible. As soon as I get home, I begin working on my homework. If I need something to eat, I reward myself for doing one assignment with a snack. Often, it is simply quicker for me to just do my work than to think about doing it. If you ever find yourself thinking whether you really want to do some bit of work, just get it over with, as time spent thinking about it is ultimately time wasted.

In short, use some common sense. Don’t expect to have much time when you are attending some kind of an event. Don’t overload yourself with obligations and activities. Take at least 1 hour of free time a day to keep yourself happy. Don’t go to sleep at 2:00 and expect to feel awake the next day. Use your impressive brain power to manage your time instead of waste it.

Mahlon Scott

 

The fact that i am writing this means I’m not dead yet. Just kidding, IB is not that intense. Although junior year has really made it feel like it. If I were to go back and redo certain parts of IB, I certainly would (or maybe not because who wants to redo IB). Here is some advice for anyone reading this so that they won’t have as much of a hard time as I had.

The main problem that I have had going through IB is definitely procrastination. I know that many people say “don’t procrastinate”, but I’m serious about this. I remember that I have saved doing my homework for 2 or 3 in the morning instead of doing it when I immediately got home. This has caused so much stress for me. Do your homework when you immediately get home.

My next and last piece of advice to know how much you can handle. In this case I am talking about extra-curricular activities. Doing things outside of school is very important to have a balanced life, but too many outside activities can lead to you not having any time to do things like homework and have time for leisure. I remember how I crammed my life with extra-curricular activities so in the end I did not have time to fully devote my time to anything specific.

In short, do not procrastinate and balance your life. Your IB experience will be much better than mine if you decide to do this. Also, don’t write vectors as ordered pairs.

Jared Zulueta

 

Dear Freshman,

Congrats for making into IB! That right there is an achievement in itself. You spent time to sit down and take a test to get into a very good school and there are so many people that wouldn’t even bother to that. And then from those people who took the test, you were one of the few that were able to make it. But what now? You’ve made it and you’re happy (or so I hope) and you have four long years ahead of you. You’ve also heard the rumors. Long nights of no sleep and homework. Never getting free time and having a non-existent social life. These rumors are false to a certain extent.

What I mean by that is that everything mentioned in those rumors can easily be avoided. Staying up all night to do homework? The only reason this would happen is if you never started until eleven at night. It’s best to start early. I’ll be honest, I don’t start right away, but I don’t start that late either. Once I get home from school, I give myself an hour to relax because I like that time to myself to catch up on a TV show or watch a few YouTube videos. But the minute that hour is up it’s time to go straight to homework. That way, even in my junior year, I am able to finish homework by latest at ten.

Social lives are something you probably don’t want to give up. Well, I’m happy to say that you don’t have to. In IB you will get the opportunity to meet some of the greatest people in your life. The students that surround you all have the same mindset as you. We are all academically driven. Your friends will be able to back you up when it comes to school work. There will be hardly any problems when it comes to group work. You won’t be the only one completing the project for once. IB is a very close-knit group and everyone knows everything about everyone. Coming from a large middle school, it’s sort a big change when you actually know everyone in your grade. Honestly, it’s a good thing because you also know that everyone has your back.

Don’t take everything too harshly during your time at IB. There will times where you wish you could have done better, but all you have to tell yourself is that you can do better next time. Keep a positive attitude and you’ll do just fine. 🙂

Sincerely,

Jasmine Robins

 

I have tried to make this advice letter into an essay; but, I find that an itemized list with descriptions works better for me―likely because of how I grew up writing term-definition assignments for my teachers (I would like say that as I write this, I cannot stop watching Brooklyn 99):

First, leave the online TV/Movie banks (such as Netflix, Hulu, etc.) until after you do all the hard stuff. It really is a pain in the butt.

Second, as humans we are naturally imperfect. Accepting your flaws and working on them is the best you can do. Also, knowing others imperfections is important to keep in mind (BECAUSE WE ARE ALL HERE SUFFERING, BE NICE TO EACH OTHER:)

Third, one of the most important things you should be worry about right now is personal improvement―being a better person than you were yesterday. Even though that sounds selfish, you are the only one living your life 100% of the time; these people are get parts of it. Of course, as previously stated, no one is perfect and you’re going to fail; so, hopefully you are a good person and have befriended good people like yourself to help you in those situations, just as you would for them.

Lastly, paradoxes riddle life. I was going to list the ones I mentioned before, but I want you to find them (I hope they are as obvious as they seem to me). Find the balance.

All of this is much easier said than done. Keep up the good work. Thanks.

Armand Ceniza

P.S. I’ve also learned how far I’d go to write advice to a freshman: I looked up how to type TV shows in MLA, looked up the plural noun of paradox, and wrote this even though I would still have an A in this class if I didn’t.