From seniors
Looking back on my time at IB, the most important advice I can give to a freshman is to find balance. IB is rigorous and will probably take most of your attention, but it should not take all of your attention. You should be multidimensional and make the most out of all the resources you have at Bartow. One of the ways I have made myself multidimensional is through basketball, and though it has made IB way harder I don’t regret it because playing basketball has made me a more diverse and overall better person. Don’t make IB your whole life, because then you will be lost once you aren’t going to IB anymore.
A pitfall to avoid and one I fell into unintentionally is stacking too much work onto your senior year. I accidentally fell into this pitfall by taking philosophy, a two year course, and taking calculus in my senior year. Normally, people do the IA for calculus and the IA for their elective in their junior year. Because I took philosophy, a two-year course, and had calculus my senior year I doubled the amount of IAs I had to do in the first semester. Be aware of how your classes will impact your workload in the future, so that does not happen to you.
As for what is deserving of the most study, it is whatever you struggle with most. I struggle the most with Spanish. I am just not good with foreign languages. As such, I spent more time studying Spanish than anything else because it is harder for me to understand Spanish. Even if you don’t want to study something, you should anyway because you don’t always know where life takes you. My parents both did not end up with the job they originally intended, but they were able to succeed regardless because of their huge skillset they gained from not sticking to one thing in school. So, don’t try to be just one thing at IB. Do as much as you can, because the last thing you would want when you are older is to only be able to look back on all the opportunities you missed because you wouldn’t diversify.
Eli Englund
Going into IB, I think what is most important is to make friends. Sure, you want to get good grades and stay on the good side of your teachers (many of whom you will have again), but friends are who you stick with for all four years. When you are struggling your friends are too. Maybe they aren’t but even then, they can help you. I came from a middle school where most people didn’t go to IB. Don’t just sit alone at lunch, go up to someone and say hello. Everyone is nice. Plain and simple: you cannot make it through IB without your friends.
In my case, I think what I can testify the best towards is to not let overdue assignments get out of hand. If it’s really necessary, maybe let one or two slip with the right teacher, but you can’t let it snowball. Don’t forget about them either — sometimes I remember 0s in the gradebook in like the last week of the quarter and then I get very stressed out. But the right teacher part is very important. If the late policy is strict, that class is your top priority. For example, don’t do late stuff for Ms. Frisbie. Some other teachers are a little more lenient, but again never let it get out of hand.
I think that what you need to study for is what your weakest subject is, and what you want to learn. I have found that, for example, in the language classes you can put in the effort to pass, or you can put in the extra effort to truly learn the language, but that is up to you. I have always been weaker in science and English, and the teachers in those subjects were also generally a little stricter. So those were the subjects I tended to put more work into, especially if there were daily assignments.
Alex Doeringer-Smith
The main piece of advice that I would give to someone that is just starting the program is that they should make sure that they are a part of some extracurricular activity that meets consistently and constantly has the person involved. While there are clubs like Key Club and Fashion Club, I feel that it would be best for the person to be part of something that has the person involved weekly like Debate, A-team, or even a sport. This will allow the person to have constant contact with other people outside of school-related functions and assignments. It will help to improve the person’s social life and expand their social circle outside of people that are in IB. In addition, this extracurricular will help the person develop time management skills. The person will have to work to coordinate their schedule so that they have enough time to complete homework assignments, study, and still participate in their extracurricular activities. This forced time management will then allow the person to develop a habit of managing and organizing their time to complete various tasks.
Some mistakes that I have made during my IB career, is that I have failed to ask questions when I truly needed them. Even though we are in a school where a majority of the students are straight-A students and have 4.0 GPAs, which should not inhibit someone from feeling the need to ask questions and do things that imply that they may not know everything. I know that being around so many smart students can feel intimidating at times, but that should not inhibit someone from doing what they must to fully understand the content in their classes, even if they think it will make them look “dumb.” I also wish that I had scheduled more time in my days to study the material that is given to me. Although I may feel that I understand what is being taught to me in that moment, it is essential that the material is reviewed again at home and notes of anything misunderstood are made. Therefore, when the person goes back to class, they know exactly what they need clarification on.
Regarding Calculus, I believe that everything that I learned required equal studying and review time. While I did have some areas that required me to complete different problems so that I could understand the material in different settings, I overall took the same amount of time to review each subject area in Calculus. In IB, the main things that I have had to study for the most have been my science class—which is Biology—Calculus, History, and my foreign language—which is Spanish. I feel that I have had to study these subjects most because of the memorization that is implied with each subject. It is important that certain facts are just remembered to other categories of the subject to make sense. In addition, these are the areas that I have found overall to be hard to understand from the very beginning. English, TOK, and most 6th subjects are easy to comprehend without extensive amounts of studying to be placed into it like the ones I have listed.
In addition to the difficulties that IB offers, it also allows for a place where most people are like you. Everyone is willing to work hard and put in extensive hours of work, to some extent or another. There is always a group of individuals that will understand the struggles and workload that may be weighing you down day-to-day. The IB staff was also exceptional about ensuring that each student is given the necessary support so that they can succeed in the program. They want to ensure that everyone can receive the IB diploma and will do what they can to ensure that each person can obtain it.
Nhayah Bruno
Thinking back on my years at IB, and thinking about how I am in this situation where I completely forgot about this assignment until I’m in bed with nothing but a phone on me, I realize that the thing everybody says, but at the same time nobody does is to stop procrastinating. But at the same time, I feel like procrastinating is my key to success in IB because I would go insane if I always did my work on time, and never talked to my friends, it’s always a struggle to balance work with your friends, and I honestly would say to always choose your friends over school work is something I have never regretted. I’ve been in hour-long car rides, wafflehouses, and many other places with friends at almost midnight doing CAS and service hours together, well knowing what was due tomorrow, and those trips have been some of the highlights of my time at IB.
It’s impossible to be the perfect student where you always do your work on time, balance it perfectly with friends, don’t waste any time on social media or games at home, and study etc and all life is breathed for school and getting the spot as valedictorian. But I don’t think it hurts to pick and choose your battles on your own time. I like many current Seniors went into summer with the enthusiasm of finishing our rough draft for the EE over the summer. Only a single soul completed that feat. But I was still happy that I did something over the summer, I eased some of the stress that October would bring. Just leave a sticky note by your desk every night or on your phone that reminds you to work on your Summer assignments. I probably ignored it 90% of the time but it only took that 10% to complete what I needed to do.
Finally, if anybody who reads this hasn’t already, get into the school group chats, and if they don’t exist, make them. All of the seniors are tied together on telegram, we often use it for impromptu groups for CAS projects and clubs and meetings. I highly recommend that all class grades keep up this tradition of having a telegram account and several group chats for what is done. I also highly advise to not use discord for this. It doesn’t work as well as telegram for quick group chats created for a CAS project or upon a club meeting. Additionally it’s similar to WhatsApp with its wifi calling. The people who dropped out in our grade were the quiet ones not in the group chats, and the ones who did E-learning during 2020-2021.
Senioritis hits hard, once you send your college apps off. Try taking the SAT/ACT at the start of your junior year, and decide on a college by the end of your Junior year, dedication to a college’s admissions is probably just as important as your performance.
Elliott Chamberland
Dear incoming freshman,
Though the international baccalaureate program at Bartow High School may seem intimidating at first, the hard work and dedication will eventually pay off when you receive college acceptances from every college in your senior year. The first piece of advice that I would like to share to you is to not slack off during your freshman year. It may seem like an accomplishment to achieve all A’s for all your freshman courses due to the new rigorous standards when first entering IB; however, that is not enough. I recommend taking 2-3 dual enrollment or FLVS courses at Polk State College to boost your GPA and get ahead on topics that you will learn in the future at BHS IB. I regret not receiving this tip in my freshman year, but with my recommendations, I hope that you will follow them and strive throughout high school.
The second tip that I would like to share to you is to avoid procrastinating for the ACT/SAT. The SAT is an important standardized examination that impacts your overall college application profoundly. Due to the monthly (kind of) nature of the SAT one is able to take it around 9 times a year; therefore, studying one hour a day and taking the SAT early in your high school career can remove stress from your senior year. By studying an hour each day, you will have the potential to strive for the top 1% percentile of the nation and receive awards such as the national merit scholarships, which can help with college tuition and acceptance.
Lastly, I would recommend you to mostly study STEM based subjects in high school in your free time to gain a head start and even prepare for college. Courses such as chemistry, biology, mathematics, and physics mostly align with students’ career goals in college and studying these topics and performing well on these courses is vital to a student’s success. Math is a course that connects the three science courses that I previously mentioned; therefore, one must have a good foundation in mathematics to perform well in chemistry/physics. However, most importantly, try your best to balance out your academic life with your outside life; IB is not your greatest challenge in life.
Good luck!
Tzak Y. Lau
As a freshman beginning the Pre-IB and IB program, you have just been dealt a unique hand of cards that you now have at your disposal. Congratulations! What now?
There isn’t any one right way to play these cards, but the way you do will determine the type of success you find in the program, if any. I should say that success is and should be different for everyone based on what they value, so your journey will look different from the experience your parents expect you to have, the high school memories your older brother/sister tells you, the life your classmates will lead with you, and the path about which I attempt to advise you now. That is okay; in fact, it’s a good thing.
Therefore, if I had to limit my advice to a sentence, it would be this: for the next four years, your constant goal should be setting yourself up for success, whether that success is having the job you’ve always wanted, traveling the world, enjoying time with your friends, creating something innovative or beautiful, whatever. Thankfully, Ms. Frisbie did not give me a word limit, and I like elaborating on assignments like this, so I’ll continue.
When it comes to IB, sometimes it really does feel like playing a card game. Bartow IB is essentially a set of resources – from teachers to classes to community to classmates and more – that you will use as you wish. So how can you maximize the benefits from your time in the IB program?
Come into IB and every single class with an open mind ready to improve. You may have been the smartest kid at your middle school. Good for you, but being the best all the time isn’t what you’re looking for, so it’s okay to make mistakes and say dumb stuff. That’ll happen on the daily no matter what you do. Conversely, your parents could be forcing you to come here. If that’s the case, firstly, know that IB isn’t the best program for everyone, so if another school or program will bring you closer to reaching your definition of success, IB wouldn’t be worth it no matter how good our academic courses are. However, IB could be exactly what you need to change your life, so if you’re going to be coming to class anyway, be present and engaged in your classes. Do your assignments, talk to your classmates, follow your passions within the program. You never know when you’ll be presented an opportunity that could bring you so far ahead.
Avoid hyperfocusing on trivial things. Any one grade won’t ruin or cement your future success, so as long as you gave the assignment, test, paper, or project your best effort, you will be okay. Reflect on your mistakes and move forward as a better student for it. Likewise, trying to be better than every other student takes a lot but barely gives anything lasting back. Also, in the gradebook, a 100 and a 91 are both an A.
Enjoy the highs; adapt to the lows. You’ll likely develop a fluctuating love-hate relationship with the program as more responsibilities and expectations are put upon your shoulders. As you go, celebrate your successes! IB is a challenging program, so yes, you should be happy that you just finished your algebra homework. You should be proud that you improved your biology test score, even if it’s just by a few points. You should let yourself have fun with the random shenanigans you get into with your friends at lunch. You should relish the moments you have to yourself in between assignments. On the other hand, when things do become overwhelming, take a step back and lay out everything that needs to be done. Then, tackle each task one at a time. You got this.
Build positive connections with the right people. You’ve probably already heard that IB is much better when you have the support of friends, and I 100% agree with that sentiment, but make sure you surround yourself with people that lift you up and encourage you to do better (and you do the same to in return). There’s a popular concept in managerial leadership that asserts that the 5 people you spend the most time around outside of your family reflects your character, since it’s inevitable that these people will influence your actions. Make sure you make the right choices in who influences you.
Lastly, start thinking long-term as soon as possible. I realize this is a tall order for a freshman, but the sooner you do, the better off you’ll be. For now, seek out chances to further your passions and goals. Like what though? I’m glad you asked.
Things I wish I took advantage of before my junior year:
- Taking the PSAT in freshman year
- Volunteering Opportunities – aim to get 100-250 hours by the end of your sophomore year
- Dual Enrollment Classes – take classes to supplement your IB courses or explore your interests to avoid burnout, don’t take these classes for the GPA boost.
- MIT’s RSI program
- Career-oriented programs in general – MIT Splash especially, but also Yale Young Global Scholars, Princeton Laboratory Learning Program, LaunchX (there are so many more depending on your interests, but I’m not going to go into detail about all of them. Everything you need to know is online already.)
- The Rise Challenge
- Expanding hobbies – if you have a hobby, chances are you could be creating something right now with it. For example, I write on the side, and I just recently discovered a lot of initiatives and companies that support young authors in the publishing process.
Again, even if you work toward every point I listed, I cannot guarantee you’ll be successful, but I really do hope I was able to steer you in the right direction by at least a little. You have the potential for greatness, and I hope you have the confidence to move yourself toward success during the next few years.
Relax and have fun with the wild ride ahead of you. You can do this!
Best of Luck,
Kim-Linh Vo
Advice I would give to someone starting out as a freshman would be to stay on top of your work. I know that is a piece of advice that everyone gives, but it is definitely the most important thing to remember, Every single time I get behind on my work I get super stressed out which makes me very upset. I always feel better whenever I get my work done early and have free time to do whatever I want to do instead of staying up all night doing homework. Especially considering how tiring school is every day, getting a good amount of sleep every night is important, so it is best to finish your work as early as possible.
When it comes to studying, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses based on which classes they’re good at. For me, chemistry and history this year have definitely been the hardest classes, and I have had to adjust to the difficulty of the tests. I was usually good at passing tests in those classes without having to study much, however, that has not been the case as of recently. I’ve learned to do review problems and read through my notes/the textbook until I understand the material. This has helped me greatly to improve my test scores and feel better mentally in general.
Another piece of advice that I think is helpful is to get involved in sports and clubs. Most IB students shy away from joining extracurricular activities due to the workload from the classes, but doing a hobby outside of school is actually beneficial. Having practices and games helps me personally to create a schedule for myself and stay on track. Also, it is good to make new friends through a club or a team who have similar interests as you. This helps immensely in getting adjusted to high school which is such a different environment from middle school. Surrounding yourself with good friends who understand what IB is like and what you are going through is a very helpful part in doing well.
Analea Lopez
Dear incoming freshman,
The IB program, which is both the hardest and most rewarding adventure of your life, has finally begun. Before coming here, you may have heard a lot of things about IB that make the program sound incredibly challenging and nearly unachievable, but it is actually quite manageable. IB is like no other school in the county, and it is not meant for everyone; however, you are among the brightest students in the county, and you were only allowed to enroll in this program because someone recognized your potential and ability to graduate with an IB diploma after four demanding years. Hopefully, by the end of this letter, you take something with you that may help you with your journey in IB or at least help you start this program.
Although you have heard this many times and continuously ignore everyone’s advice, I will say it again, do not procrastinate! The only way to get through IB while maintaining a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle is by not procrastinating. Staying up all night finishing several assignments at once is not pleasurable and definitely not worth it. Waiting till the last second is not manageable in the long run. The work will continuously pile up to the point where you can’t recover. Also, in your freshman year when you are first introduced to the rigor of the IB program, find a schedule that best suits your priorities and objectives. Look for study methods that work best for you because unlike middle school you will realize that you will not pass your classes without studying (If you ever take AP Chemistry, you will have to study a lot in order to get a good grade in the class and really understand the information). Develop basic skills such as not procrastinating and time management at the beginning of your journey because it will truly help you in the future. In your first two years at IB, use every opportunity you have, do not waste any time. Start volunteering and start taking AP classes as this will give you a big head start. In addition, you should always reach out to your classmates when you need help and reach out to upperclassmen as they have already been through the struggles of IB. Upperclassmen will always answer any of your questions and help you as they can provide some of the most important advice in all of IB. This leads me to my next piece of advice, always have good relationships with your classmates. When you come into the IB program you will immediately realize that you are in a very competitive environment with many people that have the same mentality as you; however, the people that surround you every day in IB are the ones who will push you, help you, and support you the whole way. Your friends are your biggest supporters in IB and will always help you when you need it the most. As you all go through the same rigorous program for four years you will notice that your friends become more like family. You all will share numerous memorable moments, unique relationships, and many ups and downs in IB. Without your friends, you will not succeed in this program as it becomes a journey no one can handle.
While the social aspect is very important in IB you must also focus on yourself. Do not become too dependent on others. Make sure you are always responsible for doing your work to the best of your ability and on time. Everything you do in IB is important and always put all your effort into your assignments. Remember IB is truly a unique journey that provides an education like no other program. IB would not be the program it is today without the amazing teachers that form the foundation of this school. You will be taught by the best teachers like Ms. Loweke, Ms. Frisbie, Mr. Guice, and Mr. Nakamura. These teachers are incredibly experienced in their fields of study, and they are teachers that devote and sacrifice so much of their time just to make sure their students truly understand the material and succeed. The teachers of this program are like no other, and they will help you become more knowledgeable, more open-minded, and more prepared for the future that awaits you. Overall, I hope that you realize the IB program will prepare you for the real world and will set you apart from the thousands of new people you will meet in your life. If anyone reads this letter, I hope that you take some inspiration and continue your journey in IB.
Sincerely,
Ali Jaber
Dear Freshman,
Congratulations! You made it into IB! However, you now have a long road ahead of you, and it is important to remember a few things as you advance through this program.
In your previous schools, you may have been one of the smartest people in your class. You may have felt no need to study, and you may have easily done every assignment your teachers gave you. However, you will probably not feel this way as you start your year. You are now surrounded by people who were also the best in their classes. You now have much harder assignments. It is easy to feel discouraged and frustrated at first. After all, you have suddenly been thrust into a new environment, and on top of that, you may be having trouble with understanding the new things you are learning. These feelings of irritation will fade as you adjust. You will need to be patient with yourself.
Asking others for help when you need it is always a good solution to your frustrated feelings; this means going out and making friends. I know you may not be outspoken (I am not either), but the friendships you make now will help you get through the next 4 years. Keep in mind that all of the people around you are entering a new school where they do not know anyone, so making friends should not be too hard. Your friends will be your support system as you navigate through the IB program.
One thing you should avoid at all costs is procrastination. Many students wait to do their assignments until the night before the deadline; this is not a good idea. You will have many more assignments than in middle school, and letting it all pile up will cause you a great amount of stress. While you are rushing to finish assignments at the last minute, you will not be giving your best, and therefore, will not be able to show your true potential. This will not only affect your grades, but will also be detrimental to your health. Too much stress is not good for you, and sleepless nights will definitely be a hindrance at school the next day; you will find yourself unable to focus in class. Procrastinating is just not worth it.
Many students have weaknesses. For example, I happen to be weaker in science than English. I recommend that you try to focus on the subject that you are weak in. If you are weak in science like I am, then watch a video on the lessons you learned about in class or review your notes for about 10-15 minutes every day. This is likely to help you retain the information you learned in class and better understand it. It is important not to get too focused on improving in one subject because you do not want to neglect your studies in other subject. Keep a good balance in studying for every subject.
Don’t forget to have fun! You shouldn’t get so caught up in studying that you tune out the outside world (as I often do). Join a few clubs or hang out with friends. You can only be a teenager once, so make the most of it.
Sincerely,
Khushi Patel
Incoming Freshmen,
Welcome to the IB program, where you’ll (hopefully) spend the next four years, where you start a new chapter in your life. You have probably heard a lot about IB, from friends, teachers or relatives. Whether they’ve scared you with talk of challenging academics or excited you with the benefits of the IB program, know that IB isn’t meant to suck the life out of you nor guarantee success. This program is a resource, an incredible resource, but how you use it is up to you, and that is why your freshman year is incredibly important. It is where you are introduced to your resources, but also get a glimpse of all your responsibilities, which will only increase as you move up through grade level. It is where you can (and probably should) decide whether going to IB is the right choice for you. Some people are not suited for IB, and that’s just the truth. There are many people I know that are thriving and doing extremely well outside of the program, and it is important to recognize whether you will find the same success here at IB or somewhere else. This program does not get easier: try to talk to people and reflect on whether going on this journey is worth it for you, because the more you wait, the more high school requirements you will have to make up and the more work you would have done at IB.
“Wow, you’re smart? You made it into IB?” were questions I was asked by friends when I first started going here, which went along with the popular misconception that everyone at IB is a genius and that it’s a school for inherently intelligent people. This perspective towards us can be an easy way to gain an inflated ego and pride, something that a good few people, including myself, had. Truthfully, being at IB isn’t a sign of intelligence. Persevering, working hard, and succeeding in IB (especially junior and senior years) is a sign of grit.
Many people at IB, including myself in the past, thought that since they were inherently smarter at some subjects that they would breeze through school and that the program was not that challenging. In reality, however, people that are consistent, focused, and work hard are way more likely to achieve success. I have a few friends who wouldn’t usually be considered blessed by the gods at academics but through hard work and careful planning got higher grades and saw more sleep than most people, which is a recurring theme here (part of going to IB is subconsciously developing the trait of sleeping very little, even if the workload you have doesn’t justify how late you stay up). This careful planning will likely be said to you a million times by teachers, things like “do your homework the day you get it” or “don’t procrastinate on large projects.” In truth, most students have, are, and will ignore that advice. Don’t. IB is a school, but maybe even more than a school it is a resource. Counselors, teachers, staff, upperclassmen: there are a million things you can use for help or guidance. There are probably no teachers that I know or have heard of that won’t respond after being contacted about homework and few teachers that won’t be willing to stay during lunch or after school to help a student. I think that the most important thing I am learning to do at IB isn’t balancing redox reactions or writing essays on economic imperialism; it’s learning how to ask for help.
While in middle school, I cannot remember a time when I reached out to a teacher or asked for help on anything; if I was confused I would ask a smart friend or my parents. I was also the type of person whose routine was to go to school, ride the bus home, play videogames all day, and then go back to sleep. Yet here at IB through friends and staff I was able to discover extracurriculars that I enjoy with a passion, things that I thought were weird or nerdy in middle school, such as A-Team, NHS, ACE, or a sport (I run cross country). While it may feel like it many times, IB isn’t about having the highest number possible next to the “Weighted GPA” box on your student portal. It’s about challenging yourself, exploring your interests, and having a fun time while doing all of it. Personally, challenging myself with tough classes and having an unbalanced schedule is something I like (my parents don’t) but it’s the niche that I fall into at IB, and you’ll likely find your niche here as well.
If you’re going to take away anything from this, know this: IB is about swallowing your pride and learning how to ask for help. IB only increases in difficulty, it would be better for you (if you choose) to drop out early than to fail out late. IB gets a bad reputation for its difficulty, but the growth in difficulty is matched by your growth and change during this journey.
If you choose to take on the challenge, I wish you luck and hope that you’ll enjoy the journey as much as I have so far.
Juan P. Landaeta
Dear Freshman,
There are many things that you must know in order for your IB experience to go smoothly and successfully. You must know that the first year is always a change from any school that you come from. The style and teaching is very great, but you must get used to it. Don’t come into freshman year thinking it will be a breeze because then you will struggle a little. Another thing to know is that being organized will help you a lot. Take notes in class and write in your planner about due dates for assignments and projects. This will help you turn your assignments in on time. Also, make sure to make some friends so that you can have fun!
There are certain things that could cause you to decline in your studies. The biggest thing to avoid is procrastinating. If you procrastinate it just leads to more stress and makes your work not as good because you are waiting until the last minute to do it. Doing your work with time will ensure your success at IB. Make sure to pay attention in class or else you will be clueless when it is time for assignments and tests. For me, paying attention in class made the assignments very easy to do. The tests were easier if you heard what the teacher was saying in class. If you don’t pay attention the teachers will have a negative view of you. Keep these things in mind to ensure success!
The most important and deserving of the most study in IB as a freshman is the biology or English classes. The English courses for freshmen are very rigorous and involve lots of reading and annotating books. For me this was one of the classes with the most work outside of class, but if you enjoy reading it will be a breeze. The other class is biology. Biology is a course with lots of memorization and you must study to know all the terms. There are many cycles that you must know as well. I spent most of my time studying biology and it paid off. If you are well prepared in these two classes then your freshman year will be very easy!
Do not stress yourself too much. IB overall is a very fun school and has a friendly environment. You will meet friends that will have similar interests. You got this!
Giovanni Meza
As a freshman in IB everything is going to seem so much more difficult since you are transitioning from middle school to high school. You may feel like you are the only one struggling, but everybody is. It is very helpful to have friends because then you have someone to lean on who is going through the same things that you are going through. A huge advantage you can have is learning your study style early in IB instead of figuring it out midway through your junior year. When you have a study style down you will become more efficient at studying and you will retain information more easily. Doing your homework the day it is assigned keeps you from the never-ending cycle of getting caught up on work the day before its due and then not having enough time to do the work that was assigned for that day. A planner will help you tremendously. There are seven different classes with homework almost every night, there is no way that you can keep everything remembered in your head. Another way a planner is beneficial is that is can be used as a check list to mark off the things that you have already completed.
All classes deserve your attention, but the most important to study is your foreign language. Foreign language is important to study because for most people they have no previous knowledge of the language which means you have to learn it from scratch. You do not want to be halfway through IB without knowing about your foreign language, especially since you have to take it for all four years. Of course, different classes are going to have different study methods because the material is different and there is no set way to study. Quizlet will be one of the biggest and most helpful study resource you could use. The flashcards cards will help you retain and you can study on the go with your cellphone.
Since IB is so advanced, you will have little to no social life if you do not find a way to have balance. At first, it will be hard to balance because you will be almost overwhelmed with work, but as time goes on you will learn how to make time for friends and family. Sometimes you just have to make difficult choices between hanging out with people and finishing your work or studying. If you have to miss an event because you have to finish homework or study do not think that you are a bad person because it happens to everybody at one point.
Taylor Raymond
Dear Freshmen,
Welcome to IB. In the next 4 years, you will face many challenges that will make you cry and give up or make you stronger. This letter is meant to advise you on the certain logistics of things here at IB to make the experience less harsh on you. I am writing this to help you get rid of the stereotype that IB is a school that just does a bunch of schoolwork and tortures their students with assignments. By the end of this letter, you will be enlightened on how to enjoy your time here in this new, unique school.
To get the most important tip out to you, one should not procrastinate on assignments. Although this may seem self-explanatory and told by many hypocritical people, procrastination at IB will cause you to become much more stressed and make you lose valuable sleep. Also, it puts you at a risk of getting bad grades. From my experience in freshman year, I used to procrastinate so much that I would fall asleep around 1 or 2 am. The procrastination came from the classes that I didn’t like that year, which for me was mostly Rossi (English) assignments. I remember the days where I would annotate a book that was due tomorrow the night before starting at 8 pm and finishing around 2 or 3 am. Overall, this was not good for my health as it negatively affected my sleep and made me super stressed. So, my tip is to value your mental health and physical health above your grades in school, as health is more important than academic validation.
Another tip you guys should know is to maintain a good social environment at IB. Although maintaining good grades and being studious are good qualities, being too studious and neglecting social relationships and interactions are detrimental to your self-esteem and social skills. Make sure you maintain healthy relationships with your teachers and fellow classmates because that’s how you will maintain self-esteem and happiness here at IB. Your teachers and classmates at IB are very supportive of you and are the best people you will meet. At IB, there is lots of diversity so you will meet interesting new people with different backgrounds. Also, you will maintain tight-knit relationships with your classmates due to IB having much less students than other schools. With the teachers, you will meet some of the best teachers of your life. In freshman year, Mr. Naki, the algebra 2 teacher, is a fun laid back Japanese teacher that will make math fun. Also, he has muscles. Also, even though Ms. Rossi may seem intimidating and a mean teacher to assign lots of homework, she is still a nice, easy-going person who will make you much more proficient in your language arts skills and knowledge. Along your later years in IB, you will meet even more good teachers like Ms. Frisbie who prepares you really well for the IB math exam and AP Calc Exam. In the end, the teachers want what is best for you and will help you as long as you ask for help. To maintain on top of your studies, make sure you take proficient notes and practice lots of review problems for your tests. Since this will probably be the first time you will be taking an AP course, you need to adapt to the demanding curriculum and take proficient notes and practice AP multiple choice and FRQ questions at home. That way, you will succeed on your tests.
Another interesting thing about IB, is that some people are very competitive and want to be better than their peers. For example, I remember in freshman and sophomore year, I was pretty competitive with my peers about test scores and AP test scores and I will admit that I sometimes bragged about my scores. For example, after we got our AP test scores for sophomore year out, I made fun of a classmate for not getting all 5s while I got all 5s. Although this was a joke and the classmate knows it was a joke, it can hurt someone who feels inferior to the other person and foster jealousy between each other. Just know that it is okay to be competitive, but don’t go out of your way to brag about your scores and become so competitive that you lose sight of what is important — making yourself a better student.
In conclusion, IB is an interesting, fun school if you don’t procrastinate and you maintain a good social life and school work balance, maintain good morals, and never give up. So, with that, I hope you enjoy your time here at IB!
Best of Luck,
Mohan Nakka
Dear Pre-IB Freshman,
Welcome to the IB program! This is not your usual high school but something with more rigor, requiring a lot of your time, effort, and dedication. IB is filled with many students who have the same goals and aspirations of being a knowledgeable and well-rounded student and overall good people who you can enjoy the entire experience with. Many perceive the time in IB as a long and hard journey, but I believe that my time in IB has gone by pretty quick.
There are many things that one starting off in IB can do and can avoid. Personally, the most important skill for being in this program is organization. Depending on your classes, your workload may be large or small; however, without proper preparation, even the smallest tasks may seem overwhelming. Being able to organize a strict work schedule would enable you to easily complete assignments on time regardless of how strenuous it is. I have poor organizational skills because I am lazy. Don’t be like me. Keep up with your work; don’t be a slave to your deadlines (especially when reading books in English). Also, pay attention in class. I know it may be hard to stay awake in some classes (AP Psych), but you gotta persevere through some of the teachers’ droning, monotonous voices. Don’t be stressed over individual tests because that single grade does not determine your value as an individual or a student. You have no need to doubt yourself when you are not performing as well. Instead, focus on improving your present self rather than dwelling on past mistakes. ALSO, try your best to not procrastinate. I guess many people enjoy the stress of knowing your assignment is due in just a few hours (I do this too), but some assignments require a lot of time and preparation in order to achieve a good grade like the math IA.
Lastly, surround yourself with a good group of friends. Having a lack of social interaction at school makes it hard to be motivated to even go to school. With friends that have similar interests and aspirations, it can motivate you to improve yourself to be able to withstand this rigorous IB curriculum. The balance between school and personal life is an important factor for many IB students. Make sure to strive to be the best you can be at IB, but also enjoy the journey you’re about to embark on.
Jonathan Budlong
One of the biggest learning curves for me when starting IB was learning how to learn. That’s sort of a tongue twister, but what I mean by that is that you’re going to have to learn how to retain information. When I first started IB, I insisted that by simply listening to the teacher and watching the power points, I would be ready for my tests. This is not true for many reasons! It’s hard to pay attention to the teacher at 8:30 in the morning, and you are for sure not going to learn about photosynthesis in biology when all you have on your mind is “How much more time until lunch?”
Your saving grace? Taking good notes! Taking good notes is essential and not that difficult as there are many guides on YouTube. It will not only help you when reviewing for your initial test in freshman year but will serve as a good summary and reminder later in your high school life when the topics reoccur in your other classes. Let me restate this again; What you learn in freshman year WILL reoccur! You will develop what you learned in freshman year into more complex topics to further understand concepts in your sophomore, junior, and senior year. Now, this doesn’t mean stress about having to learn every nitty gritty detail for every unit in all your classes and having to retain that for the rest of your high school career, but make sure you know the basics by the time you reach sophomore year. The basics in your language class, math class, English class, ALL of it will become relevant again! As such, don’t graze upon your assignments and do the bare minimum. LEARN!!!
What will also really help is eating good and sleeping well. You are a developing teenager! Treat yourself right! One of my biggest struggles throughout high school was comparing my lifestyle in sleeping and eating to other students, and you need to NOT do that. Eat enough and sleep enough because only then will you perform at your peak potential. For example, I barely got any sleep in my freshman year and tended to lag in class because of it. However, once I started practicing proper sleeping habits in sophomore year, my grades started increasing because I had more energy to pay attention. Same within Junior year! I started eating more properly, and because of it, my grades have honestly never been better. Sleep at least 7 to eight hours and eat lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and more. This doesn’t mean you should avoid eating sweets, as avoiding sweets would not be a balanced diet! Rather, eat sweets but make sure you’re eating the healthy stuff too! It’ll all work together to develop your mind and body into a strong and intelligent state.
You got this, I honestly love being in IB because it made me a better person, and I’m sure it will do wonders for you too so long as you give it a try 🙂
Tuana Cenberoglu
Dear IB freshmen,
Welcome to IB! These four years are going to be challenging, with multiple assignments, exams, and high expectations from everyone around you. But do not fret, you can make this journey a little bit easier if you figure out a system that works best for you. Throughout the three years of my IB journey, I have learned many skills that I believe would help in our future careers and goals. To be completely honest, I had a hard time trying to figure out what I’m even doing. I haven’t fully grasped it yet, but I believe that this program is going to be a blessing once I finally reach college.
One main thing I learned is to stop comparing yourself to others. I know that this is such a difficult habit to break out of but comparing yourself to others is never going to help. It will make you feel insecure when you see someone who is having an easier time understanding a math topic than you are. One thing I learned that everyone has a unique talent, whether it be to solve math problems quickly, or to interpret a literature work much faster and easier, but no one is perfect and it’s perfectly fine if you are having to put more effort in one subject than the other. Everyone is different, and that’s what makes IB so special, because it is so diverse. Try to keep yourself open-minded because it can help push our differences aside and focus on building a strong bond between each other.
Another key advice I have is to take care of yourself, mentally and physically. IB is going to expose you to many different obstacles, and it is going to be hard to keep up with it and you will tend to overstress yourself. Try to engage in some physical activities with your friends or practice some sort of yoga, whether it’d be physical exercises or simply meditating. Do something you enjoy and keep yourself healthy as best as you can. This doesn’t mean you should do this 24/7 but try to balance your schoolwork and hobbies by keeping yourself organized. The best way to do this and I’m sure you heard this from Mrs. Devore lots of times but use your agenda. It may be stupid and annoying, but once you get a hang of it, you might see a major difference in your life. Manage your time wisely and if you are overwhelmed with everything, it’s ok to ask for help. Everyone wants to see you succeed and grow, so build relationships with your teachers and classmates.
Another piece of advice that I struggled with and is trying to avoid is procrastination. You learn new things every day in IB and there are projects, and homework and after school activities going on. Procrastinating is not going to help because it will just pile your workload one after the other and you will be overwhelmed. I am speaking from personal experience, and I hated that I did this to myself for two full years. But I have learned from that and I’m doing a lot better with all my classes. It’s hard to break a habit once you start one. It’s like a magnet that keeps pulling objects with opposite charge to itself. You got to be the stronger one and pull away from it.
Lastly, the most important one advice is to have fun. Learning may seem boring, but these teachers have seen many things and they like you learn something new every day. Once you start getting more comfortable with them, it gets more fun. At first, I was intimidated by Ms. Rossi because of her outgoing personality, but after a couple of months, I was always thrilled to attend her class. Also, make some new friends. It is a little scary, but your classmates are going through similar academic situations, so they will have a better understanding of your problems than your teachers. Don’t worry about your future yet, you still have a long time to figure that out. Strive to give your best and don’t give up too easily.
Good luck!
Rahee Patel
Hello stranger. I am writing to you to warn you about the perilous danger ahead of you. You might want to get out now when you have the chance. That’s what some people expect IB to be like. Hi, my name is Samson, and I am writing to give you some helpful advice that I wish I had when I was a freshman. The first and most important thing to take away from this message is to live life to the fullest, carpe diem. I want you to make your time at IB meaningful, which brings me to the topic of: what is IB? IB is just a fancy way of saying “being extra,” but in a good way. The curriculum will offer plenty of opportunities that will expand your pool of knowledge, and you’ll get an experience that will give you meaningful lessons that help propel you beyond college. Now that we have the purpose set, I want to use the rest of your time to start giving you the advice.
My first piece of advice is to be nice to everyone and make friends. There will be many times in high school where you will need a buddy to help you out, whether it’s because you’re stuck on a problem, need someone to send you the worksheet that you left in class, or just need someone to talk to when you’re struggling. No matter how smart you are, friends are essential if you want to survive in IB. Also, just be nice to everyone; IB is such a small place that in the four years you spend here, you will definitely come across everyone multiple times. Don’t forget to be nice to your teachers; whether you like it or not, your grade is in their hands. My second and last piece of advice is the most commonly heard yet never followed phrase: do not procrastinate. Procrastinating on an assignment is one of the worst things you can do because it also has the highest chance of snowballing into bigger assignments. Let’s say you procrastinate on a homework assignment by putting it off during the weekend and finishing it Monday night when it’s due Tuesday morning. Well, it’s Tuesday afternoon, and you realize that you still have a project to finish. Luckily, you finish your project but end up sleeping until two in the morning, which has happened to me countless times. Because you got no sleep last night, you either sleep through some of your classes or don’t pay attention to anything your teachers say, which causes you to fail the next test you take. The next afternoon, you realize that you still have to do the homework that’s due the next morning, but you’re so tired that you just fall asleep when you get home. Now your grades are suffering from the missing homework and the test that you just failed. All of this could have been prevented had you not procrastinated in the first place or just finished some homework over the weekends.
Finally, I’ll talk about the core of IB, the rigorous classes. The major advice that you should heed is to “always try” in all of your classes. That means turning in your assignments on time and preparing for all situations. There are only a few valid times where you should be saying, “I should’ve studied more.” Take all of your classes seriously since everything you learn here will be useful at some point in your life. Besides, what better stuff do you have to do? Play video games? Binge movies? Scroll endlessly on meaningless TikToks? Focus more on the stuff that, when you look back as an adult, you’ll be proud that you went through those struggles. Good luck and make me proud.
Samson Zheng
In theory, as an IB junior I should be qualified to give you advice, but I clearly am not, considering that I am working on this assignment a couple of hours before the deadline. I am sure that you have heard plenty about the importance of time management, and I can’t emphasize that enough, but I also think it’s important to acknowledge that your procrastination won’t stop just like that. I’ve struggled with my own bad habits for years, but I try my best to hold myself accountable and address the fact that my own poor decisions put me in unfavorable situations. For example, procrastinating on reading and annotating Woman at Point Zero just recently resulted in me receiving a grade lower than I would like, but I acknowledged that if I had started reading and highlighting earlier, I would not face this difficulty. Even though I wish I could just stop procrastinating, I am happy with the little improvement I have made throughout the years.
This year I had my first attempt with an internal assessment. Only one thus far, but even so my experience working on it taught me things that I hope to take into account in my near future. Although I had planned out this math IA starting at the end of my sophomore year (courtesy of Ms. Frisbie), I still managed to procrastinate enough that I stayed up the night before the deadline for both the rough and final drafts. I received a relatively low score on my rough draft, which became a reality check for me, as I realized that although I have sort have gotten away with my procrastination in previous years, there will definitely come a time where I can’t do that anymore. Know that IAs are no joke and preparing and working on them over an extended period of time is essential to writing a good paper. There’s a reason those due dates seem so far out: you need that much time to make a well-constructed paper.
As for classes themselves, my best advice for any class or subject is to just listen. No matter what you are learning, it’s important that you pay full attention to what’s being taught and ask questions when you need to. I still sometimes struggle with asking for help when I need it, but I know that doing so is essential to my learning. Our IB program is privileged to have teachers enthusiastic about our education and willing to help us when we need it. Additionally, asking for help is not limited to just teachers. Ask your friends and classmates, and together you can develop a better understanding of the content. I’ve come to really enjoy the times where I talk with friends about new concepts we’re learning and find it helps my understanding of the subject as well as theirs.
Academics is not the only important factor of your high school career. Extracurriculars are also of utmost importance. Find hobbies you enjoy and take the time to act on them. School clubs and sports are also essential, as service clubs can be a good source of service hours and organizations such as HOSA and FBLA provide opportunities for students to learn about and be tested on subjects they find interesting. I personally am not in a sport, but people I know who are find it rewarding. It’s also important to remember that your grades are not everything, as they don’t determine if you live or die. Focus on things other than school and enjoy your school year. And don’t sacrifice your health for this stuff. I’m guilty of doing just that, but I’d like to think that I’ve gotten better. Just enjoy this experience while you still can because it’ll be over before you know it. Take it from me, I’m two and half years through high school and it feels like I just started.
Melissa Thomas
When you first join IB you probably expect it to be really hard or expect that everything has to be done perfectly to get the best grades possible. However, IB is interesting in that the school is hard, or is going to be hard depending on how far into IB you are and the best way to succeed is to just keep pushing and realize that it is possible it just might take more effort than you have ever needed to put into school before. One common pitfall that IB kids fall into is that they think every little assignment needs to be perfect. This very thing has caused some kids to drop out because they did not like the stress of trying to perfect every assignment. However, it is very important to realize that one needs to not perfect every assignment ever, and rather focus on the highly valued assignments rather than the simple 10-point assignments.
Another important aspect to IB is realizing which subjects need more study than others. Not every subject will be as hard as another, but they all deserve to be done in a way that allows you to be successful in all seven subjects. Math will always require the majority of the study time and it is really important to do the math homework as it is the best way to strengthen your skills. The subject that has caused me the most trouble is physics. I would not suggest taking it, but if you do, you should study it until you are not able to study anymore. However, you should not get so bogged down in your studying that you stay up until 2-3 in the morning because that lack of sleep is the easiest way to complicate your life in IB and make it way harder on yourself.
The most important piece of advice a new IB kid can hear is the importance of having a life outside of IB. No matter if it’s joining a bunch of clubs or playing sports, it is really important to do something outside of school. While you might hear people say that it is impossible to play sports and be successful in IB, I can tell you that the idea of that is just not true. I have played football all three years, varsity starter for two, and do weightlifting in the winter, and then spring football when that comes around too, and I have been decently successful in IB with all of my issues being my own fault and not the sports. Playing sports gives you the ability to make friends outside of IB, and that is good because it gives you more experience with people that you would not usually find in IB. It also keeps you grounded because IB will push you to your limits, and sports or clubs gives you a chance to settle down and enjoy the four years of your life that are high school.
Brett Tyree
Going into IB can be challenging so determining if IB is the right fit for you is essential to thriving in the IB program. IB can become difficult, but it is manageable. There are many things that can help you in making the entire experience a little easier. It may be hard to get used to at first, but eventually you will learn to get used to the workload and have an enjoyable experience. It does bring a lot of stress and can sometimes overwhelm you significantly. So, it is important to know for sure if this is the right choice for you and is something that you believe will benefit you in the long run because only then will all the stress and effort will be worth it.
If you do decide to stay in IB, I would advise you to manage your time well. You may be used to putting off assignments and still managing to get satisfactory grades, but that does change a lot in IB. Especially when you have bigger assignments that require more time and effort than just the day before it is due. Knowing how to prioritize tasks is also important to avoid procrastination. Find out what methods for managing your time work best for you. Procrastination only gets worse because if it is something you are used to then you will constantly put off assignments, but more assignments will continue to keep coming. There will come a point where you get overwhelmed by this massive workload, all because you put off a few assignments. So, learning how to break a habit of procrastinating and knowing how to manage your time in order to get assignments done is very important if you want to do good throughout all 4 years of IB.
Getting your assignments done on time is very important, but also doing those assignments correctly is also important for your grade (obviously). I advise you to not be afraid to ask for help and ask any questions. The teachers at IB are very helpful in aiding you so that you understand a topic or a problem. Don’t be afraid to ask any other students for help too because that may even help more because they’ll relate to you and may explain it in a way that makes more sense to you. As the classes get harder, you may find yourself being confused or not understanding certain concepts, so it is essential that you take the extra time to understand the concepts to do well in those classes. Also, making friends in IB can also become very beneficial when you need help with work or honestly just someone to relate to. You’ll have people who are also struggling with you so you could help each other out to get work done and to understand the classes.
I would say the first 2 years of IB are way easier than the final 2 years, but they do set you up for the final 2 years. If you grow good habits of getting assignments done on time, it will carry over to the next years and will probably make those years more tolerable. It is important to establish these good habits and any good methods from the beginning so that you get used to it and make it a routine for school. Either way all the work is manageable enough to have a social life and still enjoy activities outside of school. Good luck and remember to be on top of things.
Vanessa Velazquez
Dear upcoming freshman,
Congratulations on making it into the IB program! You have showed great intelligence to get accepted into this program, however, the journey only starts here. In your middle school classes, I am sure you did not have to study that much in order to succeed, as you were one of the top students in your grade, however, IB is not like that. You are with some of the most intelligent people from around the county in the grade, so you will most likely not be the smartest. With this, people tend to get competitive. Although competition is good to some extent, it can get very toxic to the point where friendships have to be ended and administrators have to get involved. So please find a group of friends that do not compete excessively, but do not have a weak mindset.
When I first started the IB program, my grades were not the best. A mixture of procrastination and just being new to the school hindered my success. However, once I found a group of like-minded students in my grade, that was when I succeeded because it was then that I learned about group studying and cooperating with others. You need other people to succeed in IB, this program is not just a program in which you do the work, because there will be some areas in your studies that you need help with, and you need a group of friends to clarify with. Moving onto procrastination, I would always do my homework very late, and I still do, but I want you to not do this. You are procrastinating on a homework assignment because you simply do not want to do it, and you have to get the motivation to just complete it and then sleep. When you procrastinate, you are actively piling up more and more and more work until the workload becomes unbearable. This is a big reason why some IB kids are not as successful as they could be, and I suggest that you get your work done over the weekend, so you will be able to do less schoolwork during the week.
Moving onto sleep, I cannot stress about how important sleep is in IB. It is worth a good amount to get an extra hour of sleep. It is ok if you need to do some tweaking to your school schedule in order to get this sleep first, but you need to get this down eventually. Without sleep, you will have a sharp decrease in cognitive ability because your brain needs to rest. Finally, I want to end by recognizing the question if you can even keep up with this rigorous program. This program is simply not for everyone, and if it is not for you, you need to realize this early on. Please try to consider another option if you cannot devote yourself to this program. With this advice, I wish you the best of luck! 🙂
Jeremiah Silas
Dear freshman,
You are about to undergo a new chapter in your life, one that will be interesting, challenging, but rewarding in the end. Life at IB will not be a walk in the park, as there will be an influx of assignments that you have not experienced in middle school or elementary school. Along with the assignments, you will have to balance extracurriculars and life outside of school. Even though the ability to balance all of these aspects can seem impossible, as long as you maintain a positive attitude and never give up, you will be fine.
From my experience at IB, I learned that it is possible to balance all of these aspects of your life together, as long as you develop anti-procrastination skills and a sense of grit and responsibility to your work. When you start freshman year, you will feel some classes are to your liking and you will be able to do the assignments easily. For me, I was more inclined to the STEM classes like Biology, APES, and Algebra 2. So, I was easily able to finish the homework assigned for those classes relatively quickly. On the other hand, classes like English were so mentally draining for me that it made me want to bang my head against the wall until I cracked my head open. Ok, obviously I was exaggerating and you SHOULD NOT DO THAT but you get the point. Basically, you should delegate more time and effort to your weaker classes and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Also, even though these classes may be a pain in the butt, they taught me valuable skills like spacing your workload out and not touching your phone until you finish your homework. The biggest obstacle to you completing your work efficiently and smoothly will be your phone as it is a constant updater of new posts, texts, that will waste so much time out of your day. In the end, it is just instant gratification that will only make you lose sleep and become more stressed. Not touching your phone until you finish your homework will be insanely hard to do at first, but once you get used to it you will be happier and satisfied in the end. If you are able to efficiently do work with your phone by your side then disregard this advice but if not, try this tip and see how much it helps. Another valuable study lesson I learned is that you should strive to avoid perfectionism on homework assignments. Perfectionism in the end will only make you waste precious time and make you more stressed. It is fine to lose 2 or 3 marks on an assignment because you saved time to work on other assignments or do other things in your life.
Although studying and maintaining good grades is important, it is also important to maintain good social connections in school and outside of school. In IB, the friends that you will meet or the friends you already have will be the most interesting, supportive, and fun people to be around. In IB, the cultural diversity is broad so you will be exposed to different backgrounds with new personalities and experiences. Overall, this cultural diversity is what makes IB special because of the uniqueness of each kid. Also IB has a much smaller circle of students than middle school, so you will be more close with the students here. Interacting with other students and joining extracurriculars and clubs will make life at IB much more enjoyable and easier, as you don’t feel bogged down that this is just a work only school.
Overall, make sure you maintain a good school-outside of school relationship and never give up. You will make mistakes and sometimes feel like the entire world is against you but always remember that your struggle today will make tomorrow easier. One of my favorite quotes that I think will provide some inspiration is : “Quit, don’t quit. Noodles, don’t noodles… You are too concerned with what was and what will be. There’s a saying: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” – Master Oogway
Sincerely,
Pranav Gunjala
What you should expect from going into IB as a freshman, as compared to a normal high school experience, is a new engaging, and competitive atmosphere. The freshman stage of IB could be called the “adaptive stage” where the students get used to the workload, schedules, and time management. For many, the freshman year is the hardest of them all since it is an unfamiliar and odd environment but all you need to do to get through it successfully is to just suck it up. There is nothing to it except adapting to all the various new things that come at you but when you do get used to the environment you will excel at any class you put your mind to. It is like using the right formula where any outcome you long for, all you have to do is plug in the right amount of effort and you get the output flawlessly. Don’t overthink it, you will get through it eventually.
The most important thing you should avoid, and by far the most popular shared piece of info, is to not procrastinate. As you may have seen, many of the other juniors say don’t procrastinate because it is really the only thing that can bring you down. If you don’t procrastinate at all and you have already gotten used to your workload then there is no excuse to get a B in any class, it is just a matter of time management. Have a schedule and stick to it. Clearly list out the things you need to do and buy when so when the time comes when you need to do an assignment of study you have a strict schedule to adhere to and you won’t veer off. The key to success is time management.
You are able to get an A in most classes if you listen in class and do your homework but the only class in which you may need to study outside of class is biology and history since it is mostly memorization but when you do get used to memorizing information then the two classes will be easy. Another class in which people have problems is chemistry because of a lack of understanding of the material. If you are in a situation in which you don’t understand the material then search youtube videos of the same topic and hearing a different explanation on the same topic may help you understand it with better application abilities of that topic.
Mustafa Alaloosi
Dear IB Freshmen,
Welcome to IB! I would like to start off by saying make sure you enjoy your freshman year to the very fullest. This will by far be the easiest year of IB. With that being said, don’t complain too much because it will only get harder. Join school clubs while you can, do things that bring you joy, find a hobby or two, or maybe even a sport. Be sure not to just focus on the academics but to enjoy your high school experience.
As you’ve probably heard a million times already, do NOT procrastinate. Let’s be honest, everyone procrastinates whether we want to admit it or not. It’s not a good trait but it just happens. Especially with the IB workload. Moreover, address your time management skills early on or else it will slow you down both mentally and academically. Building good habits early on is vital to surviving high school.
Not just IB, but high school in general will allow you to gain knowledge, common sense, and important life lessons that others are not so lucky to learn so early in life. IB will allow you to find things about yourself whether these are your strengths or weaknesses. These four years of your life will go by so fast, and unfortunately, it is easy to get bogged down by “IB life.” I want to conclude this by saying have no regrets, don’t cheat yourself on anything, control the things that you can and most importantly have fun.
Best Wishes,
Grace Odikpa
Dear Incoming Freshman,
Welcome to Bartow IB! As a former freshman in IB, I would like to offer you some advice. This is probably not the first time you are going to hear this and it definitely won’t be your last, but do not procrastinate. Time management is a very important skill that you will need to develop. If you struggle with procrastination, identify the problem and try to fix it instead of just ignoring it. Waiting until the last minute because you “work well under pressure” is not a good idea. Although you may be able to get away with submitting your assignments at 11:59 on some occasions, it will not always work. Another important piece of advice that I would give is to take a nap. Coming home after working for 8 hours at school and immediately starting on your homework can be hard. If you ever feel tired or drained, take a nap because rest is important. Now, I’m not saying to sleep for five hours, but a quality 30 minute nap can do a lot for you. It can help you feel refreshed and potentially increase your productivity.
One pitfall to avoid is not submitting your assignments on time. Although many teachers take late work, it is rarely ever for full credit. If you are struggling in a class, you do not ever want to miss an opportunity to gain easy points that come from a homework assignment. If you submit all of your work on time and get a bad grade on a test, your grade will not suffer as much because of those extra points. Another pitfall to avoid is being easily discouraged after getting a bad grade. Entering the IB program is a drastic change and it takes time to adjust to this new lifestyle, so don’t feel bad if you don’t do as well as you wanted to on a test.
In my opinion, the most important and deserving of the most study are your AP classes. AP classes are college level courses and require much more out of a student than the classes you took in middle school. This can be an adjustment which is why I would consider these classes to be the hardest. AP classes may also be weighed more than the other classes you are taking, so it is important that you do well and attempt to maintain an A, so that your GPA doesn’t suffer. Maintaining your GPA can also be hard and very stressful at times. Try not to compare yourself to others and focus on reaching your full potential.
Although IB seems like it is always going to be hard, there are also many memories that you will create and remember for the rest of your life. Cherish them. Always remember to put all of your effort into your work, and try your best. I hope that you are able to enjoy these next four years and, again, congratulations on entering the IB program!
Sincerely,
Hailey Thomas
Based on my experience at BHS/IB, some advice that I would give to an incoming freshman is that they should take the next four years of their life seriously, in terms of academics, as their performance in school will determine the amount of options they have in terms of higher education; on the other hand, I would also tell a freshman to have fun at times and to make some friends as they might overwork themselves and burn out if they are only focused on academics and nothing else. Also, I would tell an incoming freshman to get in the habit of being coordinated and planning out how things will get done as it will help them get in the habit of getting work done in a timely fashion and will prepare them for the real world and when they get a job as the employer is going to expect them to be punctual and have work done within a certain time frame. In essence, advice that I would give to a freshman would be to start focusing more on academics and having some fun (work hard, play hard), and getting in the habit of being proactive and not procrastinating.
Some pitfalls that I could help an incoming freshman avoid are getting into the habit of procrastinating and turning work in late as it will lead to a spiral of self-destruction of turning all work in late and receiving partial credit for all assignments. I would be able to help a freshman avoid this problem as I have experienced the spiral of self-destruction, and I will be able to tell them what to do in order to avoid it, such as being coordinated and planning out when assignments and projects are going to be done by. Another pitfall that I could help a freshman avoid is being overwhelmed by the workload as the jump from middle school to BHS/IB is a large one and a freshman could easily be overwhelmed by the workload and demand. I would a help a freshman avoid this stress by teaching them how to plan ahead and how to study so that they can get work done without having it pile up into one big mess and helping them be more confident in their knowledge, which will take some of the stress away. Overall, some pitfalls that I could help a freshman avoid is getting into the habit of procrastination and getting overwhelmed by the stress and workload.
In my opinion, along with my experience at IB, the subject that seems to be the most important/most deserving of study is the one that a person is weakest at as a person needs to be successful in all subject areas in order to be successful at IB. Also, as someone wise once said “A chain-link fence is only as strong as its weakest link”, so a student is only as strong as their weakest subject; however, one could also make the argument that a student should study all subjects as they are all crucial to one’s success during IB, but some more than others, such as electives. Some would also say that the subject deserving of the most study is the one that a person is most passionate about or is interested in studying at an institute of higher education. In short, I would tell a freshman that they can study any study the most, but they should be studying with the intent of being the strongest student that they can be.
Antonio Arellano
Dear Student,
Congratulations on getting into the IB program! You’re in for a bumpy ride these next 4 years, so buckle up! My freshman year was really messed up. I entered IB during the infamous covid year, so I attended school virtually from home. Because of this, I didn’t get to enjoy some of the perks of freshman year to the extent that you might.
Freshman year is all about adjusting. Adjusting to the program, people, and teachers. It will be a little challenging to manage all the work while adjusting to everything, but you can do it! One thing about this program is that you are surrounded by like-minded people. Mostly everyone in the IB program has similar priorities, so it is nice and refreshing to be surrounded by people who actually care about their grades and want to put in an effort and learn. Additionally, the teachers in the IB program are world-class (hehe IB joke). Seriously though, some of the IB teachers are honestly the best teachers I’ve ever had. They are able to teach their students with such care and passion. They put so much effort into their lessons and are always there for you when needed. They are free during lunch or after school to answer your questions about schoolwork or life in general. The IB community as a whole is so caring and uplifting because everyone cares about you and your education so much!
My advice to you for this program is something that I don’t really want to say, only because you will hear these two things so much over the course of your high school career that they will almost become background noise to you. It did for me, but don’t let it happen to you too because these two things are sooo important to keep in mind. The first thing is DON’T PROCRASTINATE!!! The amount of stress and harm you will do to your mental health by just not listening to these two words is crazy. It is so easy to procrastinate in this program because of how challenging and tiresome it becomes. Missing 1-2 assignments might not feel like a lot in the beginning, but trust me, you don’t know when it starts becoming 5-6 missing/late assignments, which leads to a C or D in the class. Make a schedule for what you have to do after school and stick to it! You might get away with procrastinating during freshman and sophomore years, but it will NOT work during junior and senior years.
On a happier note, the second big thing is that the friends you make in the IB program are some of the best friends you will make. Like I said, people are very like-minded in this program, so you will become really close to your classmates. Also, you and your friends will be able to relate on so many levels, because you are going through the same thing. Everyone is stressing about the same assignment. We like to joke and say if you and your friends are suffering together, then is it really suffering? Yes, but it makes it a little better when you and your people go through it together.
Once again, congratulations on getting into the IB program! I hope you stay with us until the end of your high school career, and I hope that my advice helps in any way! Keep pushing through, you got this. Even when you think you can’t do it anymore, just give it your best! Good luck!
Heli Bosmia
Looking back on everything I’ve done up to this point in my Junior year of IB, I can admit I’ve messed up plenty. But that doesn’t mean you gotta go through what I went through. It’s helpful to be able to make meaningful reflections on your actions, as cliche as that sounds it’s true. So I want you to try your absolute best to actually follow the advice I give here. It’s completely possible to avoid the stress and mess-ups I went through.
First thing is being aware of the workload. It’s going to be more and harder work than a normal high school, I’m sure you figured out that bit. I’m almost 100% sure the biggest enemy you’ll be fighting all 4 years here is procrastination. It can be difficult to just start your homework, especially when you feel you’ve got better things to do or are tired from extracurriculars. Every time I start my homework late I always regret not starting it earlier mainly because it’s not that difficult to complete. I think I avoid homework because I simply think it would be hard and take a long time, but it always ends up being easier and shorter than I expect it. So don’t even think about it, just take out your paper and binder and start doing your homework
The other important part is studying for tests. You’ve likely been able to get As on tests by just showing up to class. There’s a lot of information to get into your head on IB. You won’t pass tests without studying here, so you’ll likely be learning how to study. Your teachers should be able to tell you how you could study, a lot of them posts their notes on Schoology. Simply going over those notes and really taking in what happened in class will make a huge difference. It’s also helpful to take your own shorter notes. If you have a textbook where everything is, it’ll take much longer to re-read the chapters, and you’ll likely forget a lot of stuff. Your notes should instead prompt you on what you should know, and if you find you don’t know anything about something from your notes then that’s what you need to focus on in the textbook or in class. Always study, I promise you’ll appreciate yourself more in the future for doing it.
M. J. Rodriguez
Missing school due to illness is hard but coming to school sick is worse. If you’re contagious, you don’t want to make things worse for other people. And if you just need to heal, it makes more sense to do that and catch up with an extension from an absence.
You have to be organized. You have to turn your work in. Doing the work, and then not turning it in never seems to work out for me.
Whenever you don’t understand something, ask. Ms. Frisbie really wants to help and she’s really good at it.
Calvin Holton
Dear Incoming Freshmen,
Starting the IB experience you may be overwhelmed and stressed believing that this program will be very difficult. Although it definitely is very challenging there are many factors that can go into making it a positive experience. Starting out, every freshman is worried about grades and the homework load. You’ll find yourself spending all your time trying to study and get perfect grades, and while doing this is important, you shouldn’t get caught up in doing just these things. You have to prioritize the things you want to do. This includes any sports and extracurricular activities you are interested in. It does not matter if you think IB will be too much to handle with these in place, the reality is that doing these activities you’re interested in will help you to keep going and push through rather than becoming tired quickly.
From my time here the first thing I learned was to have good time management and to not procrastinate. This is the most basic and annoying thing everyone tells you coming into this program but it’s true. You may think it would be hard to manage all your studying and homework at the same time as doing extracurriculars but doing the activities you enjoy helps you to not procrastinate. From my experience, my main extracurricular activity has been playing volleyball for both school and club. Having practices daily forced me to do my work early and pay close attention in class to understand material. I found on the days and parts of the year where I did not have any volleyball, I procrastinated more because I felt I had so much time to do my work but in reality I let the time slip away and would find myself staying up all night to do assignments that I could have done much earlier in the day if I had managed my time better. Doing an extracurricular activity also stimulates you to do your best because it is a break from the stress of normal school work.
Following a strict schedule is recommended from my experience. When you miss one day of school it is very hard to keep up and stop yourself from missing more school because you are too tired or overwhelmed. This also addresses the importance of health. Getting a sufficient amount of quality sleep is vital to keeping up in the program. You might believe that staying up all night to study for a test is in your best interest but it is not because it will mess up your schedule. You may know all the material for your test but you will not be in the best conditions to perform well on your test. This will also mess up your sleep schedule and you can experience tiredness for many days as a result.
The last major advice I have for you is to create relationships with your teachers and friends. You should make friends with other people in IB because these people will go through very similar experiences as you and you should be able to depend on one another. Having people you enjoy spending time with will motivate you to go to class and make your days more positive. Your peers in your IB class should be dependable to bring you up and help you out in times of crisis and you should do the same for them because in the end you all are going through the same thing regardless of what grades you have.
Try not to come into this program with the idea that your high school experience should completely revolve around IB and your grades because it shouldn’t. You should have a balanced lifestyle and enjoy your years because they come to an end very quickly. Do not regret not doing something just because you’re in IB, chances are everything will work out and you’ll be thankful you made the memories you did even if you end up doing bad on one test or not so well on a couple assignments here and there. What is important is that you can make the choice to do what you want to do to determine how these next years in IB will be enjoyable to you.
Lauren John
The value of a person is rooted in his quality, not his quantity. Every person has unique talents that add to your usefulness in society, and the International Baccalaureate Program is designed to help you perfect your abilities and correct your inequities. International Baccalaureate teaches you skills that will be useful for a lifetime, and will change how you view yourself and the world around you. The International Baccalaureate sets higher standards than normal schooling, and you will experience a lot more work and pressure than you ever have before, but the experience will be rewarding. The advice that will help you throughout your experience in the IB Program is personal responsibility and trusting in your classmates.
As you get immersed in Bartow activities, it is important to practice personal responsibility so you can maintain the rigorous program and the extracurricular activities. During this semester, one of my greatest weaknesses was personal responsibility and self-discipline. I would procrastinate and slack off in class, which resulted in lots of stress and lack of sleep. If I would change one thing about my actions during this semester, I would take more opportunities to complete my assignments. You can’t experience pleasure without pain, and my mistake was neglecting the work for pleasure; it was a lack of responsibility that resulted in bad practices. As you go through the year, focus on long-term goals instead of short satisfactions, which will help you be more responsible and successful.
The International Baccalaureate is a competitive program that challenges students intellectually and creatively, and some students will be smarter than others. One thing you need to do is trust in your classmates. Two heads are better than one, and other classmates come from different backgrounds, have different perspectives, and tackle problems differently. Most teachers expect classmates to work together, inside and outside the classroom, because they understand the importance of teamwork. Everyone wants the same thing and reaching for the same goal, but by working together, problems become easier to solve and goals are more achievable.
John Okereafor
Congrats you made it into IB! Glad you got the easy part out of the way. Now for the actual hard part. If you’re looking to get through IB alone, forget it. To get through IB you need those friendships that you make and help you persevere. IB takes a ton of work and is very hard on your mental and emotional state. The friendships you make now will truly be ones that you will hold onto for the rest of high school, I’m not kidding. Allowing you to have these connections can allow for you to create study groups, ask for help, and help alleviate some of the stress that IB causes.
My second tip is do not fall behind. It sounds rather simple, but IB is very rigorous, and it can be very easy to do. One common example is to take the late penalty for some teachers that are rather forgiving in their grading. This is not how you want to do assignments in IB. You will end up falling behind as you get assigned more the next day. Once you have fallen behind it is very hard to catch back up. It is almost like being stuck in a rut. This causes, for me at least, to be very unmotivated as I know the work keeps stacking and there is so much to do. This includes absences. Try not to miss or skip classes. Missing school days in IB feels like dog years.
Finally, elective picking. This is going to sound super cliché or basic but do things that interest you. Don’t try and go for the hardest classes just because some of your friends are. Pick things that interest you or that you think you will perform better at. An example of this would be choosing which science class you want to take in junior year. Go with the science class that you think you will do the best in. Do not base this pick off of the teacher you like more but rather the material. Also, stacking AP classes doesn’t mean as much anymore. Pick electives that you enjoy doing rather than extra work that you would rather not do. Colleges are no longer just looking at the AP classes that you take. Electives are a chance to branch out and explore things that you find engaging.
Ryan Andino
Welcome to IB. You should really only stay here if you truly want to come here and learn. IB is nothing like middle school where you hardly get any homework yet get all A’s. You will have much more homework, but this will be very rewarding as in this program you will go in depth into many different subjects in a way quite unlike middle school. So again, I advise you to only come here if you have some passion for learning.
In your Freshman year, you take 7 classes: reading, social studies, science, math, foreign language, and 2 electives. In reading, you will probably get Ms. Rossi, who can appear quite demanding at times. Despite this she will help lay a foundation that will make your future years in English much easier. For social studies you will get Mrs. Devore. She teaches inquiry skills, which is meant to help prepare you for IB while also giving you a period to relax. In science you all get Pre-IB Biology, which is easy and straightforward. The tests pretty much come from the notes, so make sure to study those. In math you will get either Mr. Nakamura for Algebra II or Mr. Reber for Geometry. Both teachers are great and you likely won’t have problems in either class. For your foreign language you can pick between Spanish and German. If you’ve already taken Spanish in middle school, you should probably continue taking that. If not, you should choose German. As for your electives you have many choices. I would recommend taking one of the AP classes available to you. This will only help you since in each of your other years at IB you will be taking multiple AP tests. Overall, all of the teachers are great and are willing to go out of their way to help you and make their class as manageable as possible. Also take advantage of the fact that you have a wide pool of peers who are going through the same program as you and help each other out.
My list tip comes from personal experience. Don’t procrastinate. Everyone will tell you that because of how easy it is to do. Personally I haven’t found IB hard, but I added a way bigger burden on myself than I needed to when I would be starting my homework at 10 p.m. when it was due the next day. Also, only come here if you truly want to go to IB. You only get out what you put in, so if you don’t really want to try at IB, you shouldn’t. You should spend your high school time at whichever school best supports your personal goals, which are completely up to you. Regardless of whether you spend your next 4 years at IB or somewhere else, always do your best, take pride in your school work, and try to have fun. Good luck.
Nicholas Kieffer
Dear Freshman,
Straight to the point, there will be many struggles in IB. There will be long nights where you won’t get many hours of sleep or none if such case. There will be times where there is plenty of stress (unless you’re Nick Haha). However, out of these struggles there are many benefits which one may not see right away. So, I would recommend that you make many friends as they will be a lot of support when school gets rough.
When first starting as a freshman, school may seem hard. It doesn’t get easier. So try to learn good habits right away so procrastination doesn’t become common. Talk with your upperclassman and learn from their mistakes. Don’t go doing big projects the night before like an IA. Avoid these habits as they won’t stop. As some of you have never studied or had to before, it will be different so don’t assume you won’t have to at times.
Some of the most studying I personally did was for chemistry. For later years, it would be recommended to study some of these HL courses as they will be continued on from what is previously learned. School doesn’t have to be all about academic courses though, definitely have some social life or join clubs. These are pretty fun and will for sure help relieve some stress that accumulates throughout the year. The program isn’t meant to make life hard; it’s meant to help you through life as you encounter obstacles which may seem impossible. Remember IB as a helpful experience and tool.
Freddy Bautista
Dear IB Student,
Congratulations, you have chosen to challenge yourself academically in the International Baccalaureate Program at Bartow High School. Personally, with the options here in Polk County, this is probably the best academic education you could receive. When I was choosing high schools to go to, I knew that I wanted a testing learning experience that would support me in preparation for college. IB is not an easy ride and being a junior finishing my first semester, it doesn’t get easier. Being a taxing program is very important because to persevere there needs to be rewarding aspects of life here. Four things I would focus on that have been positive aspects of my life inside and outside of school are academies, jobs, sports, and relationships.
IB is not difficult for the soul purpose of being demanding of students. Your teachers and administrators want to prepare you for a higher education and an intelligent career decision. In addition to the teachers that you will have at IB you will have electives that you can use for other classes. Bartow High School (BHS) has many academies that are formulated to give students a potential career and to give them a head start for college. The academies at BHS give opportunities to test and pursue a rewarding career. Personally, I am in the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Academy (ACE) and the Cabinetmaking class. I want to go to the Rinker School of Construction at the University of Florida for Construction Management. In relation with ACE, I the current Historian for our Future Builders of America (FBA) and a Team Leader for our ACE Mentor Program. These are not only fun, but prosperous learning opportunities in relation to these fields. From the ACE Mentor Program, I have received $3000 in scholarship money that can be used towards an education in Architecture, Construction, or Education. A very exciting opportunity I have been given this year is to go to Las Vegas and compete with the other FBA Officers at the International Builders Show. The people I have met and the things I have learned have helped me to find some purpose and responsibility throughout the year and help me solidify my choice to pursue construction.
Having a career figured out in high school is very beneficial, but let’s move onto more common highschooler activities like jobs. I have worked two jobs during my time at IB. Both jobs I have worked were summer jobs and working a job has many benefits so I will list them out and explain after. The benefits I have found for working a job are meeting new people that can write recommendations, plugging yourself into a real workforce, having something productive to do either during the summer or during the school year if there is time, and earning money of course. When you start driving or you want to go have fun with your friends or you’re interested in treating a significant other, it will be very apparent that those things do not happen easily without money. In addition to earning the money it is very important to save it and make sure it lasts you. The intrinsic opportunities that come from working a job can be just as important as earning money. Personally, both the jobs I have worked have been out in the sun and have not been easy, but this past summer I worked for Southern Homes, a local residential builder. Doing labor under a company like Southern shows me what it means to be an employee and will give me a perspective of the other side when I have my own employees in the future. If you don’t know what career or area you want to pursue, then I would either suggest trying new jobs that you think would be enjoyable in the future and maybe you will find something that you fall in love with. Also, working a job that related to a field you are interested in might show you that you hate that profession, and you want to find other options. The other way that many highschoolers choose jobs is by finding a place that is low stress, pays well, and offers good hours. For example, after my freshman year I wasn’t set on construction, and I was offered a job by my friend’s dad on a farm. Sure, it was hard work, but I worked beside two of my good friends and the work was as low stress as it gets. Not to mention it was healthy and helped me stay in shape while I wasn’t playing sports constantly.
On the matter of sports, I am a heavy advocate for playing and growing to love a sport during high school. Chronologically, at the beginning of my freshman year one of my good friends Judd recommended that I should join the swim team which he was the captain of. I enjoyed swimming and I would even go as far as to say that season might have been the best shape I have ever been in. I was improving quickly and even broke Judd’s season breaststroke record before he crushed it at Counties. The swim season gave me a good chance to make friends before the school year even started and it gave me something to do after school every day. One thing that steered me away from swimming is the individual aspect of it and the stress that comes from being the only swimmer on your team in a heat. Also, swim was very difficult and although I was getting better, I felt that it was very repetitive. As a result of these conclusions, I looked towards team sports which I had played in the past and lacrosse was recommended to me by another friend of mine, Brayden. The coaches were kind to me my freshman year and myself being athletic I was able to pick it up quickly. Still, I had a lot to learn and didn’t get to play much my freshman year because I was so inexperienced, and the sport takes so many practiced skills. Lacrosse gave me something completely new to have ambition in and improve at. As I worked more and practiced through the summer, I gained more experience and became a starter by the beginning of my sophomore season. You may think that playing a sport would take away from the ability to complete schoolwork, but I feel as though during the season I have even more focus and much better time management. Sports are a fun and healthy way to get out there and try something new.
The final point that I want to make is about relationships. Our relationships change throughout our lives, and they can alter many aspects of your life. A great night with your friends or dinner with your grandparents could make you very happy and at the same time a bad breakup or a fight with your parents could ruin your week. Either way you are becoming a different person as relationships change and depending on these relationships this can be a productive growth or your greatest downfall. Even while being a student at a time-consuming school like IB, I have produced relationships with so many wonderful people: school friends, friends from lacrosse, a girlfriend, great teachers, and wise coaches. It cannot be stressed enough that those who you surround yourself with will build you up or break you down. For example, I met my girlfriend my freshman year and she has become one of the most influential people in my life by teaching me about myself and supporting me through any hardship. Moreover, the friends I have gained through school have made the whole challenge that is IB exponentially easier. Having less than 60 students in a class puts a lot of different people close together and everyone is extremely supportive and helpful. Sometimes it feels like my peers wants me to succeed just as much as they want themselves to, which is saying something for students that are inherently competitive. I left this point for last because of how important I believe it is as a student and as a person. All in all, most of what I’ve said is opinionated, but I think people can find purpose in whatever they are passionate about, it could be a hobby, a sport, volunteering, a relationship, a job, a religion, or anything that brings you joy and feels freeing. I wish you luck as you continue to run into roadblocks and accomplishments alike. I hope that you will learn and grow as a result of your setbacks and that you will remain humble through every achievement.
Sincerely,
Porter Brown