Peter Plan

Off to take the IB without any planning of what I'm going to do!!
(taken from http://tumblr.com)

Oh dear God, I'm really sorry for the bad pun I put in the title.

Yes, it's the very first thing I'm going to talk about. And you've all failed this. As a matter of fact, we've all failed this. I mean, look at us. We're in IB.

Yes, as a human being, we wanted to get what's best for us and sometimes...okay, maybe not sometimes. Often times, we get persuaded so easily, especially when it comes to something that has a big plank in front of it that says "I WILL HELP MAKE YOUR FUTURE BRIGHTER THAN THE STARS IN YOUR CRUSH'S EYES". It's a metaphor. And a little bit of exaggeration. So yeah, that is what everyone said about IB. I've mentioned this in my previous post, about how persuasive people are. When they talk about the good things that IB will give you, it sounds like your life is going to be a breeze. Why?

There are three possibilities:

• They've passed the cloudy days of IB
• They didn't take IB
• They're from Switzerland

Well, it is fair to say that people, such as our teachers, our counselors and our seniors, DID say that IB is a pain in the opening tip of our large intestine. Not directly, of course, but you get my point. It's just that we choose to only listen to the good parts of the IB, which are the results, but not the process. Yes, I know, we were too young, too ignorant, blinded by the glamorous things that are promised by this so-called International Baccalaureate without considering the pathway that we should go through. Wow, that went dramatic.

Okay, back to the whole planning thing. The first planning that should be done is actually BEFORE you jump into IB, and we've talked about that. If you feel like a mad genius then yeah jump right in. IB requires you to take 6 subject selections and among those 6, you have to take at least 3 Higher Level (HL) subjects in order for you to get the diploma and 1 language A subject (most probably your first language). In choosing these subjects, you should really keep in mind the major that you want to take in university so that your selections fulfill the requirements given by the university/ies that you want to apply to. Don't just choose random subjects willy nilly, you silly Billy. I feel like a rapper already. Anyway, if you want to do more, you might want to rethink your whole decision. And life. If you're very sure of it, then okay, props for you mate. If you want to do less, then you'll only be taking IB Course, not IB Diploma. There are 2 more things (as if 6 subjects are not enough) that you need to do to complete the IB Diploma. Extended Essay (EE) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK). In doing your Extended Essay, you'll face yet another situation where you have to plan everything before you make a decision. You have to choose the subject that you're actually passionate in. I know it sounds a bit silly, but it really does matter. For example, if you like sciences, then you might consider doing Biology, Chemistry or Physics.

But what if I don't have a passion in any subjects?

Well, I don't know, why did you consider going to school on the first place, brother. Haha, just kidding, don't get all sensitive like that. Well you can always ask your EE supervisor or your counselor to help you, so go ahead and talk to them. For TOK, uuhh....hey, let's just leave it for now. You'll learn it eventually, so I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

If you choose not to do both of those, then again, you won't be awarded with a diploma. So, in conclusion to this pre-IB planning, you can choose between doing more to earn a diploma or make your life easier but not get the diploma

As you know, the IB is not all about the exams and I mentioned before about the EE. However, that's not the only essay you'll be writing. There are more essays waiting for you in each and every subject. Yep, essays, with an 's'. A whole lot of essays. However, for those who are in the first year of IB or planning to do IB, I think there were some twitches in the curriculum that decreases the number of essays that should be written. You lucky batches, but anyways, let's carry on. In every subject, you'll be writing Internal Assessments (it might be only one, depends on the subject really). For sciences, you have lab reports. For languages, you have written assignments. Humanities have some researching to do. Math? Hahahaha oh come on Rory, you can't be writing an essay about math, right?

Right?

Wrong. 

Absolutely wrong. 

The IBO somehow came up with this brilliant idea called mathematical explorations. You make an essay about some math-related problems. Sounds like a lot of fun, isn't it?

To tackle all of these things, you really have to plan ahead of yourself (wait, wha?). Yes, that's how important planning is. The easiest way for you to stay on track is to make yourself memos or reminders. In that memo, you write your plans, such as when will you do the work. Don't forget that you still have to study for tests, so you might want to divide your time efficiently on when to study and when to do work (I'll talk more about time management in another post). If you are slightly more diligent, then you might want to make yourself a simple timetable. Plan on what you want to do on what day, what time. Also, don't forget to plan on how you're going to do your work or study because that'll make whatever you're doing easier since you know the details. Oh, and don't forget to keep in mind the due dates of your assessments or any other work that you have so that you can finish it before the due date or at least on the due date. As long as you don't miss the deadline, it's all good.

However, even with all this planning being done, I'm afraid you'll still have to work overtime. I'm not talking about sleeping early....in the morning every single day. No, you can avoid that if you actually plan your things. What I meant is that your weekends, well, let's just say they're not exactly weekends anymore. They're just the "2 days for you to do all your work that you didn't finish during the weekdays" basically.

Finally, the most important thing:

Do not, I repeat,

Do not procrastinate.

I admit, I sometimes procrastinate myself. Sigh, okay fine, I admit, I procrastinate a lot of times. Don't judge me.

So yeah, it's an advice based on a personal experience. Yes, I do procrastinate a lot, but believe me that is the worse decision to make. There's no use of planning if you procrastinate in the end, so why plan on the first place. I'm going to talk more of this procrastinating thing along with the time management post some time later.

In conclusion, basically just plan ahead, pay attention to the details of your plan AND the details of the activity you're going to do, and don't procrastinate! Yeah, that's it for now. Ciao.