IB Sleep-deprived (You knew that)

IB Pickup Line of the Day:You’re like a catalyst to my reaction; you just turn me on.

The empty printer cartridges and sheafs of paper speak for themselves. IB Stressed, and so is my printer. Sadism has manifested itself in The Teachers.

I look at my assignment book. There are 8 papers (!!) assigned for this week, one of which is vital to my Language A1 grade. Freakout ensues. OMGWTFPHAILURE. Familiar thoughts run through my head: I should have done this and that paper a week ago; why do I leave everything for the last minute??

I tell myself, this is your destiny. This is your life. You chose to sacrifice sleep for the excitement of an all-nighter, the thrill of completing a big assignment due within hours. You live for those 48-hour days, not a wink of sleep fit into those hours.

But then, says I to myself, why do I do this to myself? Why do I insist upon inflicting severe mental and physical damage to my health? Do I not already know that eventually, this sleep deprivation will catch up on me?

Lack of sleep entails many bad consequences to one’s health. But to an IB Student, what is sleep but a luxury? What is sleep but that Sacred Thing that Normal People have and that which IB Students occasionally get?

The truth is out there (and not just in the X-Files). The headlines blare: Sleep deprivation is a pandemic. The experts say: Sleep deprivation is not uncommon among academicians, whether one is a diligent pre-med/pre-law student, a dedicated scholar, a passionate professor, or a college student. An addendum to that, I think, should be “IB Students.” But you knew that.

The Things That Loom Over My Head

Excuse me if I didn’t post for the last two to three weeks. I’m not dead; I did not lost internet access; I am not held in custody by the powers that be. There was simply nothing to post until today because my student life has not changed much in those few weeks. Until now, of course.

Here I was, happily living away my hours because I honestly have not had that much homework (relative to my own perspective) in these past few weeks; nothing too big or daunting a test, essay, or assignment; nothing too frightening or absolutely terrifying that I would *seriously* (ha, me, serious) consider running away and assuming a new identity in order to escape from the perils of IB! Until now.

There are a number of things looming over my head waiting to crash and tumble down on ma tete and crush my head to pieces. EE topic due, math portfolio, commentaries, TOK exam, CAS, first IB history paper, recital, applications to various summer programmes (yes, this early), registrations, among other things that worry me. Children, these things are called stressors. In Psychology, such stressors are said to contribute to/initiate one’s anxiety problems and depressive episodes. But that’s besides the point.

There is no such thing as a “break” in IB. On the days we are granted off to “rest,” we are assigned loads of homework to complete. Teachers have managed to delude themselves into thinking that our lives revolve primarily around academics (which may be true, but still) and that we leave little time for “other” insignificant things (sleep, anyone?). This is a sign that I must now accept the fact that I will have to get rid of “rest” and “serenity” from my vocabulary (and any other words associated with “break” of the resting kind).

I think I will probably stop freaking out and stressing out….eventually, and will most likely get everything I need to get done over with in due time.

And yes, I’m a little bit anxious and depressed right now.

Note: For all you know, I could actually be one of the best students in the IB Programme at my school and am actually just pretending to be bad at time management and keeping track of big projects.