“Love” (&) Hormones In IB

So It’s Been Spring For A While.
And What Does That Mean?
…It’s Springtime.

As If IB Weren’t Difficult Enough To Deal With,
Some “Lucky” People Get To Deal With All The Emotional Angst And Such Of Being A Teenager.
Sometimes, The Emotions Are Related To People Of The Opposite Sex.
And This Is Starting To Sound A Little…Too Frigid.

Here, I’ll Give An Example:
Silly Little IB Girl Becomes Infatuated With A Lame Little IB Boy.

-Silly Little IB Girl Is Socially Inept And Also Afraid Of Being Hated And So Overanalyzes Hypothetical Reactions To Everything She Could Possibly Say.
-This Makes Speaking Extremely Difficult Thus Making Any Progress Towards Something Resembling A Relationship Impossible.
-Lame Little IB Boy Does Not Do Anything Except Exist. This Makes Silly Little IB Girl Feel Very Sad.
-Both Silly Children Are Stuck Working In Groups Together For Homework Which Makes The Girl Both Miserable And Happy.
=> Girl’s Focus On Schoolwork Disintegrates.

Or Another Example:
Girl 1 Develops An Interest In Awesome Boy. Add In Girl 2 And Things Get Awkward.

-Girl 1 Tries Very Hard To Get Rid Of Those Feelings.
-Girl 1 And Awesome Boy Do Not Have Difficulty Being Friendly To Eachother.
-Girl 2 Comes Along And Makes Things Complicated.
-Girl 1 Feels Miserable Because She Feels Like A Bitch Because She Has The Feelings For Awesome Boy But Is Also The Messenger For Girl 2 To Awesome Boy.
It’s Like A Love Triangle Only Not Quite That Simple.

IB Is Already So Complicated.
Why Add To That With Unnecessary Drama?
Although Sometimes These Kinds Of Things Are Amusing,
They’re Extremely Distracting.

And Yes, I Don’t Have Any Examples Of Relationships That Work Out With IB Students.
That’s Because…
Hey Look! A Circular Rainbow~!

Life in IB (A Song)

Dedicated to all you stressed-out IBers.

Oh let me tell you
A little story
About me

This is about my life
In IB

Sleepless nights
Staring at homework
It’s a damn bad sight

Trying to get it all done
Before the sun
Comes up

This is life in IB
It’s the programme for me

Internal Assessments and OPLV
An extended essay draft due in May
Exhaustion and stress are the IB way

Let’s runaway from IB
The illusion of choice is there
But it’s just a cold comfort
That I must assert

They give you these choices
They force you on these tests
But you can’t control destiny

This is life in IB
It’s stressful, it’s dangerous
It’s misery

I’m

Running out of energy
Sleepless nights
And lots of coffee
This is life in IB

This IA is staring at me
It wants to get done
But I can’t concentrate
I like to procrastinate

Why
Oh why
Am I
Still here

This is life in IB

Putting off everything
SO last minute
And the teachers
They throw a fit

The IB Blues
Our failures
Aren’t quite news

I have no fun
I have no life
Oh when will this all end
This IB strife

Of SLEEPNESS NIGHTS
And caffeination
Can someone stop

MY procrastination

I should do my IA Now
Before I fail
So goodbye

IB Student Type B: Slackerus Maximus

The Slacker. May sometimes be referred to as Worst IB Student Ever OR more alarmingly so, Almost Everyone in the Programme At Some Point in Their IB Lives. Students of this type may be identified by his or her insistence upon doing the minimal amount of work necessary. Lethargy and apathy were found in 98.5% of the Slackerus Maximus types of IB Students. Overlap should be expected with the Burnout types of IB Students, especially since many of these Slackers were former Overachievers. WARNING: Do not, under any circumstances, give Slackeri your homework to copy from as they may well keep pestering you like pigeons to copy from you. Copying homework is against the IB Honour Code that apparently no IB student knows about.

See Type A: Gunnerius Typus

Larlarlar

I hate homework.

Moments: Tension

SETTING: A typical IB lecture room. In spite of the beautiful springtime weather, the atmosphere inside the room is tense, it is hostile; there is an air of antagonism against the person at the front of the room, the IB Teacher.

IB Teacher: Yes, IB is stressful. IB sucks sometimes. We know that. We understand.

Students: *Rolls their eyes because they have heard the above line said so many times it’s beginning to sound like a broken record. Chattering increases.*

IB Teacher: But the amount of stress you have in IB does not entitle you to whine and complain to us about your work. Teachers have just as much to worry about, perhaps even more so, than you IBers. And besides, you should not let your marks get you down so much. Don’t be too hard on yourselves, really. You’re still children.

Students: Are you joking?? These are the marks that will get us (or not) into universities. These are the marks that will actually matter when we apply.

IB Teacher: Well, too bad. Not happy with your marks? Just suck it up because this is what the real world will be like. Life isn’t fair, and you all have to learn that no matter how great you are, there will always be a time when you fail or get rejected. Don’t be so self-critical in the face of failure or rejection.

Students: *silence*

IB Student wants a vacation

Many people will tell IB Student not to compare her marks with that of other people in the programme, but this is a difficult endeavour given what seems to be a constant competition for The Top Ranks, and IB Student’s own intrinsic desire for external recognition for her achievements. She wants reassurance that yes, indeed, she is much more than competent in academics. This “brilliance” to which her teachers tell her she has does not seem to be reciprocated by the numbers on her IB papers and tests. Why does everyone seem to be faring much better than her on those tests and papers and such?

Not that she ever believed herself to be any better than anyone.

Depression ensues. Transient in nature, of course, but ultimately unavoidable when one is a former type A personality with a stable future ahead of her. Or so she thought. And now IB Student reflects on what at this moment seems to be the pathetic turn of her life, how ever since she entered IB it seems her former drive t0wards excellence (and reliability and commitment and empathy and kindness and calmness) has been thrown out of her life. The future is no longer the stable one IB Student envisioned; life now has only made the truth about this journey clearer.

But then, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? The occasional plunge into the depths of self-doubt, only to be rescued by her amazing ability to crawl out of that abyss through self-assurance and by reading inspiring stories about rather amazing people.

She wants the weekend to come so she can recuperate from this rut. Or at least get enough sleep tonight. For once.
End ramblewhine-streamofconsciousness-blather-signthatuhavebeenreadingtoomuchliterature.