Everything I Need to Know I Learned in IB Language & Literature Year 2 

Well, I have been reading some of the other posts for this blog and they honestly have me really sad and depressed about having to leave everyone. Even though I am super excited and ready to go to college, IB has became my family and I am going to miss them all!

As soon as I read the prompt I knew what I wanted to talk about... IB. Honestly, it has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made and has changed me for the better.

Before IB, I was very self conscious and did not express my opinion. I was afraid to be wrong or to fail so I needed reassurance for everything. I went along with the group, That all changed in Mrs. Brown's english class, Junior year. In the beginning of the year, I hated seminars, being aggresive and forcing my way into a conversation stressed me out and I am pretty sure that I turned red every time I spoke. But of course, we were graded on how many times we spoke, and being the perfectionist of a student, I made sure to talk enough to get an A.

While at first I considered this experience to be painful, I learned a lot from it. The way we were forced to have and stand by our opinions during those seminars helped me to be more comfortable in expressing my opinions in every day situations. Of course, it wouldn't be IB if I hadnt learned to always value other peoples' opinions and perspectives, even when they did not match my own. In this years classes, I am much more comfortable and am not afraid to argue with someone or take a leap to come to a conclusion (even if I am way off, which tends to happen when I interpret poetry... sorry Whitman).

The way that I was pushed in my IB classes helped me to step out of my comfort zone. It led me to a world of new experiences.  It also helped me to find what I love: helping people. While CAS reflections were annoying, the service that it pushed me to do helped reassure me that medicine is the carreer that I want to pursue because I want to leave an impact on those around me ( just as Whiman said.. also I really liked the last Whitman poem that we read, "The Calming Thought of All").

IB is usually considered to be an academic programme, but from my experience in it, I learned how to prioritize life with academics. Is that extra hour of studying really worth the lack of sleep or memories I could be making with my frineds... no! The people taught me that for success it is imprtant to support one another, rather than compete with one another (although on the surface we seem to be competing).

Before IB, I was so concerned with what other people thought of me. However, the important part is who I am now. I am confident, outgoing, and loving.

Sorry that this kind of turned into an IB rant but honestly I am so thankful for the opportunity and what I have learned. The people are amazing and I will probably start crying a lot more often now as we get closer to graduation. I met my best friends in these last two years and some of my most influential teachers. Thanks Mrs. Genesky for all that you have done for us! LOVE YOU!!!

The best advice that I have learned, "Let your smile change the world, but never let the world change your smile!"

Here are some awesome pictures from IB 

WITTY WHITMAN 

When I first started to look through the journal, I though that Whitman was just a crazy old man. Everything was scribbled with no organization, with fragments and scribbles filling the pages. (Honestly trying to decipher what he was saying stressed me out because of how messy it was). However, as I read throughout the pages, I noticed a reoccurring theme of a ship. 

Pages nine and ten were both filled with references to a ship. The first on page nine translated (I think) to "ship of liberty". On page ten, "ship of the world, ship of humanity, ship of the ages, ship that circles the world, ship of the hope of the world, ship of promise." 

At first I had no idea what ship he may have been referring to; however, on page 5 Whitman had scribbled out the words, "Old England". This may be connected to his reoccurring idea of a ship. It could represent the transition of people from Europe to America and how the trip represented a new chance for many of the people. His use of words with positive connotations, such as liberty, hope, humanity, and promise, imply that this ship is a good thing. 

I also connected his final drawing, the floating heart with a skull head over the ocean, to the idea of a ship. The heart represents the positive ideas that Whitman had been associating with the ship; however, the skull head and the swords piercing though the heart imply that while the ship represented hope and humanity, somewhere along the line, something went wrong. Since many of his drawing look similar to him, I think that the "failure" of the ship may have been a personal experience. 

After reading the notes on Whitman's journal, I  realized that I was a bit off on my initial observation. While the ship was important, it was not an actual ship; rather, it was  a symbol of America. I was also wrong on the time period of the ship, it was during the Civil War not the before the Revolutionary War. However, I was right that there was a problem with the ship. America was supposed to represent all of these positive ideals, but instead, it was falling apart as the North and South grew discontent with one another. The ship is a perfect metaphor for this because it requires a balance to stay afloat and when the waves become rough it can sink if the crew is not careful. Most fascinating is that Whitman was predicting the effects of the Civil War long before Abraham Lincoln. I think it is interesting how his photos depicted a man that  looked similar to him but his notes (more like scribbles) were poetic predictions. However, as the ship is a symbol of America, America's struggles may have been a larger metaphor for the struggles that Whitman had experienced personally.