Aight Tumblr, Iāve resurrected.
Ā Iām mainly gonna post here again because... I need motivation. I need to push myself even further. I know I can do better.
WARNING: In this post, I may give off an extremely self-centered, narcissistic vibe. Also, the latter half of the post is pretty depressing and personal. If you hate such people, just unfollow me. Because Iām going to post a lotĀ of stuff like this on my IB blog. If youāre OK with it though, just click to read more.
Also, if youāre an IB Year 2 or alumni whoās gone through similar things, please contact me. I need your advice for my next year. Please.Ā
Junior year did notĀ end the way I would have liked it to. Letās just say that Iāve been through a lot; crappy Chem grades, SciOly has had its own share of struggles, Iām on the academic dishonesty list because someoneĀ decided to manipulate a stupid mistake I did and to top it all off... the most popular (now graduate) IB senior hates me, as well as practically the entire junior (now senior) class. Which, to make it worse, is like, 7 people discluding me.Ā
Yāknow what? Iām gonna look back on the goals I posted and see how the chips fell.
Iām aiming to get 50 points for my IB Diploma. But K, itās absolutely impossible to get 50 points on the IB Diploma! you may point out. And, well, youāre right. Iāve always lived by a motto that was first instilled in me when I learned a basic form in karate. In a form called Stone Stance, one of the stances was a guard stance where weād yell, āAyah! GIve 110% percent!ā Keeping that for long-term, I decided to translate that literally into my IB score. 110% of 45 is 49.5, which Iāve rounded up to 50. So, yep! I want to get 50 points on my diploma. (If you havenāt figured it out already, Iām aiming for a perfect 45! Ssshhh!)
Well, there goes that. The IB Math (SL) exam went harder than I anticipated, and Iād be happy to get a 6. And Iām in Timezone 1!!!Ā Timezone 2 had an even harderĀ exam! Honestly, it makes me feel even more stupid. Also, our class IAs were AWFUL, according to my teacher. A lot of us did it the day before the due date so the quality was pretty shitty, myself included. I ended up with a 13/20. Which was the highest score in the class.Ā If thatās not concerning... idk what is. Praying for moderation to raise our scores by at least 2 points... please.
In English, my IOP was... ok. I donāt think anyone understood it, but... I hope I passed. My Written Assignment/Assessment (idk and idc what the hell itās called) went better, although I turned it in 20 minutes late. But hey she only deducted 10 points off myĀ ācompletionā score, so I still got an A. And I donāt think it sucked. My EE has a LOT of work left to be completed, which I hope to finish in the five or so weeks I have left of summer break. (Fuck, itās already July. And by the way, sorry Iām cussing.)
I want to break to Speech and Debate States. Last year (sophomore year) was my novice year in competitive speech and debate. I did very well on my first debate tournament and was immediately bumped to the varsity level. Howeverā¦ the same could not be said about speech (which I forced myself to be varsity in), and any tournaments thereafter. Eesh, especially the state qualifiers. Those were the absolute worst for me. I got 5s in nearly all my Oratory speeches and was in the very bottom bracket for LD debate. My goal this year is to actually break to a final round in a league tournament, because I know I can do it, and I was just a terrible speaker the year before. I want to break to States, even if it takes me to senior year. TBH, though, as an introvert with little true friends, a former terrible communicator, and someone almost diagnosed with autism, I feel like Iāve come a long way already in the sense of communication.
TL;DR: It didnāt happen. I had SciOly regionals on debate state quals, and I got bottom tier in speech quals. Pretty disheartening, since it looks as though I didnāt improve though I practiced my ass off those speeches. Iām writing my speeches for this year over the summer to hopefully get a headstart on my fellow competitors. I remember one day a really competitive teammate of mine wanted to break to States so bad. I said that you know what, it isnāt the end of the world if you didnāt. She retaliated at me by saying that she wanted to break and that I had no motivation. Look, sheās a nice sophomore and all, and we were pretty good acquaintances, but at that moment I wanted to punch her in the face and yell,Ā āYou wanna go, you wanna go??? No motivation my ass!!! How dareĀ you say that to me!!!āĀ (Aaaaaand thatās probably why I was Sorted into the house of Slytherin.)
I reallyĀ wanna be captain next year, but it isnāt gonna happen. I had a bunch of ideas to implement for the team to make it better, and I really wanted to connect with everyone a bit more. And be respected by people.Ā But those motives are probably not enough. At least, I donāt think so. Thereās just too many (now) seniors that are more qualified than me - more years on the team, better records, more extroverted... letās try to forget the last part. Either way, I still can manage hopefully more than one event. And I need to lead SciOly, and this year Iām going to make it an impact I leave on my school. >:) I have one more year to break to Speech and Debate states though, and I REALLY, REALLY want to do it. I believe in myself. I can do it; I have the passion.
I want to get admitted into Stanford (or at least a selective college/university). š², big dream, I know. To increase my chances, I want to get super involved in things I š this year and do well in them, as well as get top scores on my SAT/ACT tests. I feel like the place Iāll lack is extracurriculars, since I havenāt done anything extraordinary yet (like being president of a big club or going to a state/national tournament). I believe I am capable of high test scores and good grades in IB. I hope I donāt get any more Bs though. So far, I have 3 Bsā¦ which is kinda bad. My goal this year isnāt to do things for college or uni, but to show colleges and uni how passionate I am, and to make them fall for me. š, romantic analogy, I know.
L. M. A. O. Let me just say: With Bs in sciences for both terms? Honey, it aināt gonna happen. Letās just say Iām applying with very fewer hopes of getting in. R.I.P to me.
Okay, with THAT out of the way, here comes the incident that shakes me to this day.
The Plagiarism Incident
It actually starts around October. There are eleven people in my IB Biology HL class. Obviously, I wonāt mention names, but I will say that practically everyone exceptĀ for the three(ish) people I knew would stick with me beginning to end hated me afterward. Iām talking, snapping back at me, turning heads away from me, acting superior to me hating me.Ā
We were all doing this ventilation lab. Basically, we use a spirometer to calculate our breath rate and take our heart rate. I donāt remember exactly what I did, but I typed up a lab report to be submitted to the IB as one of our required labs. At that point, we were all still kinda neutral to one another, and no one hated another. I got messages from most of my classmates asking me how I organized my report. And hereās the stupid part: I shared it with them via Google Docs.Ā Thankfully, this incident did notĀ result in plagiarism. But a different one... did.Ā
We were doing another lab in the spring requiring another write-up, the biofuel lab. Each group was doing a different lab, so itās weird that the plagiarism happened here. There was this guy in my lab group. He was my lab partner in Honors Chem and was with me for most of my high school career, so I knew him well. He always asked me questions - the stupid kind - and would do anything, even cheat, for more points. He was just thirsty. It was at the time I was making my new lab report that I did an even stupiderĀ thing.
I made a copy of my ventilation lab GDoc, sharing it with everyone else.Ā Liking to click all the boxes regardless of direction, I decided to fucking click that box, which shared it with everyone.Ā
I was hella surprised (but shouldnāt have been, in hindsight) when I received 100% plagiarism for my lab report.Ā
Hyperventilating, I quickly sent an email to my Bio teacher on what had happened. That set the trap I had set for myself in motion. My Bio teacher asked the IB coordinator, who asked the school admin, and pretty soon it was a schoolwide issue. The guy I mentioned earlier got punished because I accused him of turning in my report (mind you, he had been kicked out of a math class for cheating earlier in the year. NotĀ a pretty sight to see, especially considering my math teacher chewed him out) and he spread the rumor that everyone was getting on the academic dishonesty list by looking at my report. He even talked about it in front of meĀ to the rest of my History class (which was again 7 people, the DP candidates) and when I politely asked if they could stop talking, a girl rudely told me that theyĀ āwere having a conversation.ā (Well, I never got along well with her anyway in terms of personality.) As a result, I was practically isolated from the rest of the DP candidates for the rest of the yearĀ - except for one guy, who had been isolated from the group since day 1. Heās pretty chill. That was also around the time my depression set in, and I was in a craze with MBTI, personality disorders, and had a strong inferiority complex. Long story short, I met with the IB coordinator, who said that I would be on academic dishonesty for collusion. Which I acknowledged. But guess why I was 100% plagiarized?
You fucking guessed it. A completely UNRELATED person turned in my report. By ACCIDENT. If I hadnāt emailed my Bio teacher at 1 AM that night, none of this wouldāve ever happened - at least, happened the way it did.
NOW (the girls) have formed a clique, intentionally discluding me. And I haveĀ to be with them another year. Too late to switch to APs, and colleges will wonder why the hell I dropped a commitment halfway through. I honestly want to drop out of IB right now, though. My experience has made my life so terrible, and itās not even because of the actual curriculum. To make matters worse, Iām on the list. Itās no big deal,Ā my coordinator said. Um, stop trying to lessen the pain of the wound. It isĀ a big deal. I might as well be ineligible for any leadership positions next year. Captain, president, manager? Forget it.
Thatās all for this post. My summer isnāt particularly splendid either. I think Iāve burnt myself out. If youāre from my school and reading this, take whatever I say the way you like. I canāt control you.Ā
Any advice from a Year 2 or an alum would be greatly appreciated!!!
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Well, I did it again.
I procrastinated...
My IOP (that I'm sending in to the IB) is in two days. Ok, one day now.
It's not the material I'm worried about, I prepped that well in advance. It's memorizing it all. Now, before you go all, "Nonononono BAD idea, don't memorize it!!! It will kill your presentation grade!!!" I sort of have to since I'm doing a dialogue like thing. I'm in Speech and Debate so I present pretty well... I just don't want to be stumbling in my IOP because... You know... I can't remember what to say.
Any tips for my IOP? General and specific tips are appreciated. If you want more details on it you can PM me. I'll just be memorizing my rationale now...
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Choking on the Poison...
School just started, and my grades (especially in Chem) didnāt start off on the right foot. But then again, none of my grades ever do anymoreā¦
In Bio, I have an 86. Better than I expected, for the class itself. But could have done better.
In Chemā¦ I have a 74. Very disappointed, considering that I aced Honors Chem. The first test was on sigfigs, propogations, and precision/accuracy. I got a D. Pretty bummed about that. Messed up my mini-lab propogations and also got a C. At least I know common sense/easy stuff is my weakness, since I tend to complicate it. Iām just kinda demoralized right now, considering that most did better than me (one girl I know and who received similar grades to me received a perfect score) I know these grades are VERY tentative to change (considering Iām only about two weeks in to a four month long term), but Iām more afraid about my parents seeing the grades and hyperventilating. XD If my dad sees them, heāll show my mom, and theyāll both freak out and demand the full story. Lit and History donāt have grades yet, nor does Math. Speech and Debate too.
But Iām disappointed because science is my strength and I want to be a neurosurgeon later on. Soā¦ I better get those grades up!!!
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Thereās my schedule! First day of school was on Wednesday. I had NO idea what to expect... but when I walked into my History classroom where all the seniors greeted us, I knew I belonged here. If you want to know what happened to my book, I kinda turned it in on time. I annotated the last chapter pretty crappily because it was simple and I ran out of time. However, I still got a full score on the book because the majority of the annotations were IB quality! So yay!!! Everyone says they HATE the Bio teacher. She posts homework assignments near midnight and has a stingy personality. But you know what? I like her. Sheās the only IB graduate teacher at my school and genuinely loves science. She wants to prepare us like itās college already. She even offered to be an advisor for my club! I havenāt had her for too long, so I canāt fully judge her. But she seems great! All my other teachers are great as well. Overall, Iām excited for the roller coaster of 2 years I shall experience. I have a decent amount of homework, but weāre juniors, so we should be able to handle it.
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These news reporters are clearly just people who don't give a fuck about the inner value of the show. And those people, I like the least. š
is anyone triggered by this title?ā¦
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I literally call everyone "dude." And people think I'm being formal. So...???
Reblog if you have used dude as a non gender specific term.
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P R O C R A S T I N A T I O N
Lesson 1 of IB: Do NOT procrastinate. Unless you want to be a stereotype. Kinda sad and mad that I did... I have until Thursday to study and annotate Brave New World. I believe in myself. I hope you guys can believe in me too.
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Got less than two weeks until school.
<p>And I havenāt even come close to finish annotating the book. Iāve probably doneā¦ three chapters since the last post? At least Iām not a total procrastinator lol
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First ACTUAL Post
So, I have less than two weeks till school, and I still have to finish my summer homework. Thatās two projects for art class, a book to annotate and study, math problems to practice, speeches to write, and a club to begin.
As a fellow procrastinator, I understand your pain already, IB children.
Iām reading/annotating Brave New World, and hope to finish 4 chapters by the time I go to bed. It seems ambitious, but I really want to read it twice when Iām done so I can understand the book in full.Ā
Anyone read that book, and if they have, can you give me some pointers please? Thank you. :)
UPDATE: Looks like I'm getting only 2 chapters in today. RIP. Hopefully I can finish the book by the end of the month.
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An IB Blog, at last!
Hello everyone! I wonāt disclose my actual name, but you guys can call me K, and I'm 16 years old (still can't believe I'm so old already. XD). I'm going be entering the IB Diploma Program in the US of A. Iāll be a junior, in Year 1. My HLs will be Bio, Chem, Lit, and HoA. My SLs will be Math and Spanish B. I do Speech and Debate, and am in the process of creating a Science Olympiad team at my school. I work at a Kumon center two days a week. Iām also involved in dance, Key Club, and Red Cross. Iām about to finish a college art class I took for an IB prerequisite. I used to do soccer, but I dropped it last year since itās time-consuming and Iām not very good, anyway. Iām planning to study neuroscience in university.
I made this side blog so I can be more motivated to study and post my achievements somewhere. I also have a fandom blog (which is my main blog- @the-master-of-balance) and a less active poetry blog.Ā
My main goals for the next two years:
1) Iām aiming to get 50 points for my IB Diploma. But K, itās absolutely impossible to get 50 points on the IB Diploma! you may point out. And, well, youāre right. Iāve always lived by a motto that was first instilled in me when I learned a basic form in karate. In a form called Stone Stance, one of the stances was a guard stance where weād yell,Ā āAyah! GIve 110% percent!ā Keeping that for long-term, I decided to translate that literally into my IB score. 110% of 45 is 49.5, which Iāve rounded up to 50. So, yep! I want to get 50 points on my diploma. (If you havenāt figured it out already, Iām aiming for a perfect 45! Ssshhh!)
2) I want to break to Speech and Debate States. Last year (sophomore year) was my novice year in competitive speech and debate. I did very well on my first debate tournament and was immediately bumped to the varsity level. However... the same could not be said about speech (which I forced myself to be varsity in), and any tournaments thereafter. Eesh, especially the state qualifiers. Those were the absolute worst for me. I got 5s in nearly all my Oratory speeches and was in the very bottom bracket for LD debate. My goal this year is to actually break to a final round in a league tournament, because I know I can do it, and I was just a terrible speaker the year before. I want to break to States, even if it takes me to senior year. TBH, though, as an introvert with little true friends, a former terrible communicator, and someone almost diagnosed with autism, I feel like Iāve come a long way already in the sense of communicaton.Ā
3) I want to get admitted into Stanford (or at least a selective college/university). Wow, big dream, I know. To increase my chances, I want to get super involved in things I love this year and do well in them, as well as get top scores on my SAT/ACT tests. I feel like the place Iāll lack is extracurriculars, since I havenāt done anything extraordinary yet (like being president of a big club or going to a state/national tournament). I believe I am capable of high test scores and good grades in IB. I hope I donāt get any more Bs though. So far, I have 3 Bs... which is kinda bad. My goal this year isnāt to do things for college or uni, but to show colleges and uni how passionate I am, and to make them fall for me. Okay, romantic analogy, I know.Ā
Thatās just a little bit about me. Please follow and support me on my IB journey! May 2019s, letās go!!! We rock!
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Saturday, July 22nd, 2017Ā
Here are some of the very best apps for students; either in highschool or in college. I have used many of the following apps, but not all of them. Some, I have just asked friends about and they suggested those ones.Ā
Please enjoy the apps below, tell me how you like them, and feel free to add onto this list :)
Focus: SelfControl, Forest, MindNode, FocusBooster, FocusWriter, Think, StayFocused, Freedom, Cold Turkey, Anti-Social, Time Out, SmartBreak, Balanced
Productivity: Evernote, Any.do, MyScript Nebo, Outlook, Trello, Droptask, Basecamp, Pocket, Gyst, Doodle, Pen and Paper, Wunderlist, Toggl, Asana, Wolfram Alpha
Sounds: Tide, WhiteNoise, Chroma Doze, Coffitivity, Noisli, Brain.fm, NatureSpace, Noizio, Rainy Mood, SimplyNoise, Spotify, Slacker RadioĀ
Language Learning: Duolingo, Memrise, Busuu, Babbel, Livemocha, Living Language, Tandem, MindSnacks
Games: Lumosity, Sudoku, TanZen, GeoMaster Plus HD, Speed Anatomy, Star Walk, LeafSnap, Splice: Tree of Life, Vismory, Pigments, Viridi, Sunshine, Nota
Revision: Gojimo, Revision App, iMindMap, Exam Countdown, Penultimate, Clippet
Test Prep: Khan Academy, Magoosh ACT Flashcards, The Grading Game, Math Brain Booster, ACCUPLACER Study App, CK-12, NRICH, StudySync, Quizlet, StudyAce, That Quiz, Brilliant, Synap
Planner: Timeful, Remember the Milk, Listastic, Finish, 2Do, iStudiez Pro, MyHomework Student Planner, My Study Life, ClassManager, MyLifeOrganized, Daily Agenda, Schedule Planner, Todoist
Writing: EasyBib, ProWritingAid, Bubbl.us, WiseMapping, yWriter5, Storybook, Q10, Write 2 Lite, Writer, Diaro, Note Everything, OmmWriter, Draft
Health: MyFitnessPal, Lose It, Endomondo, FitNet, Sworkit, Daily Yoga, Yonder, Fooducate, SideChef, Rise, LifeSum, Meditation Studio, Happify, 7 Cups, Clue, Start, Power Nap App, Fit Radio, Calm
Courses: Corsera, PhotoMath, Udemy, HowCast, SimpleMind+, Open Culture, Canvas, Schoology, Alison, CourseBuffet, Degreed, Instructables, InstaNerd, Big Think, Yousician, PianuĀ
Books & Reading: CampusBooks, Scribd, Pocket, Wattpad, GoodReads, Readmill, Audible, Prizmo, Blio, Kindle, Overdrive, BlueFire Reader, Nook, Kobo, Aldiko, Cool Reader
Note Taking: SuperNotes, StudyBlue, Bento, QuickOffice, Google Keep, Zoho Notebook, Simplenote, Bear, OneNote, Box Notes, Dynalist.io, Squid, NotabilityĀ
Inspiration: TED, Lift, Believe It: You Will Achieve, BrainCourage, Get Inspired, iFundamentals, Reinventing Yourself, iWish, Pozify, Positive Thinking - The Key to Happiness, The Gratitude JournalĀ
Other: WiFi Finder, Mint, Zwoor, Brain Pump, Curiosity, Ready4 SAT, GradeProof, edX, Mendeley, Due, CamScanner, IFTTT, Square Cash
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