I didn't choose the IB Life. The IB Life Chose Me.

I haven't written in awhile. Sorry, but I didn't choose the IB Life. The IB Life chose me. Anyway, second year began with just as much stress as last year ended. For some reason, our teachers think it's better to put all our deadlines at the same time. Don't know why.

The perks of being a second year are numerous. Being half-way done is the obvious one. Also, we get to watch the innocent first years and laugh maniacally. I was listening to one girl talking about TOK, and how it was cool that they sat around and talked about the nature of truth. I found this hilarious for some bizarre reason. But that's the second year mentality. Really, anything is funny in the IB Life, because there comes a point where you'll laugh at anything just to relieve the stress. I also found myself in the position of having to help another first year kid pick out his extended essay topic, and I got all nostalgic.

I have so many projects to get done, books to read, college applications to complete, papers to write, tests to study for that I'm feeling a bit robotic. I'm being perfectly serious when I say that I actually need to miss school to get my homework done. That's the irony of it. Really, I can't focus in my classes because I'm distracted by my nauseating amount of work. I get home, and I'm exhausted from school and my job and CAS and from being so stressed out. Then I don't get homework done. IB is so strenuous that I now think of being at school as a waste of time when I could be working on IB.

Let's see, what's my to-do list look like? Well, I have a biology test tomorrow, a calculus test on wednesday, homecoming skits on thursday, homecoming game on friday, a math IA to put actual math in by friday, a history IA topic to pick, a Model U.N. paper to write along with a resolution, college applications including getting recommendations and writing multiple essays in time to get feedback by November 1, reading some books of literary note that I want on my college resume, my final EE for October 15, my final world literature essay October 16, a pseudoscience fair on October 22, a history IA due about that time, a book drive/fundraiser to organize, CAS, my dog-walking job, and starting Mock Trial up. Throw in a bunch of history readings, math homework assignments, a couple of essays, some unforeseen catastrophe and that sums up my life right now. The IB Life, that is. I don't really have a life at this moment.

"Evaluate to what extent has IB driven you mad? Discuss the ways of knowing." Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Bro With the Flow

So we began The Great Gatsby in English a little while ago. I finished it ahead of time, because as soon as I opened it, I couldn't put it down. It was beautiful literature in a way I had never before experienced, and the way the story and characters are grounded in reality makes the story all the more intriguing.

Anywho, we were discussing the cultural and social themes in the book, and the relationship between characters of the same gender. This is how the "Bro Code" came about:

The Bro Code is the unspoken rules that the men follow in The Great Gatsby.

1. No one tells Daisy about Tom's mistress even though he flaunts her in public (she does know, but that's not the point).

2. Class stratifications are adhered to strictly.

3. The men control the wealth and resources.

4. The men just go with it, and try not to speculate on bad things that disturb their lives of meaningless pleasure.

5. The men treat the women as their objects and less than men. Personally I thought bros before hoes would be better, but we had to keep it school appropriate (Pssh. School appropriate is overrated).

Meanwhile, in present day English class:

I believe this is a "Bro with the Flow" appropriate situation.

Obviously we're being incredibly productive students.

The Week in Pictures

This week we did a little lab in Bio where we tested for the main biological macromolecules in foods we were supposed to bring. As an exemplary honor student, I of course forgot to bring in food and just used a carrot from my lunch and the remnants of a protein bar from the depths of my backpack. I took some great photos, though:

Science is not for the faint of heart.

Corrosive to body tissue

Doing science! 

That is my favorite color

Of course his candy corn melted and got stuck during le experiment

Me lookin' like a total bio boss. 

She blinded me with science!

Yes, we are trying to bake a potato in the lab. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year... Yes, the rehearsing of Christmas music has begun in Chorus. This year we're doing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Carol of the Bells," "The Christmas Song," "Sure Stars I Shall Find," and "Deck the Halls."

My twin also had her Individual Oral Presentation (IOP) in English this week on the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald and its role in The Great Gatsby. She spoke for 10 minutes, and presented her project like a speakeasy party of the Jazz Age. Her lecture was in the form of a toast to Fitzgerald and we all got little invitations (they said "You are cordially invited to my little party, Old Sport. - Jay Gatsby"), and drank ginger ale from plastic champagne flutes. Hands down best IOP yet this year!

We also presented our arguments in TOK for why a particular language (my group's was Russian). All the presentations went swimmingly, and Russian surprisingly had quite a few really good points that we made.

Arabic

Chinese

English

Russian

Spouting linguistic intellect

Me expostulating intelligently about the cultural ramifications of Russian becoming the language of the U.N. while my two friends unknowingly make strange faces.

More information about Russian

A Prayer for Owen Meany

I was assigned to read this for IB English. It's about an unusual boy, who believes he is an instrument of God. Owen Meany is tiny, has an insane voice, and killed his best friend's mother at a Little League Game. Since then Owen Meany's story is one of fate and faith, and he is driven by an absolute belief in the will of God, taking him and his best friend through journeys of understanding and enigma, all the way through the Vietnam War and beyond. This book is fantastic. The only way to describe it is as the AP English version of South Park. Owen Meany is both hilarious and tragic, and this book can be interpreted in so many ways, as a story promoting faith, as a story mocking faith, or as a simple story that asks the reader to walk away with their own message. It's great for English students, because it has a plethora of symbols, motifs, references, and themes. Irving is practically hitting the readers over the head with the Christ Figure symbolism, even going to one obvious plot point where I literally had put the book down and groan at Irving's abandonment of subtlety.

The only drawback is that it's about 200 pages too long. For the last stretch of the book I was just dying to get it over with, but the ending redeemed the book in my eyes. Overall, it's an excellent read, and I highly recommend it. If you don't have a lot of time or don't like to read books over a long period of time, then there are other books I would suggest. But it is still a classic sure to please and impress, and give the potential English student numerous topics to write essays upon.