Last updated: July 2, 2023

its joever mmhs :saluting_face:

Graduation. A formal ceremony that signifies the end of one’s high school career, and the start of true (?) independence. The awards were handed out, students’ names were called, and the caps were thrown. In the coming days, pictures were taken, yearbooks were signed, and goodbyes were said. Although I don’t expect to talk to or see many of my classmates ever again, I’d still like to take this time to reflect on my high school experiences, particularly regarding the IB program.

For those that have no experience with the IB diploma program, there is no need to provide an in-depth summary. All you need to know is that the program is rigorous in its academic demands and provides students with a well-rounded education for their future endeavours.

But most importantly, it labels you. That I was an “IB student” and the remaining 3/4 of my grade were “non-IB students”.

I was no stranger to being part of some perceived special group when it comes to education. Back in elementary school I was part of the gifted program, where we would often go about our own way of doing things because we thought ourselves different from the “normies”. And although this helped me build strong connections with my elementary school friends, it also restricted me from getting to know more people.

With only three people from my elementary school coming with me to my new high school, I definitely came in with the mindset that I had to branch out. And as the first few weeks of high school went by, I did just that. I attended some club meetings, even clubs which I wasn’t interested in, and I felt like everything was going to plan.

Then came covid.

And with the people I talked to at school gone, I quickly reverted back to pretty much only talking to my friends from elementary. Virtual school was a joke. Additionally, being in a different “school” than the others from my school (I’m not going to get into much detail about how that worked), meant that I didn’t get to interact much with people that would end up be my future classmates.

This disconnect from my own school is what led to, at least what I felt like, many missed opportunities once we returned to school for our grade 11 year. I just didn’t care enough about anything outside of academics. And while it felt like the right decision at the time, in hindsight it was, to put it bluntly, a big blunder. Although I was able to establish some good friendships with several people, I simply didn’t have that drive that I did in grade 9 to reconnect with many of my classmates pre-pandemic.

I didn’t join sports teams, thinking they would be a hinderance on my studies. I kept with low-maintenance clubs to ensure I had enough time to do my work. This ensured that I excelled academically, but it did nothing to help my social life at school.

Fast forward a year and a half later to the end of IB exams, and such a realization finally hit. Sure, maybe if I didn’t focus hard enough on my academics I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am at this point, but I will never know. Opportunity cost doesn’t just exist in economics.

With the combination of the confining nature brought on by specalized programs, and my own indifference to expanding my social network, I find myself leaving high school feeling like there was indeed wasted potential.

But there is a way to be good again. University.

There is no one “specialized” program no more. Everyone walks their own path, pursuing their own interests and careers. Because of that, the person no longer belongs to the program: the program belongs to the person.

Sure, one is more likely to talk to people in their own faculty and program, but electives exist and function as a way to get to know people from different programs and faculties. Teams and clubs are a great way, if not the best way, to get to know people that share your interests. Living in residence is an added bonus since you’ll have to get talk to your floormates.

For all those that might feel somewhat similar, here is your opportunity. Time to change some things up.

To end things on a bit more of an optimistic tone, there was definitely extremely valuable learning from my pursuit of knowledge in the IB program.

Firstly, I have to thank my english teacher Mr. Coates (the goat). There is something I think everyone could learn from taking a Theory of Knowledge course the way he taught it. I cannot simply describe the experience, one has to be there themselves. However, many philosophical paradigms and thought experiments, including empiricism and rationalism, symbolic interactionism, the looking-glass self, the categorical imperative, Plato’s cave, the self-licking ice-cream cone, metaethics, metaphysics, the Boltzmann brain, etc., are not only interesting to know about, but applicable to our everyday existence.

And that is how I came to enjoy English class for the first time in my high school career. Through Mr. Coates’ guidance, I was able to understand how literature functioned simply as applied philosophy, ultimately providing applicable situations in our own world for the ideas mentioned above. Embracing the absurdist and existentialist worlds through these books allowed me to appreciate them as reflections of our own. This type of thinking was something that I had never done before, and I hope to be able to continue seeing things in a richer and more nuanced light like this.

Although my math and physics classes have ended more than a year ago to this day, I do remember the joy that I would get from grinding out physics and math questions, writing tests (yes, these were actually enjoyable experiences), and figuring out problems together with my classmates. IB has acheived its goal of making me more well-rounded, but my interest in STEM will not go away anytime soon.

The past 4 years have surely been a unique experience, and there is no doubt the next 4 years will be too. Time only moves forward, regret is simply your inability to move forward with it.