The End of IB

The school year is almost finally over, and all seniors are jumping with joy.  We are all ready to move on from high school and begin our lives in college.  High School - It was a journey!  Freshmen year feels like forever ago, but senior year feels like it started yesterday.  The last year has come and gone so fast that it seems unreal to me.  Freshmen year was a breeze, but it has just gotten harder and harder leading up to now.  Through a bunch of hard work and dedication, I have finally made it to graduation.

I remember being a junior marshall last year, and watching the seniors walk down to receive their diplomas.  I couldn't wait to become one of them myself.  Now I am, and it makes me so happy.  The IB program has been super difficult, so knowing that it is almost over delights me but also saddens

me.  I was nervous when the program started junior year, because I knew a lot of work, papers, and late nights were about to arrive.  Even though people told me how much work there was, it's hard to believe until it actually happens and hits you flat in the face.  Despite that, I think the program has really paid off for me.  I think it was worth it because it was an amazing opportunity that not everyone takes.  I was able to learn a lot of things I probably wouldn't have learned about otherwise.  Especially with film and TOK, because I wouldn't have been able to take those classes anywhere else.  I was able to have teachers that were all understanding and wonderful.  I was able to become a part of something bigger.  I think one of my favorite things about being a part of IB was being in classes where everyone wanted to learn and succeed as well.  It felt so different going to my two non-IB classes, because there is a completely different vibe within them, so I have learned to appreciate that. I think the program has also taught me to grab at any other opportunities that come my way.  I've learned that it's great to take chances, even if I am unsure about them at first.  They may not feel like it at the time, but they will be worth it in the future when I can look back and say, "Look what I have accomplished."

At the beginning of senior year, I was also nervous about college.  Everyone kept asking me where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do.  I felt pressured to know right then and there, even though I still
had plenty of time to decide.  As the year went on though, the nervousness began to drift away and excitement took its place.  After multiple essays along with college visits and tours, I finally made my decision of which one I wanted to attend in the fall.   Once that decision was made, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.  I was just so excited to start anew in a completely different place, and meet  bunch of new people.  It's an opportunity to introduce myself differently.  I am still nervous about picking a major, because I honestly have no idea what I want do, but I am not as nervous as I was before.  When it's the right time, I'll know what I want and what I'm interested in.  The only thing now I'm worried about is being away from my family.  I will miss my parents, my brother that is heading to a different college than myself, and my two sisters who are my two best friends.  I know it will be weird being away from them for so long, but it will also be very fun living in a completely different area with new friends.  Hopefully, I can get involved in a lot of things that I am interested in at college, and that it will feel like my new home.  

Looking back, high school has been a journey where I have learned who my true friends are, and I have learned more about my true self.  Looking forward, I hope to find my interests, and pursue them so I can have a career that I love and enjoy.  

A Glimpse through Whitman's Notebooks

When I first looked through Walt Whitman's notebook, it just looked like a bunch of scribbles and ideas scattered across the pages.  I wasn't sure how well I would be able to read and understand it.  There were still a few words that I couldn't make out, but when I really tried to, I could actually read most of it.  I don't know how much I understood from reading it, though.  Despite that, I could grasp the main ideas of what Whitman was writing about.  I could read the beginning where he wrote that it was a dialogue with Abraham Lincoln.  Also, I could tell his writing was very deep and thought-provoking, like how he brings up virtue and philosophy.  In addition, he talks a lot of about the sea and ships.  I also noticed he uses a lot of question marks within the pages, and his syntax is really interesting.  Furthermore, the images are fascinating.  They are of a man, and in two of the drawings, I think the addition of the tall hat was a unique touch.  I could see how the first drawing was a realistic one, but then it became less realistic and more like a cartoon as the drawings continued.  The last image stands out too, because it appears to be somewhat like a skeleton with a sword through it's chest.  

Even though I haven't read his poems yet, I think these journals reveal some unique aspects of Whitman's writing and his inner thoughts.  I think the images are significant to him and how he views the world.  Also,  his deep, fascinating writing within these journals are significant to the thoughts he expresses in his poems.  I think the way he uses imagery is really cool along with his strong use of diction.  I also think the way he crosses some things out and writes in questions reveal his inner thoughts.  It's like he questions the universe, his nation and is searching for information or perhaps a solution.  He also mentions the queens of Spain and England and uses the Spanish word for liberty, which may reveal his interest in the rest of the world.  I got the sense that he was very intelligent and insightful by the way he wrote.

As I read about what Whitman's notebook actually says and why, I could understand more about his thoughts and beliefs.  I got a better sense at how much Whitman looked up to Lincoln in his time, and viewed him as a hero.  I also was then able to understand what he was saying about religion, and how they reflect his thoughts on the Civil War and the divide in the country.  Continuing on, I thought the words he added or crossed out were even more significant than I originally thought, because they are able to show his original thoughts and then how they develop and change to create new meanings.  For example, his insertion of the word 'perhaps' in front of "I shall see the crash" alters the phrase so people interpret it differently.  I was also better able to understand his views of the nation with reference to the calm sea, which switches to the rough waters and "clouds of death."  

Furthermore, I learned about some of the historical events going on that show in his writing, like how the publishers went bankrupt.  The harsh times that he went through during that time are reflected in these writings.  He was able to foreshadow events in the nation, and understand the importance of the events which would happen, because they would deeply affect the future.  For instance, there is a lot of weight behind the words, "Ship of the hope of the world, ship of promise."  The images also made more sense than before.  The man portrayed is Walt Whitman himself, and I liked how the images are described as becoming "more and more caricaturish."  Lastly, Walt mentions the last war and George Washington, which shows his interest in history and he seems to relate old events to the events going on during his own time.