Hi!
Welcome to a day in my life!
You’re about to find out how it feels to be an 18-year-old girlie who’s struggling to keep up and juggle all of her responsibilities.
Preparing for school
Okay, so first things first, we’ve got to wake up. So 6:40 it is. I’m up, still half asleep, but alive. Well, sort of. I have to be out the door in about 30 minutes, so I throw something on that hopefully imitates a proper outfit, put on some makeup (if any), and then I’m out the door. For some context, I live about 65 km from my school, so not everyone has to get up so quickly and suffer public transport for an hour and a half. But I like my sleep, so I do everything to prolong it. Then, after taking a train and a bus or two, I can officially say that I’m at school.
Whilst at school
Unfortunately, most of my days look the same and so does my school schedule. I have class every day from 8:30 until 4:00 pm. Hence, school is the place that sees the most of my mental breakdowns… (Though, please remember that your mental health really is important. If you need any help, don’t be afraid to ask for it, whether it’s your teachers, school staff, your friends, or family.)
Anyway, I have classes in blocks. So every day I have four classes, each consisting of two 45-minute lessons. That’s the case unless it’s test day. Then the two easy breeze classes turn into an hour and 50 minutes (yes, including the breaks unless you manage to finish earlier, which nobody does) of pure writing. But since my next test is on Friday, that’s another day’s worry. Today, I happen to have Economics, Psychology, Math AI, and TOK (theory of knowledge). Anyway, let’s skip those seven and a half boring hours and talk about what happens after school.
Going home
So here’s where the fun begins. You see, even though my commute to school takes about an hour and a half, my commute from school takes at least two. This is mainly due to traffic and an unfavorable train schedule. Hence, since my train station is connected to a huge mall, depending on the day, I sometimes grab dinner to go and eat it on the train. This will, in turn, depend on if we have food at home and how much time I’ll need to study. Finally, I get home usually around 6/6:30 pm. That is today, as sometimes after school I go and study at a nearby cafe, and then my arrival time turns more into 8/9 pm.
After-school routine
Once I’m finally home, I take about two hours to eat dinner (if I haven’t eaten by then), shower, clean up my room, or do anything that needs to get done. Now, it’s about 8 pm. Depending on my state of mind and my mood, it’s either time to start studying or take a 30-minute Power Nap before studying.
For the purpose of this article, let’s say I didn’t need the Power Nap and now it’s time to begin checking off all of the school/extracurricular related tasks on my to-do list. As I’m in DP 2, in addition to the upcoming IB exams, homework and regular tests (which I have at least two a week), I also have to work on my Internal Assessments and my EE. Hence, if you’re a future or current DP student/a parent of one, please start writing your IAs in DP1. Despite what others may say (even your teachers), it does take a lot of time, and it’s best to get it done as soon as possible. Anyway, I basically work for as long as I need to, and I will admit that sometimes it ends up being 11 pm, while on others it’s 1:00 am. Regardless, as soon as I’m done, I go straight to bed and repeat the cycle the next day. By now, you’re probably wondering when I have the time to live my life.
The answer is simple, really. I basically try to optimize my time during the week as much as I can. This way, weekends are my time to rest and focus on my passions. However, realistically, I still usually have to dedicate at least one day of my weekend to school-related stuff. That still leaves one whole day just for me every weekend. As the IBDP lasts only two years, I can manage having only one day to myself throughout the week for the time being.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my life. Please don’t get discouraged, as that’s what I chose. Most of my friends have a bit more spare time than I do, since they live in the same town as the school, so most IB students’ lives are not as hectic as mine. Admittedly, during the exam season, it can get a little intense. But in return, after these two years, you are not only fantastically prepared for the workload at university, but you are able to tailor the subject selection purely to your interests. What I most appreciate about the IB program is that I didn’t have to study subjects that I would have no use for in the future. So, in conclusion, though IB is an intense program, I genuinely don’t regret taking on the challenge. It taught me much more than any other program ever could. I am glad to say that, considering I’m graduating in a week.