The Horrors of IB

STRESS!!!!!!!!!!! *twitches* *twitches* *bangs head on desk* *bites fingernails* *looks around randomly, gets distracted by something shiny* *hit head on desk again because she NEEDS TO FINISH THESE THINGS*

Okay, so the title of this blog is actually a bit of an exaggeration. IB isn't that bad. It's fun, it's somewhat challenging,* you get to geek out with all the fellow IBers....But, towards the end of semesters/year, it gets hectic. And evil. IB lurks around your corner, waiting until you fall asleep at your computer so it can hit your head with a rock and you wake up with a MASSIVE headache. Especially since this is the end of MYP for us...teachers HAVE TO FINISH THIS. Believe me, they're freaking out just as much as we are about all the stuff they have to grade and the things they haven't taught or done with us yet. We're all in this together!**

So, I've been doing IB since 3rd grade. So, I've been dealing with it for 7 years. And I plan to go on to the DYP programme for my final two years of high school--DYP is the one that seriously turns the smartest kids into a pile of tears and sweat and flashcards and post-its, and they just blubber on. In elementary school, it wasn't that bad, as I'm sure you can imagine. The only truly IB thing we did was an "Exhibition" project in 5th grade to prove that we had actually learned something through PYP.*** In middle school, it got tougher, especially as we started heading towards 8th grade and the teachers were "preparing us for high school." Tests, projects, labs, essays, reports GALORE! And in 9th grade they're all preparing us for 10th grade and trying to undo some of the damage that our middle school teachers did....and teach us things we apparently already should have known....but we never get taught. High schools and middle schools need to communicate the whole MYP programme and curriculum....But, ironically, IB people are VERY disorganized and often have no clue themselves what is going on.

Anyway, this week......*runs away in terror* I just did my Personal Project at about 7:00....It actually felt like kind of a waste of my time, because when I finished presenting, everyone was looking at me like, "Huh? Why'd you do THAT?" (I did a study of politics and the types of Republicans that live in El Paso County, CO. I'd explain, but I am very tired-don't know how I'm managing to write this-and just presented it for a bunch of people, so I DO NOT want to do it again) But, like the amazing IB students we are, all of us sophomores were on Facebook yesterday complaining and panicking and congratulating someone who finished. We're all stressed out, but we're not actually WORKING on it. Classic!

Also, if you follow me on twitter, you know that I was supposed to do an English speech today. And we were all very upset with our teacher, because he gave us zero guidelines and such. But, I still worked on it like the diligent little student I am. AND HE WASN'T HERE TODAY!!!!!!**** How dare he?! What else this week? Well....

Two math tests: One tomorrow (right after personal project night) and one Thursday (right after MYP completion ceremony) Our math teacher hates us. *sigh* But, we hate him back, so it's okay!
US History project: Shouldn't honestly be too hard, but....still....why this week?!
Physics lab/lab report: Also, quite easy. But, just one more thing.....
English project: And, I hate my group. =[ Stuck with them! HELP!!!!!!
Random French crap that won't be for a grade, but I'll probably end up doing anyway....

Er...I think that's all I have to say. I need to get some sleep, so I don't get even more incoherent than I am now.***** At least Personal Project is done, and in 2 days we'll be done with MYP! WE WILL BEAT IB....IT WON'T BEAT US!!!******

I'm too tired to actually explain the IB programme, so her'es a website and some basic terms:
International Baccalaureate
PYP: Primary Years Programme K-5
MYP: Middle Years Programme 6-10
DYP: Diploma Years Programme 11 & 12

Cheers! DFTBA!! (Don't Forget To BS Assignments)

*Sort of. Not really all that challenging, though they say it is!
**Oh no. HSM reference *groans*
***I still don't know how they actually evaluated our Exhibition. I think we just did SOMETHING, and they let us "graduate"
****I think he wanted to stay away from sophomores who would attack him with questions....
*****Yeah, sorry about that. Hopefully this wasn't too painful to read
******Well, we can always hope.....

Why you should go camping!

Okay, I know some people seriously hate camping and can't stand the idea of being out in nature, cooking over a fire/camp stove, with no electricity or shower or internet.* And, while I myself do love camping, I understand that. So I'm not saying that everyone needs to go camping all the time. I just think you should let yourself experience it once in your life, at least, before you decide you hate it. Even then, try it with some friends and see if it's different =]

Hem, Hem:**
Kat's Top 10 Reasons to go Camping at least once in your life.
1. You get some amazing pictures and memories.
Same as traveling, really. Except your pictures of nature are almost guaranteed to be beautiful and breathtaking and amazing. Breathtaking pictures of mountains, lakes, streams, rock formations, WILDLIFE. Seriously...I take so many pictures when I'm out camping. Also, camping tends to bring about even more hilarious memories and times you had with your family/friends/whoever you were camping with. Because if you are truly camping, the memories and pictures come along with it! =] Bears, bad cooking experiences, rain, rolling out of the tent while sleeping, etc, etc....

2. It's actually quite easy
Some people tend to think that camping is hard. But it's really not. You should have some basic cooking skills at home before you try cooking on a camp fire. You should have a tent, sleeping bag, flashlights, food, water, maybe a camp stove. A game or books so you don't get bored. Some cooking utensils.....As long as you don't choose anything too complicated or high-tech, camping will be a breeze because so much stuff is out there so that you don't have to work hard while camping, but can just relax.

3. It's relatively cheap!
Again, as long as you don't go buy all the high-tech, confusing stuff, and you don't try to rent an RV or something, camping is cheap! Many places a free to camp, or very very cheap if they aren't completely free. Much better than having to rent a cabin for who knows how much for a few days. And much better than a hotel room!

4. Food tastes better when you cook it while camping...
Usually. I mean, at home you'd never eat a "foil dinner" of rice and corn and potatoes, but when you're camping it seems like heaven =) Granted, if you have no cooking skills, it still won't taste great. But, also, if you've been hiking a lot,*** then pretty much any food tastes like heaven, no matter how badly it was cooked. Plus, there's that feeling of accomplishment that you actually cooked something on a camp stove/fire. Breakfast burritos! =]

5. You have some really fun times with your friends.
Obviously, this one goes along with the first one about the memories. But, this one is specifically for if you go camping with friends, not family. Whenever we go on our overnight at GS camp, we come back with the best of stories. Like how we accidentally pitched our tent on a hill, so in the morning I ended up at the bottom of the tent, near everyone's stuff, especially the riding boots. Uncomfortable! Or how it was raining, so the counselor was shoveling extra pudding into our bowls. Or how, on our "challenge" overnight as CIT/WITs, they didn't leave us the food so we couldn't prepare the cooking until the food was delivered. Not having a can opener, so banging the can of fruit open with a mallet used for setting up tents. See what I mean? FUN TIMES FTW!!!!

6. You can see the stars =]
Since most of us live in or near very big cities, we have never actually seen the stars. I remember when we went camping at the Monument Valley Navajo tribal park...I'd never REALLY seen the stars before, because even at GS camp some of the buildings have electricity, and it's not that far from Woodland Park. But the Navajo tribal park had no cities nearby, and no buildings with electricity. So we could see every star coming out, one by one. It was one of the most beautiful, wonderful experiences of my life. And I want more of those! Unfortunately, not many camping areas are even that secluded anymore. But, you can still see more stars out camping than you'd ever see at home in the city!

7. You get to visit some beautiful places
Seriously. So many places are beautiful, but they are secluded. So the only way you can truly see them is to go camping, since there's no other way to get there. And just being out in nature, being a part of nature, being at the mercy of nature, makes it beautiful. LIFE is beautiful when you're camping. Plus, by camping in these places, you help to ensure their beauty, their peace, and...just the places in general. Camping benefits the environment, as long as you do it the old-fashioned way with tents and "leave no trace." Camping is one of the most natural things you can do, as long as you do it properly. So get camping!!!

8. You have great story material.
Yes, THIS one again. But it's true! I don't feel like repeating everything I just said about memories and fun times. Anyway, you can share camping stories at that same party, if none of the other stories go over well! You're almost bound to get people laughing, choking on their drinks, etc. And you're bound to get some of the people asking you tips on camping, or reliving any funny camping stories they had when they were kids! I constantly repeat camp stories with my camp friends, and it NEVER gets old! These things don't fade away! They're always funny!

9. Seclusion! Relaxation! Time to think!
Especially if you choose to go camping by yourself. The wilderness is the perfect place to go to try to get someplace to relax and think about things and all that great stuff. The nature and the wilderness does some amazing stuff to your brain and your ability to make sense of things. So get out into that nature and spend some time in it!

10. You have something to blog about!
Always ends here. Because you can blog about just about any experience, and people will read it. I myself took advantage of blogging about camping earlier this month. Shameless self-promotion of earlier blog.... So, if nothing else can get you out camping, wait until you are out of anything to write on your blog, and then go camping so you have something to write about. WIN!!!!

Ugh. Stress. Personal Project, 2 math tests, English speech, US History Project, MYP Completion ceremony. Crazy, crazy last week of BEDA. My blogs will likely get progressively more incoherent and such. Especially tomorrow. Deal.****

But I love my frieds!!!!!!*****
Cheers! DFTBA!

*No internet. Yes. I've done it for 4 weeks. You can do it for a few days.
**A thousand useless points if you got that HP reference!
***Hiking often goes hand-in-hand with camping, though you are not required to hike if that makes you shy away...
****Really, I am sorry. But there's nothing I can do about it.
*****Thank you for giving me some things to laugh about. =D