Completing Y11 comes with the usual sense of relief and relaxation every other year does. When that bell rings, all you need to think about is your upcoming holidays, and when you’ll next go out with your friends.
Except that’s not true. Completing Y11 comes with an overwhelming anxiety – an inexplicable feeling. It means that in just 2 short months, you’ll be beginning the dreaded IB Diploma, and although the school does everything it can to prepare us, there’s no avoiding that terrifying feeling.
The entirety of Y11 is based on setting us up to succeed in the diploma. Participating in more services, applying for leadership positions, and ultimately the biggest choice of all: picking our subjects.
Nevertheless, it always seems to fall short, and in some cases, make it all worse.
Those two months at the beginning of the calendar year, you’ll sit down and listen to about a billion assemblies giving you massive amounts of information, but all you can hear is: “Pick well or you’ll likely fail”.
Since that first time you’re asked “What subjects are you doing next year?” it’ll feel like everything you do is emphasising the gravity of the choices which lie ahead. The truth is, it’s not about choosing 6 subjects, it’s about shaping your future, the university you’ll attend, and ultimately the career you’ll pursue.
For some, this period of time quickly turns into an identity crisis. Who am I? Who do I want to be? How does this moment define me?
The overwhelming pressure often leads to a feeling of suffocation. The weight of the decisions promotes confusion, and second-guessing, leaving students questioning their choices, weeks and months after submission.
Despite everyone’s significant efforts to better this experience, the pin-point focus on our future robs us of the present. There is a lingering belief that one should pick the “valuable” and “respectable” subjects and extracurriculars while sacrificing passions because they will make you look better on your applications.
In reality, whether you pick drama over chemistry or MUN over volleyball, it is not your subjects, extracurriculars, or even grades that define you or your future.
So a change must be made. A change in perspective from students and teachers alike that will minimise stress and anxieties; allowing students to progress through their IB years with as much support, and comfort as possible.
As that bell rings at the end of Y11, I hope a newfound sense of relaxation, and excitement for the summer fulfils the year groups to come; rather than the well-known fear and anxiety.
