The transition process going into IB has been a revisitation of some familiar systems, but also a change of routine for many of us. The subject choosing aspect of this has been very similar to what we did back in G8, but now we need to make these decisions with some foresight into what we want to do in the future. This process has made me think a lot about the future and how my interests could possibly align going forward and I still have many decisions left to make.

In terms of subjects and going into IB, I am currently a bit confused as to what path I enjoy more and can see myself doing as a profession in the future. One thing I learned throughout this process is that it’s very useful to talk to people who have gone through it before because they can give you a lot of insight into things which you never thought about and they also provide a good firsthand experience into everything. They are also the people who understand what it was like making decisions back when they were our age and going through the same process so their advice is even more relevant and useful.

I think another huge aspect of this process is going to be adapting to the new schedule as we enter IB and the many new opportunities that will open up for us. I think that as we begin to consider beyond our subject choices, about activities and service, this transition will give us a chance to continue on with things we enjoy but also allow us to explore new opportunities and take advantage of the time we have to try new things.

Safe partying is an issue which affects a lot of teenagers nowadays, but the question lies in whether informing young adults about the dangers of it, actually helps them to navigate the problem better.

I believe that a lot of understanding about the dangers of something comes from actually experiencing it. If teenagers never see first hand what the risks are of partying without any safety involved, they will most likely never learn. This is why I believe that the best way for young adults to learn and understand the importance of safe partying is for them to experience it themselves, however, I think that the foundation which teachers and guidance counsellors can provide is also very important in giving teenagers a basis to work off of. If they understand how safe partying works and all the pitfalls they might encounter, if they are ever in a bad situation, they will know what to do and how to go about solving the issue. This is why giving some education to teenagers about safe partying is important, to give us a good foundational understanding which we can deepen as we experience new things for ourselves and go about our lives.

Social media is a popular topic nowadays, especially with the newer generation of teenagers and children being particularly active on it in a way we haven’t seen before. Many debates have been held on whether or not this medium for social interaction and communication is actually causing more harm than good. With reports coming out that social media is rapidly increasing the rate of anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses, especially in younger people, is social media something we should still be using?

I think that social media, as a topic, has many different layers to it and we cannot just look at the surface level data to come to conclusions. Apart from all the negative side effects of social media usage, there are also a lot of positives. Social media provides a way for people to communicate with peers, friends and family in a way that hasn’t been done before. We can communicate efficiently with those on those on the other side of the world and also get an insight into their lives, creating a personal connection that a phone call could never replicate. Social media can also help build confidence, the decision to post something and the happiness you receive from it can definitely boost your mood. All of this, naturally, also has their downfalls. The hate comments posted on social media are a huge issue, with people using these platforms to express their negative thought as they feel it is easier to do it behind a screen, and not face to face. It can also cause a lot of confidence issues, the struggle of whether your post has gotten enough likes, whether your friend got even more than you. This is a huge issue, especially for younger children and teenagers who have not yet got a sense of how to deal with negativity online and how to ignore hateful comments.

Saying this, I think that social media, as a platform in itself, is not inherently bad. We simply use the platform in a way it was never intended to be used. Before posting something negative, people should take time out to think about the consequences of their words and their impact. They should think about if someone left that comment for them, how would they feel? Addressing the issues of mental health, people should be educated from a young age how to appropriately navigate social media and what to do if they are beginning to feel unhappy while using the sites. They should also understand that if someone that you follow online is making you feel insecure, is it actually worth following them?

In conclusion, I believe that the interpretation of social media is what has given it such a bad name. The websites itself were created as a way to communicate and connect with others, but our interpretation of social media could completely change it’s meaning and, create a new dark side to social media.

When looking at the issue of inclusiveness and acceptance, it is often difficult to measure how much there actually is. UWCSEA is a comparatively more diverse place against other schools, even other international ones. Although it claims to be a society where students of all different backgrounds of race, sexuality and gender and come and work together towards a common goal of furthering learning and giving back to the community, is this actually true?

The issue of UWCSEA’s diversity starts at the very root of the problem, the people. Since UWCSEA is an international school, we do have a range of racially diverse students. This means that when looking at the community, it is easy to automatically assume that our school is a very open and welcoming group of people. This, however, is not the case when looking at the teachers at UWCSEA. A large majority of the teachers who work at our school are not people of colour, which is something that often gets overlooked. The teachers here are the ones who are responsible for inspiring the students about the message of equality, which is one of the issues our school strives to work towards. This being said, how can we as a school consider ourselves accepting of diversity when the people who educate us on these issues are not following this themselves?

Another big issue which often gets overlooked in our school is that of LGBTQ+ rights. In our school, we preach a lot about being an “ally” for those members of the LGBTQ+ community because in societies around the world and especially in Asia, their rights are not protected and they are often not welcomed in. This is a huge issue because even in Singapore, it is still stated among the laws that it is illegal to be Gay or Lesbian. Although this law is not necessarily enforced, the notion of it spreads so much fear among the local communities that people do not want to come out as members of the LGBTQ+ community and the people who do, are often shunned from society. UWCSEA, as a community, strives to do the opposite. They want to be as accepting as possible so that the people who are struggling to come out, feel as if they are coming out to a society that will welcome them with open arms. Although it may seem as if we do this as a community, this is not true. We have a service in our college called Equality Focus Group which is comprised of students who are dedicated to helping students feel welcome in our community, however, the big problem is that when you look at our community as a whole, most people are not even aware of those who are members of the LGBTQ+ community.

This week as a class, we began to talk about the laws of Singapore and how they apply to all of us. One of the most interesting things we found was that 18 was the age for legal “adulthood” but 16 is the age for consent. As we began to explore this idea, we talked about how in many countries 18 is the age where you are physically and mentally an adult, or so they expect you to be. 18 is the year you finish your schooling and then leave for college. This means you are forced to take care of yourselves and take responsibilities for your actions. However, the real question lies in why 16 is the age of consent and not 18. Does this come from our traditionalist views on marriage? Or does this come from a new generation? What’s interesting about the age 16 is that it’s not used anywhere else in the Singapore law, so why is it used for consent and not anything else. Maybe it’s Singapore’s views about a new modern society that does not hold the same beliefs as the older generations did. Maybe it stems from the traditional views of marrying young. The law is a complex thing and in order to live comfortably and safely in Singapore, it’s important to understand it. But many questions still remain to why laws are the way they are.

When someone asks the question, “What would you consider to be the 5 most beautiful words?”, how does one respond? Would you go the classic route and say words along the lines of “Mother” and “Love”? Or would you go for the more poetic route and say words like “Aura” and “Ephemeral”? Words are complex things that can be manipulated depending on the effect of the sentence or even the person using them, so how do we decide the most beautiful words?

I think we can never have, universally, five of the most beautiful words because different people see beauty in different ways. Some see beautiful words as ones full of grandeur while others see beauty in simplicity. I personally believe that it should be a mix of both as both types of words are beautiful in their own way. Having a mix of poetic and classic words just means that you believe in the simple things in life, but appreciate the beauty of extravagant things as well.