This year has been full of learning curves in all areas of my life, and PSE has been a great space for me to reflect on my experiences and practice skills such as self-advocacy and communication. Reflections in PSE have also allowed me to practice skills pertaining to self-awareness, which will be useful in grade 12 where I will have to check in on myself and my progress every once in while. We’ve covered topics ranging from mental health to diversity and inclusion, and I appreciate that the curriculum outlines the connections between these topics, as it has allowed me to appreciate the bigger picture.

In answering this question, I will exclude aspects pertaining to climate change, since our unit focus is tolerance and respect.

 

I would start by :

enforcing education surrounding consent and sexual assault in all countries, even rural areas. This would help decrease the silent stigma surround sexual assault and it’s secrecy, while also defining sexual assault explicitly to ensure the future generation understands what it means and how it may look like.

 

 

 

Grade 11 so far has been periods of excitement and stress, and the introduction of new things revolving around career and and decision making have created a sense of unfamiliarity and uncertainty, especially during tests and assessments. I’ve realised that a large factor for this is my attitude, which is a factor I underestimated for a long time. PSE has been an integral part to changing my attitude towards work ethic and responsibility, especially when we did the unit on CV’s and resumes. I began to appreciate my schedule and responsibilities more, and understand the boundaries of what I am able to get done in one day.

• Give an example of something you have found challenging but have been able to overcome or find strategies to help you beat the challenge

One thing I was worried about was time management. Considering the scope of responsibilities that we have in IB, time management is key to obtaining a realistic balance between school and personal life. For me, I realised that once I am overwhelmed or slightly burned out, my motivation completely disappears and my approach to tasks is generally inefficient. I tried working with small breaks every hour or so, which seemed to work even when I tackled difficult tasks. So adjusting the structure of my working routine was a huge solution to overcoming this challenge.

• What are you most proud of outside your academic subjects? (Think about your attitude, activities/service, friendships etc)

I’m proud of my approach to reaching out and expanding my network compared to last year, where my skills pertaining to self-advocacy were somewhat limited. I was also unaware as to how important it is to develop a social network when thinking about long-term goals and targets, especially in current circumstances, where it’s difficult to obtain opportunities without having a good rapport with the person. My attitude towards such situations, where I have to advocate for myself and put myself out of my comfort zone, has allowed me to learn more about my strengths and weak areas.

• Given your experience so far, what advice would you give yourself for the rest of the year?

I would say that the most important thing right now is to accept my responsibilities in small amounts. I have many milestones and long term goals coming up, but directing my efforts into my tasks week by week helps for two reasons:

1. I’m not overwhelmed by the work I have to do
2. I’m putting as much as I can into present matters

These two things are why I’m choosing to approach the rest of the year with an open-minded, calm but alert mindset.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11pVLQ_lxPaq1Z91z7nzPFPlYJG_Gp8TAOEKM4PiTeMM/edit

 

 

What have you learned while creating your icebergs?

• l learnt the magnitude of how people can perceive others and how that can contrast someone’s actual personality

What do you wish your teachers and peers knew about you?

• I want them to know that there are areas to my personality that I choose to show depending on the situation I’m in