During and after the Chinese New Year break, the school started to introduce the IB subject selection process to us Grade 10s. So, I have received the official options form and we’ve been given online resources such as the subject brochure and a transition website.
The main approach the school takes on IB subject selection is to align subjects with a potential university and/or career path. I had in fact started to think about this a little bit before the school had brought it up.
Because of my wide-ranging interests and adaptability, it is hard to narrow down on a particular field. With very good timing, the school suggested using various career quizzes online to discover various careers I’d never considered before. The results have been… interesting. They ranged from brick-layer to atmospheric scientist to leather die maker.
What I do know is that I want to interact with various cultures. Access to wild nature is also very important to me, as I really enjoy spending holidays trekking or exploring local nature. But I also need to consider social context. I will be a mixed-race woman, and in many places one or both of these things will lead to discrimination. For example, when I talked to one woman in the careers fair about architecture careers, she said that often in South America, men would refuse to work with her, thinking it would be be bad luck. So location will be very important to me. As for what I do, I am currently very passionate about environmental issues, as I think they are the bedrock to the sustainable development (and thus happiness), of my species. I would like the chance for philosophical reflection, and I suppose that means being in a decision-making role.
All this is not that helpful, so I decided to just approach it simply and decide my IB subjects based on what interests me most. After all, if I like something, I tend to do quite well at it. And perhaps even if my subject choices aren’t “ideal” for a particular university, a high-scoring bilingual diploma and my developed passion may make up for it. I am also considering what would likely give me the greatest emotional learning journey. As of today (20th February 2020) all I really am sure of is HL Global Politics (because its role in the climate crisis fascinates me, and I should be a responsible member of a democracy some day), HL Physics (because I find myself constantly asking questions in physics now), SL Japanese Literature (Studying Japanese literature will expose me to Japanese culture, philosophy, and history, which will help me understand myself and cultures in general), and English Language and Literature (I am very interested in socio-linguistics and the power of words to manipulate minds).
In less than a fortnight’s time, I would have made my final decision. I look forward to seeing what I choose.