1. What is your best memory of the IB?

My best memory of the IB is from the end of the first term of Grade 12, right before winter break. We were celebrating the fact that we only had a couple months of school left with some movies and snacks. This was at school, so the teachers were there, enjoying the movies too. It was a very strange feeling at the time–like I was caught between the relief of getting through yet another term and the anxiety of the looming exams. In hindsight, those moments were the best; the ones where I actively set aside my worries for the day and just lived in the moment. 

2. What is your worst memory of the IB? 

Meanwhile, my worst memory would have to be around three weeks before my first exam, when I was going through my notes and thinking to myself that there was no way I could possibly memorise all this stuff in time. I remember calling my sister in a panic and ranting to her about it for a solid ten or fifteen minutes. That first week of study leave was the hardest, because I could only see the mounting wall of content I had to study, and not the finish line behind it.

3. What are your hopes for the future? 

As for the future, I hope to one day have a job I look forward to attending each morning. I’m not entirely sure what that job would be, just that it would be engaging and exciting. I also don’t want to have to work jobs I hate for decades just to finally get one I like!

4. Do you have any advice for the IB students? 

To any struggling IB students out there… relax. Breathe. Within a month of graduating, the whole experience will feel like a strange, distant dream. For now, focus on getting enough sleep each night. If you stay up late to work, then you won’t have enough energy to work efficiently the next day, which would lead you to have to stay up even later to catch up… and thus, the cycle continues. The sooner you prioritise your health over your schoolwork, the easier it will be to manage both.

5. How many points did you get?

I got 43 points in the end. I really don’t know how–like I said, the whole thing just feels like a dream. I’m proud, though!

Josefine is currently working as an intern at “The Inner Foundation” in communication and research.