School

I have to admit, today was one of the toughest days I have had in a long time. After going to bed at 12:30 in the morning to finish off my biology presentation, I had to drag myself out of bed after oversleeping for half an hour. Later I missed my train, so my dad had to drive me and as he dropped me off and I trudged my way through the wind and rain and into the halls of doom, I discovered my bag was open, nearly spilling all my books on the floor. To top that off, my first class was biology and I had to present the PowerPoint that I had just made 7 hrs ago, while I knew all of my physics buddies had the opportunity to sleep-in because their classes started later.

Once biology began, each presentation merged into the next one, including my own. Don’t get me wrong, biology is my favorite subject, it’s just that I couldn’t. I couldn’t handle everything, not even the corrected biology test I got back; I was too scared to look at the grade because of its potential negative effects of influencing my soon-to-be math test.

Time passed, and sooner than I realized, I was sitting on a crappy school chair in a deadly quiet room with a white piece of paper starring at me. The math test. Did I mention it was a higher level test? First year of university level? Yeah, I struggled and questioned why I even chose such a challenging subject.

As I stared out the murky windows and saw the rain drops race past each other, I wondered what else I could have been doing if I could have chosen, if I could actually control my life for once. Some may argue that I chose the IB path and say I have to accept the challenges and less nights of sleep, but do I really have to do this all the time? It’s better to live a healthier life than that of pressure. How is it healthy to want to get 7s all the time and beat all of your opponents, who are supposed to be your friends? What happens if you get a really bad grade, what do you do? Try, try, again?

Well, I’m definitely not giving up because this day is only one of many days to come and I need to learn to live through them. Now I’m off to bed at a surprising 9:30 pm (I don’t even remember the last time I went to bed so early).

P.S. I would just like to thank all my friends and family for making me happy today. I actually haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. 🙂

I would like to add that this journey to Oxford University was absolutely amazing and definitely an experience of a lifetime. I will always remember the times I spent there making new friends and independently exploring the world while grasping at my chance of freedom. I learned so much about the IB diploma, different cultures, how it is to live in a university, and how important the environment is around you. I gained so much knowledge of what it really is like to live at Oxford and the chances of being accepted into the university. Even though it is very difficult to be selected for an interview, being student at Oxford University will always be a part of my dreams.

For those of you out there who also have similar goals, don’t let anyone ruin your dreams. Even if your chances are slim, there is still a chance to accomplish whatever you want as long as you have the determination to stand up for what you want and/or believe. No matter how many times a person pushes you down, stand back up and fight. Think about all of the positive aspects and your advantages. Think optimistically. As long as you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.

I have already achieved one of my main goals, and that was being accepted into the school I now attend. When I first moved to Norway and went to a Norwegian school, my grades weren’t perfect. I struggled in Norwegian with a starting grade of 2 (equal to around a D in American grades). I was okay in everything else, especially in English, but I had a problem: I wanted to be accepted into an IB school. The minimum grade point average to enter the class was 5,0 (equivalent to a 3.8 GPA). For the next two years, I studied and took extra language classes for my Norwegian. I also did all of this while competing in at least two handball games a week, playing two instruments, and participating in school clubs. My grades grew higher and higher as the years passed by. At the end of my last year in middle school (10th grade), I accomplished a GPA of 5,1. I was ecstatic and genuinely proud of what I had accomplished. I not only achieved my goal, but also went as far as leading a school club and improving my handball skills.

Now that I take the IB, I feel as though there is still so much for me to accomplish. I have a whole two years’ of work laying in front of me. The stress has already begun to take place, but I’m still starting the year off strong.