The last two years have had a profound impact on my physical, intellectual and spiritual self. The 18 months of the IB Diploma programme have undoubtedly been the most academically challenging, interpersonally fulfilling and spiritually enlightening of my life so far.
“It is so pretentiously splendiferous to indulge in the elevating language of the baccalaureate and its effervescent pretentiousness”, but it is wonderful, too, to acknowledge the success of this rigorous academic framework in constructing, by far, the strongest possible foundation for success.(Although most of my actions are effort-efficient, time-sensitive and commitment-aware, my decision to pursue Mathematics as an additional higher level subject is one which I do not (fully) regret. Acknowledging my relative mathematical fluency, but also recognising my arithmetic shortcomings, the hundreds of hours that I have invested into this course have been the most traumatic, but also the most fulfilling of those constituting my educational existence. Respectively, Chemistry, Biology, and English Language and Literature at higher level have been interesting, extending and fulfilling subjects into which I have delved deeply and which I have enjoyed thoroughly. Now, I would be lying to say that my two standard level subjects were personally significant, and so I will not say. I can proudly proclaim that the ‘extensive but not exhaustive’ curricula have exercised my ability to readily retain information to regurgitate it succinctly and sophisticatedly.)
Notwithstanding, “along with CAS”, the IB Diploma Programme has been an incredibly multi-faceted programme: it has developed my specific skills, garnered interpersonal relationships, furthered my interest in the sciences, facilitated my exploration of the arts, cultivated my dedication to helping others, offered me a stimulating journey of ongoing learning, and ultimately, nurtured me to prosper into a holistically informed and humanistically aware individual, prepared to grow, discover and dream into the future.
In this time, I have undergone struggles far more demanding than those I had previously anticipated and witnessed spectacles far more captivating than those I had previously envisaged. I have broadened my horizons through excessive travel over expansive distances, meeting unique people and discovering interesting places. Indeed, the travel within the time of the diploma can be quantified as 127,800 kilometres around the world, achieved with 38 flights, producing 127 days away from home as 51 stays in 24 different places (between eleven cities in eight counties across two continents), but the notion that it has been an enlightening time of discovering new places, and rediscovering not-so-new places can only be appreciated with the qualitative.
On two trips, intended only to mark a momentary escape from the academic hardship of the diploma, I learnt more about myself than I was prepared. Refining my emotional existence has been an explorative journey during which I have gained the most valuable experiences. Recurrently plunging into a European setting, I have been increasingly encouraged to diverge from the hyper-materialistic and money-centric society into which I have been born, beckoning me to consider where my true satisfaction lies. I value so much the time and devotion of one sincere person whose striking compassion left a lasting imprint on my perception of others, with a heart so pure and radiant to tell me that "God had a good day when he created [me]", who has established the bounds from which I can now prescribe myself some self-worth. I have been urged to console the underlying superficiality, materialism and promiscuity that was socially acceptable, and even applaudable, within the rather shallow-minded group to which I associated.
Nonetheless, every time I travel, I am offered valuable time to realise, re-inspect and redefine my thoughts.Sitting on a bench on a starry night by the Rheinuferpromenade, viewing the city light scintillate across the river flowing in the dark of the night, I was asked to “imagine sitting here alone with someone [I] genuinely love” and eventually I have seen that eternal content may be achieved through spending time with someone who means to me not less than the entire world itself.
Undeniably, the simultaneous beauty and pain of (unrequited) love is an emotional roller-coaster from which most would opt out, but it is also a tour that should be taken; by travelling to “the undiscovered country from whose bourn, no travellers return” we may perhaps proffer “an admiration of the individual's ability to experience a[n...] empathic connection with others” and fill ourselves with the precious notion that true emotions do exist and that there is someone who cares.
Much of the interpersonal interactions that give our lives character and soul are lost in our failure to reflect on the things that we have done and the people we have met. (Whether this would just be the incessant pain from living in a distant city, disconnected from reality and seeking temporary enjoyment though intoxication to bear the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” that we so desire, is another issue...)It has been a journey into the minds of interesting individuals, from meeting for the first time people that I already knew (Божидар Илиев), rekindling greatness (Nada Menhem), performing language (Rahel Teresa Samarakkody), nurturing materialism (Natalie Walker), cultivating chocoholism (Tey), and contemplating existence to affirming ‘an appreciation of elevated presentation’ (Emily Lo), trying to defy the laws of physics (Lucien Schünke), patiently ‘waiting to reach intoxication' (Lara Nicol), sampling 'alternative music’ (Lukas Tntsch), falsely creating an impression of collaboration (Henrik Brockmeyer), and fulfilling the impending narcissism that sustains existence (Adam Gormley).
A whole barrage of unique idiosyncrasies garnished this continuum of exploration. From the urban predispositions of Photoshoping to perfection and Starbucksing to addiction, the academic obligations of studying through dusk and memorising until psychosis, and the unsettled preoccupations of intoxication till dawn and caffeine until palpitation, to the metropolitan indulgences of purchasing until fatigue and gorging until nausea, and the naturalist satisfactions of strolling in silence and contemplating unto resolution.
It has been an exploration of often overlooked splendour, from strolling endlessly along the glistening riverside, wandering through cobbled streets in the heart of the town, inhaling the crisp air of the forest, meandering through the ceaseless greenery of the park and dwelling among ancient ruins under the heat of the desert sun, to staring over the metropolitan horizon from skyscraper window-sills, venturing into abandoned warehouses by the light of the phone and with the security of confidence, lusting at the nostalgic beauty of the old world, capturing the mesmerisation of the perfect sunset, and falling in love with the beauty of the night.
Nostalgia is often neglected amidst the overwhelming rush of preoccupations that bombard us in the present. Perhaps not all have the ability to perceive it, or perhaps not all have the time to appreciate it, but for those of us who can indulge in its melancholic roller-coaster and plunge into its ecstatic delight, much enchantment awaits.I would like to sincerely thank those with whom I have shared a nostalgic moment in time, those with whom I have forged a connection and those whom I will want to remember into the future.
I would also like to express my appreciation for all those who I have met on my quest, who have assisted in establishing my identity and indefinitely shaped me to become the unique individual that I am to this very day.
“Satisfy your physical self, challenge your intellectual self and nurture your spiritual self, but pursue and cherish your ‘other half’, because “a life with love is a life that's been lived”.”
“The light that greets you at the end of the tunnel is better than the gold you must leave at the bottom.”
“There is a point of mesmerisation and admiration where any sort of passion is masked by awkwardness, inevitably spurring profound embarrassment.”
“I hope that it will remain, indefinitely, in the distance, but perhaps the embellished thought will gradually fade and eventually dissolve into the mist of time.”
“Instead of worrying about how ugly you are, you should be worrying about how stupid you are.”
“My life is just a vicious cycle of continuous intoxication interspersed with intense academic progression.”
“I suffer from severe psychological indigestion.”
"Technically we find everything interesting that we don't know completely, if we don't hate it absolutely."
“Piano playing and piano performing, debating, MUN-ing and MUN cabinet-ing, medical school workshopping, and photographing (including maintaining my 18k followers on Instagram), truly reaffirmed my confidence in knowing that I am, indeed, a multi-talented narcissist.”
“Being drunk alone is like masturbating without a hand.”
“I have often wondered, but now have come close to conclude, that I seem to live a life of which most people dream, but continue to dream of the things most people already have.”
“I want to be the gardener of your handsome soul.” --Tom Richter
“Transcend your context.”--Flora Mather
“All hopes of eternity and all gain from the past he would have given to have her there, to be wrapped warm with him in one blanket, and sleep, only sleep.” --D.H. Lawrence
“When he went back to the fire he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different.” --Cormac McCarthy
“It is so pretentiously splendiferous to indulge in the elevating language of the baccalaureate and its effervescent pretentiousness”, but it is wonderful, too, to acknowledge the success of this rigorous academic framework in constructing, by far, the strongest possible foundation for success.(Although most of my actions are effort-efficient, time-sensitive and commitment-aware, my decision to pursue Mathematics as an additional higher level subject is one which I do not (fully) regret. Acknowledging my relative mathematical fluency, but also recognising my arithmetic shortcomings, the hundreds of hours that I have invested into this course have been the most traumatic, but also the most fulfilling of those constituting my educational existence. Respectively, Chemistry, Biology, and English Language and Literature at higher level have been interesting, extending and fulfilling subjects into which I have delved deeply and which I have enjoyed thoroughly. Now, I would be lying to say that my two standard level subjects were personally significant, and so I will not say. I can proudly proclaim that the ‘extensive but not exhaustive’ curricula have exercised my ability to readily retain information to regurgitate it succinctly and sophisticatedly.)
Notwithstanding, “along with CAS”, the IB Diploma Programme has been an incredibly multi-faceted programme: it has developed my specific skills, garnered interpersonal relationships, furthered my interest in the sciences, facilitated my exploration of the arts, cultivated my dedication to helping others, offered me a stimulating journey of ongoing learning, and ultimately, nurtured me to prosper into a holistically informed and humanistically aware individual, prepared to grow, discover and dream into the future.
In this time, I have undergone struggles far more demanding than those I had previously anticipated and witnessed spectacles far more captivating than those I had previously envisaged. I have broadened my horizons through excessive travel over expansive distances, meeting unique people and discovering interesting places. Indeed, the travel within the time of the diploma can be quantified as 127,800 kilometres around the world, achieved with 38 flights, producing 127 days away from home as 51 stays in 24 different places (between eleven cities in eight counties across two continents), but the notion that it has been an enlightening time of discovering new places, and rediscovering not-so-new places can only be appreciated with the qualitative.
On two trips, intended only to mark a momentary escape from the academic hardship of the diploma, I learnt more about myself than I was prepared. Refining my emotional existence has been an explorative journey during which I have gained the most valuable experiences. Recurrently plunging into a European setting, I have been increasingly encouraged to diverge from the hyper-materialistic and money-centric society into which I have been born, beckoning me to consider where my true satisfaction lies. I value so much the time and devotion of one sincere person whose striking compassion left a lasting imprint on my perception of others, with a heart so pure and radiant to tell me that "God had a good day when he created [me]", who has established the bounds from which I can now prescribe myself some self-worth. I have been urged to console the underlying superficiality, materialism and promiscuity that was socially acceptable, and even applaudable, within the rather shallow-minded group to which I associated.
Nonetheless, every time I travel, I am offered valuable time to realise, re-inspect and redefine my thoughts.Sitting on a bench on a starry night by the Rheinuferpromenade, viewing the city light scintillate across the river flowing in the dark of the night, I was asked to “imagine sitting here alone with someone [I] genuinely love” and eventually I have seen that eternal content may be achieved through spending time with someone who means to me not less than the entire world itself.
Undeniably, the simultaneous beauty and pain of (unrequited) love is an emotional roller-coaster from which most would opt out, but it is also a tour that should be taken; by travelling to “the undiscovered country from whose bourn, no travellers return” we may perhaps proffer “an admiration of the individual's ability to experience a[n...] empathic connection with others” and fill ourselves with the precious notion that true emotions do exist and that there is someone who cares.
Much of the interpersonal interactions that give our lives character and soul are lost in our failure to reflect on the things that we have done and the people we have met. (Whether this would just be the incessant pain from living in a distant city, disconnected from reality and seeking temporary enjoyment though intoxication to bear the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” that we so desire, is another issue...)It has been a journey into the minds of interesting individuals, from meeting for the first time people that I already knew (Божидар Илиев), rekindling greatness (Nada Menhem), performing language (Rahel Teresa Samarakkody), nurturing materialism (Natalie Walker), cultivating chocoholism (Tey), and contemplating existence to affirming ‘an appreciation of elevated presentation’ (Emily Lo), trying to defy the laws of physics (Lucien Schünke), patiently ‘waiting to reach intoxication' (Lara Nicol), sampling 'alternative music’ (Lukas Tntsch), falsely creating an impression of collaboration (Henrik Brockmeyer), and fulfilling the impending narcissism that sustains existence (Adam Gormley).
A whole barrage of unique idiosyncrasies garnished this continuum of exploration. From the urban predispositions of Photoshoping to perfection and Starbucksing to addiction, the academic obligations of studying through dusk and memorising until psychosis, and the unsettled preoccupations of intoxication till dawn and caffeine until palpitation, to the metropolitan indulgences of purchasing until fatigue and gorging until nausea, and the naturalist satisfactions of strolling in silence and contemplating unto resolution.
It has been an exploration of often overlooked splendour, from strolling endlessly along the glistening riverside, wandering through cobbled streets in the heart of the town, inhaling the crisp air of the forest, meandering through the ceaseless greenery of the park and dwelling among ancient ruins under the heat of the desert sun, to staring over the metropolitan horizon from skyscraper window-sills, venturing into abandoned warehouses by the light of the phone and with the security of confidence, lusting at the nostalgic beauty of the old world, capturing the mesmerisation of the perfect sunset, and falling in love with the beauty of the night.
Nostalgia is often neglected amidst the overwhelming rush of preoccupations that bombard us in the present. Perhaps not all have the ability to perceive it, or perhaps not all have the time to appreciate it, but for those of us who can indulge in its melancholic roller-coaster and plunge into its ecstatic delight, much enchantment awaits.I would like to sincerely thank those with whom I have shared a nostalgic moment in time, those with whom I have forged a connection and those whom I will want to remember into the future.
I would also like to express my appreciation for all those who I have met on my quest, who have assisted in establishing my identity and indefinitely shaped me to become the unique individual that I am to this very day.
“Satisfy your physical self, challenge your intellectual self and nurture your spiritual self, but pursue and cherish your ‘other half’, because “a life with love is a life that's been lived”.”
“The light that greets you at the end of the tunnel is better than the gold you must leave at the bottom.”
“There is a point of mesmerisation and admiration where any sort of passion is masked by awkwardness, inevitably spurring profound embarrassment.”
“I hope that it will remain, indefinitely, in the distance, but perhaps the embellished thought will gradually fade and eventually dissolve into the mist of time.”
“Instead of worrying about how ugly you are, you should be worrying about how stupid you are.”
“My life is just a vicious cycle of continuous intoxication interspersed with intense academic progression.”
“I suffer from severe psychological indigestion.”
"Technically we find everything interesting that we don't know completely, if we don't hate it absolutely."
“Piano playing and piano performing, debating, MUN-ing and MUN cabinet-ing, medical school workshopping, and photographing (including maintaining my 18k followers on Instagram), truly reaffirmed my confidence in knowing that I am, indeed, a multi-talented narcissist.”
“Being drunk alone is like masturbating without a hand.”
“I have often wondered, but now have come close to conclude, that I seem to live a life of which most people dream, but continue to dream of the things most people already have.”
“I want to be the gardener of your handsome soul.” --Tom Richter
“Transcend your context.”--Flora Mather
“All hopes of eternity and all gain from the past he would have given to have her there, to be wrapped warm with him in one blanket, and sleep, only sleep.” --D.H. Lawrence
“When he went back to the fire he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different.” --Cormac McCarthy
