Semester Reflection + a bit of CAS!

The semester of the school year 2011-2012 is coming to a fast end and what to do other than a good old reflection??

Below the reflection I wrote for my semester report card.

Like every school year, each semester goes by like a blink of an eye. However, this semester went by like the speed of light! During this semester I got to taste the real flavor of the IB Diploma Program and it was bitter. It seemed like there was a huge assignment due every week. Thankfully, I managed to get my all my internal and external assessments done, math portfolios but most importantly, my extended essay done.

This semester was filled with assignments and tests but, reflecting back on the whole experience, it left me with what I do well and what I don’t do that well. I realized that my study habits were off track when it came to time management. However, I realized that when I study, I can study from the beginning and study until I understand the concept.

I also collaborate easy with my classmates but struggle with working with my teachers or communicating my ideas properly to them. I saw that my thinking skills developed from the help of TOK. TOK has actually improved my thinking by making it more reasonable and made me justify my thoughts. From using TOK I am able to apply knowledge I’ve attained from other subjects and apply those to different areas of knowledge, for example, TOK into art and geography or my art into my geography.

From writing the Extended Essay and other assignments (like geography case studies and art) I realized that my use of information from sources was limited. Like many teenagers and in this age of computers, I heavily relied on the internet as a source of information. I managed to break away from this curse by visiting the library more often. Despite the small quantity of sources I used, I was and still am able to grasp facts and concepts easily.

Mentioning library, my CAS Library Service has developed me more as a person and as a leader. I have learned to collaborate with others and listen to others not only in my afterschool activity but with other activities as well. In particular, I collaborated with the Cleft Palate with organizing the Battle of the Bands concert to make profits for Room to Read. I have also kept up with my action, tennis with Heesoo however, do so at Royal Park (a complex where Heesoo lives).

Despite saying that the flavor of IB was bitter, in the end, it was really worth it and rewarding.