"GRADUATION" SPEECH

During these last two years, I, Alexandra Chvedine, have been an IB student. For those of you that do not know what IB stands for or what it means, I will read the most realistic definition I could find:

“IB: International Baccalaureate also known as a malicious program aimed at the unnaturally brighter population in an attempt to overload their brains, and thus reducing them to vegetables without lives.”

Fortunately, for the IB students present in this room this is our last year of stress, the last year of uncertainty, and the last year of the IB.  It all comes to an end, it is sad, but I think we all need it to end; we need to rest from these intense years. Who would have thought that we would be the ones that stayed for these two years? Who would have thought that we could make it this far? Maybe we really are IB students after all.

IB students are thinkers, reflective, balanced, open minded… I could continue but these attributes are just behind me and we can all read them. These are the adjectives that according to the IB best describe the students who study this program. I know that many if not all of us disagree in at least one of them: balanced. Throughout these two years the lack of sleep, the stress and our own negativity have made us not be happy and joyful at times. However, I would not remove this adjective but rather change it for resilient.  Throughout these years we have been battling with the curriculum of two baccalaureates while writing IAs, an extended essay, personal statements and even studying for the driving test. The fact that we were able to complete each task, to write each IA and to meet the final deadlines proves that we are resilient indeed. Because if I have learnt something from this experience it is that, we, second of baccalaureate students do not give up.

Looking backwards in time, I see a sixteen year old me who did not know how she was going to manage and do everything on time and in the best way possible. I still remember how intimidated I was the first day when I saw all of you. I thought that if anyone would not be able to reach what was expected from us, it was going to be me. I thought that if anyone had to study more to match the class’ level, it was going to be me.  The reality was that no one of us was prepared for the IB; we were fourth year of secondary school students who were starting a very intense and difficult program that would involve break downs, stress and learning how to organise ourselves.

It is not fair to focus on the bad things the IB brought into our lives; we must also revive and think about those moments in which stress resulted in laughter and friendships. If there is something positive about the IB is the good friendships you get, because as it is said: friends that suffer together, stay together, right?

As for now, we are very close from the finish line, so close we can almost see it, it is called summer. In little time we will be stressed, but not because of the IB, but because of the university. It will be the time for us to pursue what we truly want. I wish you luck, I know you will be able to do anything you want, you will be able to study what you want and be the people you aspire to be, because after all, we are IB students, right?