Thank you IB, for preparing me for anything.

It’s gotten progressively harder to be the best of the best.

I know a few teachers that graduated from high school at the top of their class.  However, they achieved the goal because the excelled in one area.  They were good at subjects like history and english, or math and sciences, etc.  And because they were so excellent in these subjects, it made up for the subjects they weren’t too strong in.

Students then didn’t necessarily strive to take as many AP classes as they could, because schools haven’t always offered so many.  So they were able to just pick and choose which ones they wanted to be in.  Also, they didn’t have IB, which weights all classes on a higher scale.

It’s fairly common for the top 10 students to be from IB.  Also, it’s almost impossible to be top of the class unless you’re IB.  IB forces students to be well rounded, and though we might not be strong in all areas at first, we do learn and adapt.

I just found it really interesting that being at the top means something different now.  It might not mean that you’re a genius at a subject like it used to, but it does mean you’re proficient in a vast abundance of areas.  And, if you don’t even know what you’re going to do with your future, that’s a valuable quality because it keeps all doors open.