Being a student at ISC for thirteen
has been a tough, but worthy experience. Studying there for so long, I have
often heard about the big phrase: IB Diploma. It’s tough to realize and to
rationalize that in only a couple of months I will be going into this program,
the one that seemed so far away and unreal. The school does seem to understand
though, how frightening this is and as a response to that has given us the
Academic Leadership course. Although it does not specifically address IB
preparation as its main stem, we were offered a 10-Day course with the school
College counselor, which has proven to be very efficient. 
Ms. Vanessa Benaci began by making
us take aptitude tests, such as the Holland Code and Myer Brigs, which have
tried to guide us into the path we should take in the future. The results,
although not specifically related to the area I want to major in, have showed me
that I don’t necessarily need to stick to the Humanities and that I do have skills
that might let me get a job in another are, such as arts. Such had seemed so
impossible to me before. What was extremely valuable to me during the Academic
Leadership course, were the periods in which the IB classes were presented to
us. Before this, I felt as though I had no idea what I was getting my self into
and much less what courses I was going to select. Through the lectures, my mind was cleared and
I had a further understanding of what the IB was all about.
In terms of my career planning and
what I want to do with my future, I am still a bit lost. I feel as though there
are so many opportunities and I have so many dreams, that I am afraid of
choosing one thing and then missing out on something that could turn out to be
amazing. We did one activity during Ms.Benaci's class in which we selected Five Lives we would want to have. This made me open my eyes even more to all the different jobs I could be in:
Due to my school elective, International Studies, and acquired love for Human Rights, it seems as though what I am most inclined to right now to seeking to pursue a carrer as a UN diplomat. Especially coming from Brazil, it would be simply outstanding to be able to represent their point of view in an actual UN Committee- specially Human Rights Council. But at the same time, I find myself at an impasse. I have three other dying passions that seem to haunt me around: Law and Psychology; (which both came as results in my Holland Code) and helping out other people; whether this means being a doctor, opening up school for special needs kids or working at an NGO (or maybe even creating my own) . One thing I do realize now, after all these classes, is that even though I might not be able to follow my whole list of dreams, if I am happy doing it, I will be great at it.
Due to my school elective, International Studies, and acquired love for Human Rights, it seems as though what I am most inclined to right now to seeking to pursue a carrer as a UN diplomat. Especially coming from Brazil, it would be simply outstanding to be able to represent their point of view in an actual UN Committee- specially Human Rights Council. But at the same time, I find myself at an impasse. I have three other dying passions that seem to haunt me around: Law and Psychology; (which both came as results in my Holland Code) and helping out other people; whether this means being a doctor, opening up school for special needs kids or working at an NGO (or maybe even creating my own) . One thing I do realize now, after all these classes, is that even though I might not be able to follow my whole list of dreams, if I am happy doing it, I will be great at it.
At my school this year, many of my
close senior friends have gotten into outstand colleges, such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Brown, Duke, Dartmouth, NYU, UC Berkeley and King’s College.
Although I realize the tremendous amount of work and effort these outstanding
students had to put in, I do realize that in 2 years, I wanna be making it in
into outstanding colleges and I know realize what great opportunity my school
is offering me. With so many careers in mind, my dream college at the moment is
Brown. Since they allow the students to design their own major, it seems to me
that such college should be the one I aspire to get into. I am aware that the
levels of acceptances aren’t so high and that it is extremely difficult to get
into such institute, but what I like to keep in mind one specific quote:
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you will land
among the stars.
These academic leadership classes with Ms. Vanessa have truly helped me narrowing down my career paths and have honestly opened up my eyes to the world of possibilities I am drowned in by studying at the International School of Curitiba. I really do hope my dreams are achievable and I will be putting the best of efforts in order to make it possible. At the end of the day, you either go big, or you go home.
