Everything I Was, Everything I Am, Everything I Will Be

I was quiet, timid, easily overlooked and invisible. During my first years of high school and the first weeks (maybe months) of IB, that's who I was. I was a complete introvert who barely spoke in class yet maintained all As and who lacked a core group of friends. I had friends here and there; volleyball helped. Yet all that time I yearned for my best friend at Heritage or more classes with my volleyball friends.

Even though you still see some of that Anna Claire today, I certainly feel like a different person. A better person. While I can't say for certain my shift is due to IB, I can confidently say it was a major contributing factor.

I joined the program to challenge myself; I didn't like that my freshman and sophomore years were a breeze. I also wanted to be better prepared for college, boost my GPA, have smaller class sizes, and be around people who wanted the same things. In retrospect, I have gotten so much more out of it than that, which has helped me grow as a person and become the Anna Claire/AC that I am proud of today.

Out of all the things I received from the program that I wasn't expecting, I am most grateful for the friendships I have formed with people who have become very important in my life. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not reliant on and thankful for Dawson's hugs, Amy's kindness and sincerity, Nick's sass, Chloe's and Hunter's creativity, Allie's positivity, Olivia's and Vanessa's generosity. Everyone else in IB has affected me as well, and I'm grateful for them all.

While making great friends helped me come out of my shell, so did my unexpected involvement in IB Theatre. I did not plan or desire to take that class (being on stage? a.k.a. an introvert's nightmare), but I did because of a scheduling conflict. Well, thank goodness for that conflict. I have developed amazing skills in that class that will serve me well in the future, with who I will be: confidence, public speaking, voice projection, creativity, problem solving, organization, risk, not being afraid to put yourself out there. I am confident that this class is a major factor in breaking away from who I was and becoming who I am.

The demands of the program have taught me what kind of student I am; my work ethic is something I'm very proud of, even though senioritis sometimes makes me doubt this. IB has helped me find who I am and who I want to be, both as a student and a human being. Therefore, I owe a lot to the program, because I can say without hesitation that it was a fantastic experience for me.

While I still see traces of who I was, I am content with who I am today. I think the term "extroverted introvert" fits well. However, I know that I haven't completely found Anna Claire/AC, and I'm looking forward to discovering everything I will be.

Whitman's Journal

It was a little difficult to decipher every word in Whitman's notebook, but here are the most interesting things I found that I could read:

• Why now I shall know whether there is anything in you, Libertad  / I shall see how much you can stow
• Perhaps shall see the crash- is all then lost? (decreasing good of society will be recurring)
• Does the Queen of England represent a thousand years? And the Queen of Spain a thousand years? And you
• Welcome the storm- welcome the trial- let the waves (private storm as well as societal storm)
• Why now I shall see what the old ship is made of. (Lincoln= ship captain, metaphor- ship of state)
• I welcome this menace- I welcome thee with joy.
• Images I noticed: a harp, portraits of Whitman (he loved to be drawn), stabbed skeleton

The blue ones are my personal favorites. I am a big proponent of working hard and finding the positives in every situation, so these Whitman quotes in particular touched me. They all have a similar message that life is tough, but we should welcome its challenges with a positive attitude and perseverance. Another recurring thing I found was ships or words pertaining to ships. I think this ties back to what we have learned about Whitman thus far; he praises nature and celebrates life and all of its difficulties.

Before going to the second link, I couldn't figure out that it is "Libertad," which is the Spanish word for liberty. It is interesting that it's still debated what purpose using the Spanish version of the word serves. After reading all the notes, I observed that his prose can be applied to both his personal life and the state of the States (ha) during the Civil War era. While the "storm" can mean the issues leading to the war, it can also mean his personal trials. I think this is cool because you can interpret his poems both ways but still get the same general themes such as celebrating life and nature.

Lastly, please enjoy this awesome meme!

http://weknowmemes.com/generator/meme/Walt-Whitman/164663/