Yes, I know I already wrote a blog post about switching from the IB to IA but here's some insight into how it's been this past month-and-a-half, focusing on being CPO for BlendZ.
When people ask me why I switched out of the IB and into the IA, they are simply baffled. I simply tell them that I was never really interested in doing the IB Diploma and I regretted my decision as soon as 11th grade started. They all seem to answer something along the lines of "oh some people are not ready for the academic push" or simply "innovation es malaso, a las universidades no les va a importar"; but I'm learning not to fight it because what they don't understand is that just because I'm not sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher talk all day doesn't mean I'm not learning, it simply means I am learning effectively and liking what I learn. Lets just say I have learned a lot more doing and through experiential learning than sitting and listening. Lets talk about what it's been like being the CPO of a business. At 17. How many teenagers can say they have been founders, investors and workers of a company not even at the age of legal adulthood? Being Chief of the Production team can be quite fun, especially since we get to try new things all the time; but when it comes to being chief while starting a business, it can be quite stressful and overwhelming. Think of it: you are launching a product, it has to be exceptional and you are the leader of the people creating it. Basically, it means that all pressure is on us in order to make a desirable product. Honestly, when I signed up to be on the Product team, I was expecting it to be all about trying new smoothie recipes and talking with customers about what we should try next, but there is a whole lot more to the production team. First of all, for our first BlendZ sale, I ran all over Lima looking for the cheapest place to buy fruit. And I accomplished it. Our next step was to find a supplier who can provide all the fruit we need for the recipes we have now and fruit for other recipes. That sounded quite easy to me at the start, but once I spent around 2 hours trying to contact people, being nice to people who had no intention of being nice to me and talking with people who wouldn't talk to me if I had no "previa cita", aka appointment, I was really wondering what I had gotten myself into. This was Thursday, and for Monday I had to have completed a budget for fixed costs, a budget for recurring items, find a list of three suppliers and an idea of the three locations to put our stand. We're almost two months in to school and some people still ask me why I made the switch. The answer is simple: I like to learn and I want to learn. This was simply not happening with the IB. I learn through doing and living; by making mistakes and applying what I know in order to learn. I am able to do this in the IA and this is what matters. Just because I don't need to cram for 3 hours-some people's definition of "academic push"- for a test the next day, does not mean I am not "learning". I am actually learning and enjoying what I learn, the most important thing of all.
2 Comments
Corey Topf
9/14/2014 09:35:37 pm
Feedback! https://diigo.com/024fc0
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9/16/2014 11:38:19 pm
Caro!! Really cool blog entry! I'm impressed by how you've improved your writing since the past blog entry I read. There's a clear voice throughout your reflection and that makes it extremely engaging. And it's true, when I got into the IA people also kept on telling me "innovation es malaso, a las universidades no les va a importar"; clearly they have no idea how much fun it is to enjoy what you are learning, and the real importance of wanting to learn.
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Author"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." Archives
June 2015
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