Ayden's IB Survival Guide

I recognize that I'm not really the type of person that shares their thoughts and feelings on a consistent basis.  So, for all of you that I know will read this, I figured that I'll let you into the oddities of my mind.  At least for a little bit... I'm a person that wants to continue to get better.  Whether that be in the classroom or on the track or better as a person. Betterment was the word I came to Millbrook with and it remained in my "pocket" all 4 years.  Honestly, coming into freshman year I had no defined identity other than "I'm the kid that came from Catholic school."  I knew no one and didn't really feel comfortable talking to anyone.  I had always been a shy and relatively quiet kid who gave teachers a tough time in the "group contribution" category.  Oddly enough I think it was just scared to embarrass myself and have to deal with the people who saw your embarrassing act everyday, all day. Millbrook both gave ...

Upon initially looking at Whitman's notebooks I noticed the abundance of strike-throughs, hand-drawn images, and stamps.  I also noticed that everything was written in cursive, which would have been typical of his time and social status, as well as the constant mention of sailing and ships.  I think it's all important in characterizing Whitman.  For instance, the strike-throughs give us evidence to back up that he was a thoughtful man, with potentially scattered thoughts, but with the intent of always wanting the perfect wording of things.  The images, believed to be drawn by others, show us how sociable he was.  He was integrated in society and knew about it because he lived it, unlike other famous recluse poets who comment on the world from their exterior view.  The constant mention of ships and sailing describe a type of conflict, probably inner, that he was dealing with.  I say this because it was always about the waters raging or beating on the...