Should I take HL German and SL Music, HL German and AI Japanese or AI Japanese and HL Music?

[ConflictedKid]

Hello, nice to meet you; I'm very new here, so please forgive me if I'm a little weird/rough around the edges lol. However, the main thing is that right now I'm quite conflicted. 

I'm a British student currenty in Year 11, going to an IB sixth form in 2017, and I have had a massive dilemma for the last few months.

I want to do Computer Science at university, or at least a STEM subject to be broader, and my current choices are:

• SL Literature and Performance (as I like creativity, and Drama appeals to me more than normal English)
• HL Maths (daunting, I know, but for where I want to go I'm willing to take it on)
• HL Physics (to keep my options open rather than taking Computer Science, which would be a one-way route)
• A SL Humanity that I haven't decided yet as I hate them all I can't decide between them just yet. 

However, for my Language B and Group 6, I have 3 subjects I want to do, but only 2 spaces open to take them: German, which I've taken for 4-5 years now and have LOVED; Music, which I'm 'naturally gifted' for and have done all my life; and Japanese, a language that I'm absolutely fascinated in and have always loved, to the extent where I have tried studying some alone, despite not learning the language in school.

The TL;DR of this text is that I can only choose 3 of the following combinations; HL German and SL Music, HL German and AI Japanese OR AI Japanese and HL Music, and I'm not sure which one would be the best in terms of enjoyment, doability and point-getting.

There are points for and against each subject, which makes the overall decision process much harder.

• German is something I know I love and do well in, but I'm not too confident in getting a 7 at HL due to a low turnout of 7s in HL Language B in IB schools throughout my area. Furthermore, I've heard that many Germans speak fluent English, making the need for fluent German pretty unnecessary.
• Music is something I find relaxing and natural, but I've only been doing my grades for a year or two now (I'm Grade 4 piano right now, learning Grade 5), so the performance part of the syllabus is quite hard/scary for me (though I still believe getting a 7 in HL Music to be slightly easier than getting a 7 in HL German) and I can continue doing my grades without taking IB music lessons, meaning I won't close any doors by not taking it.
• Japanese is a subject I've wanted to take my entire life* and have made an effort to teach myself, which I find fun and interesting though I don't have the self-discipline to sustain self-study lmao. I already know hiragana, katakana and some very basic kanji from my time in Japan, so learning it shouldn't be impossible, but the problem is that I've never actually taken Japanese, hence the choice only being Ab Initio. I think I prefer Japanese, but should I really place it over Music and German, which I know how to do and know I love, on the hope that I'd like Japanese more than them?

Honestly, I know that none of these subjects are particularly useful for my career path, but I LOVE creativity through logic, which is what attracts me to Computer Science, composition in Music and languages in general, meaning that I feel like I'll make the IB draining, boring or too stressful if I don't make the right choices. I've thought about this dilemma for ages and have made many past conclusions, but for some reason I can never seem to stick to an idea once I believe in it and always find myself back at square one.

Please help me; I've been stressing about this so much, especially with my GCSEs still getting closer! 

 

(P.S. If it means anything again, I used to be conflicted between German, French and Music, but from everyone I asked in my school, people were overwhelming for Music and German. I've never asked about Japanese however, due to it only recently becoming a possible option, and Japanese and French are worlds different, so I'm not sure if this holds any value lol)

* = (Not important but kind of a backstory, but I've originally always wanted to learn French and Japanese since I was little. When I first got into my secondary school however, I was placed into doing German without choice, as a compulsory GCSE choice for my form and I, which sucked at the time until I realised how much I enjoyed it lol. I was given a choice for my second language in Year 8 though, which I placed down as Japanese, but as there were insufficient numbers of pupils, Japanese as a class was cancelled and so I was placed in French, which saddened me A LOT back then. I've disliked and confused myself with French for as long as I can remember, but I've tried as hard as I could regardless because I thought it was an undeniably useful language in the working world. Now, I finally have the chance to take Japanese once more, but at the price of dropping German for it, which is a VERY hard choice to make...)

Edited November 19, 2016 by ConflictedKid

[kanda_sorata]

I think you should take whatever interests you, since you'll have more courage to score well in that subject. 

From what I have heard from my friends, IB Music is harshly-marked and has a lot of theory - do your research about it, perhaps on a forum, and check the requirements as well. Can't really help you with that one. 

As for the language dilemma, I would say go with Japanese if it is AB initio, since I too get jealous of people taking it - it is such a beautiful language and I feel I would learn it with joy. If it is Japanese B though, it requires some previous knowledge, I think JLPT N3 level of Japanese is needed, so that would not be the right course for you. 

Now, if you're really good in German, why don't you take it then? Honestly, I would rather take a language course in which I'm good at, so I can concentrate more on other subjects. Perhaps you could take German SL if HL seems too hard?

Language B course is more demanding, but AB initio requires from you to quickly retain vocabulary and grammar structures - however, it is still an easy 7 if you put the right attitude towards it. 

 

Btw, I also took GCSE exams, so we could chat 'bout that as well. 

 

All in short, go with your interest. If you want to try with Japanese, I would say go with it. As I said, do your research and decide based on that. 

You can DM me as well and we can try to figure it out... Cheers!