Having second thoughts about IB subject choice...

[star_lily]

Initially my subject choices were Psychology, Biology, and English Literature HL with Theatre Studies, Maths AI as SL and French Ab Initio. 

I was debating between Theatre Studies and Philosophy; I took IGCSE Drama so Theatre Studies SL didn't seem too hard. I loved drama classes in Year 10 but when it became Year 11, I started to miss the spark. I still thoroughly enjoyed putting on student-led musicals with my friends (we did Dear Evan Hansen this year), but the lessons were a little bit tedious. Also, my drama teacher (who is great most of the times) is quite mood-oriented — if he's happy then our lessons will be amazing, but if he's in a bad mood, he can be really grumpy and sarcastic. It's quite hard to tune to what he's thinking and feeling most of the times so all the students are on the edge during his lessons. For philosophy, I am interested in discussing big questions. 

So, to go into my actual concern, I've made a list of the negatives and positives of taking drama/philosophy class.

 

If I take drama:

- I'll have to participate in our Whole School Production, run by my drama teacher, which might clash with the student-led musical I'm already a part of (and since it's IB, I don't think I can manage both) and from past experiences, weren't that fun

- I need to keep on going along with whatever my drama teacher says/feels like

+ Be a little more comfortable as it's not a brand new subject

+ Have fun(?) because I do enjoy performing

If I take philosophy:

- I would probably need to do more research than I would for drama, since it's a subject I'm not very familiar with

- Have more things to read/write along with psychology and English lit. 

+ Gain more insight that may be useful in the future

+ Find a new passion(?)

Also, can someone tell me what to expect in Philosophy SL? People that I were close with in higher year groups didn't take it so I don't really know. Are there many debates? A lot of information to memorise? 

They both have their ups and downsides... I really need to hear what people think about this situation.

Thank you so much!!:

[xoxzoey]

Hey!

I personally would go with philosophy just because I think drama is highly dependant on your teacher (who doesn't sound that great)  whereas philosophy can be learnt through online resources. However, with that being said, if you TRULY enjoy performing and want to learn it in greater depth then opt for that. I don't do philosophy but I do psychology and as you mentioned, you will be doing a lot of writing in your subjects but there may be overlap in topics so you can relate both subjects to each other and it could be easier to learn. 

[star_lily]

8 minutes ago, xoxzoey said:

Hey!

I personally would go with philosophy just because I think drama is highly dependant on your teacher (who doesn't sound that great)  whereas philosophy can be learnt through online resources. However, with that being said, if you TRULY enjoy performing and want to learn it in greater depth then opt for that. I don't do philosophy but I do psychology and as you mentioned, you will be doing a lot of writing in your subjects but there may be overlap in topics so you can relate both subjects to each other and it could be easier to learn. 

Thank you so much for your thoughts!! I'm still not 100% sure but after talking to my University Counsellor, I think I'll go for philosophy (as you also recommended 😊)

[xoxzoey]

1 minute ago, star_lily said:

Thank you so much for your thoughts!! I'm still not 100% sure but after talking to my University Counsellor, I think I'll go for philosophy (as you also recommended 😊)

Yayy!! it's good that you have a university counsellor, they can be really helpful.

Also don't worry if you don't like the choice that you took, usually you're allowed to change within the first few weeks if you realize that subject isn't for you. For my school we were allowed to change our subject within the 1st term of school and them we were set.

Good Luck!