In short: it’s different from the usual standards.

Of course, it’s vital as a student not to overwork, and there have been many studies on optimizing studying, sleeping, and napping schedules. One type that comes to mind is a famous schedule named the Uberman sleep cycle, where a person will sleep for 20 minutes six times a day and space it evenly throughout the day. A different method is to reward students for doing tasks with food. For example, after reading 20 pages, you can eat 1 gummy—or something along those lines.

Some of these are laughable with how hard it might be to achieve as a student, so for now, we stick to the traditional monophasic sleep cycle and cram right before tests.

In the IB, many sacrifices are made, and when a stressful week is filled with work, there really isn’t any time to stop and enjoy your scenery as you blow through objectives. Taking a little breather is essential, and appreciating the small gifts of nature is a talent all on its own.

For me, relaxation is simply silence and a nice view. I’m pretty introverted, so this is my peace and heaven. I don’t get a lot of time to simply sit down for a picnic, but when I walk home from school when the sun is blaring a striking crimson color spewed across the sky, I have to take a step back from my commute and look up at the sky.

The picture below is right as class ended, a beautiful sunset after staying at school until 5 p.m.

For Nanako, my partner in photography for The OYISTER,

“Relaxation is when I go to peaceful cafes while listening to music, or go outside to a quiet and less crowded place, and just lay on the grass and look up at the sky,” she said when I asked her what relaxation was to her.

Though our personalities are widely different, we still manage to overlap in what we think stress relief looks like. Just to get away from the bustling world around us and take a moment to freeze time. I’ve seen many people describe leisure as something that distracts us or to step away from stressful environments; with limited time to do assignments, multitasking and enjoying our surroundings seem to be the driving forces in keeping our patience during the IB course.

Is relaxation based on external arrangements? Would I feel that peace is different had I been older, or grown up differently, or been interested in other things? Maybe it’s not something I generally have to think about since everyone is distinct, but it certainly makes me curious as to how or if people take a moment just to look up at the sky from time to time.