Trends I’m Seeing

Although most of us are drowning in schoolwork, this doesn’t stop the creation and recognition of trends within our communities. Perhaps, trends are a method we inadvertently use to cope with sources of stress. Let’s take a look at some popular, on-the-rise activities that our high schoolers have been engaging in!

Firstly, many year 1 IB students have started working on their CAS projects as the end of semester 1 is approaching. A common choice among these projects has been baking businesses where students bake various desserts and sell them at school to raise money for charity. Now working on expanding the business city-wide, Angelala’s Cookies has been rising in popularity since its establishment. I’ve also heard of a few newer businesses like The Cactus Project, selling various pastries and drinks. I admire their ability to keep up with the work-heavy IB experience while efficiently maintaining their baking businesses.

Another popular choice for CAS projects has been food review accounts on social media. Many of my friends— even those who are not IB students— have created accounts on Instagram where they review different restaurants and cuisines worldwide. I think this is a less effort-inducing but fun project for all students; In fact, I was planning on doing something similar for my own CAS project until it rapidly rose to popularity.

Other than CAS projects, another trend I’ve noticed is students preferring to wear their hoodies peculiarly — mostly in the SDC as classrooms are freezing. However, some students enjoy “wearing” their hoodies this way: arms into the hoodie but not their head. I must admit that I also wear my hoodie in the same manner almost every day, not noticing it until some friends called me out. I’ve probably done this since freshman year, and although I am curious, it’s still a mystery as to who started the trend.

Lastly, an ongoing trend since last year has been Roblox. I remember playing the game at the start of middle school, but stopping once I reached freshman year. Yet, around the end of last year, many students (especially juniors) started playing again! This may be due to the popularity of the game Dress To Impress on TikTok, or just us reminiscing carefree middle school moments. Although showing passion for Roblox in front of underclassmen and teachers is slightly embarrassing, playing the game has brought many of my friends and I together.

Overall, trends come and go, sometimes with and sometimes without reason. I’m excited to see what the future looks like for trends at SSIS, as many unmentioned themes are circulating and on the rise in our community.