Picking a Theme

At the end of 8th grade, the staff at our school told us that we would be doing a Personal Project in 9th grade, on a topic of our choice.

At first, I thought it would be stressful to work on a big project whilst also completing all of my other coursework. However, when they told us we would have seven months to complete it, at regular intervals, I began to feel more confident.

The biggest decision I have to make is choosing a theme.

I have two main ideas in mind: something to do with marine biology or a topic related to engineering.

I have been interested in marine biology since I was a little kid living in Florida. I've gone snorkeling in the Florida Keys and would spend time studying creatures in tide pools. This past summer my family and I went to the Dominican Republic to go whale watching in Samana Peninsula. I made a video about the Humpbacks of Samana and posted it on YouTube this month.

The other theme I am seriously interested in is engineering. I have always liked building things -- first with my Lego blocks and then with computer programs like Minecraft.

This summer, I started thinking about developing a design for a multi-purpose suit that would be heat- and fire-proof and could be used for arctic and space exploration. I spent a lot of hours writing down and drawing my ideas.

Here are some notes I made on a whiteboard in my room in January:

So the question for me for my MYP Personal Project is:

Will I choose marine biology or engineering?