After literally 3 years, into the final weeks of my IB exams, I actually realized how much time I wasted. I also realised that if I had put in a bit more effort, I would have understood the syllabus. This occurred for the HL subjects - Math HL, Bio HL, Chem HL. However, the one subject that stood out was Chemistry.

I initially liked Chemistry in Year 10 or pre-IB, then it went away in Year 11 & 12, due to teacher swapping and hence, lack of motivation. I just sat in class watching YouTube videos all lesson. Only until the final weeks, that I actually wanted to score good that I tried, and realised that "Man, I wished I had put in more effort".

Maybe you might detest Bio HL, but maybe give it some thought. It is maybe a little too late to change the subject, so just give it a shot. To me, Bio HL is all about understanding + maybe memorising. (Understanding makes memorising a lot easier). Most, if not all, of the topics actually link together. The book that got me motivated, albeit being a little too late, was Hodder Education: 2nd Edition Biology for the IB Diploma.

This book links the topics really well, so that after 1 topic, you wont forget the important bits, because it may come up in another topic. Like I said, it is all about understanding that shit. It will definitely take time, due to details in every process - DNA replication, transcription, translation / Photosynthesis etc.

Given the choice, I would have stayed at home entirely to study the subjects. The subjects in IB are actually pretty easy to study on your own, given you have the motivation. You just need a good textbook and maybe the occasional teacher email for questions.

PS: I agree with you statement on friendship. It was practically useless in IB. The only friendship I had was with the only person who played the same sport as me, with enough zest, - TABLE TENNIS. Other than that, to me having friendships at this stage is like useless, unless you are a socially active person who likes to hang out.