Introduction 

Throughout my four years  at IU Indianapolis as an honors student, I learned so much in and outside of the classroom. My educational knowledge has greatly increased. In addition, I grew tremendously as a person and am excited to keep growing in the future. When I wrote my "I am and I want to become statement" in H200, I was in the second semester of my freshman year. Although I had enjoyed my first semester of college, I wasn't sure what my professional goals were at the time I wrote this. I became accustomed to some of my peers having very clear career paths, while I was still unsure about mine. However, I did know at the time that I wanted to continue growing as a person while also recognizing how far I had come up to that point. 

      Spring 2026 HON-H 496: I am and I want to become statement

Reflection

Looking back on my time at IU Indianapolis, specifically by reflecting on the "I am, and I want to become" statements I created early in my college career, I see that while my goals haven't changed, I have made significant progress toward them.  The goals I mentioned, such as becoming more adaptable,  dealing with my overthinking, seeing the value in my education, and continuing to grow as a person, are long-term and don't truly have an end. They aren't checkmark goals on a to-do list that can be crossed off. Rather, they are goals I will continue to work toward for the rest of my life, and the reward is the progress I am making. As I crafted my new "I am, and I want to become" statement for HON-H 496, I realized how far I had come in progressing toward these goals and how they had shaped me every step of the way.  While I am thankful for all the progress I have made personally and in my goals during my time at IU Indianapolis, I am excited to continue growing with these goals as the foundations of everything I do as I look forward to life after my undergraduate career. 

Creating my new journey map helped me see my holistic college experience as an honors student in a unique way. I see how my honors experiences connected with the opportunities I sought outside of the classroom. I am thankful for my honors experiences, which have guided me and given me the chance to discover how passionate I am about political research and analysis.  While my Journey map in HON-H 200 was relatively sparse, I am thankful that I have filled the last years of my time in college with meaningful and engaging experiences.