Participating in the honors class has really taught me a lot about myself, especially about who I am as a person, and what I value most. My top five signature themes are consistency, restorative, responsible, includer, and analytical. I relate a lot with the responsible and analytical themes, however, when I received the includer theme I was a bit surprised. Looking back at how I act when around people it makes sense that I received that theme because I do include people in activities and make sure that everyone is participating. I never thought includer would be one of my top five themes though because I believed other themes represented me better. I honestly believe the includer theme will really help in my future career. It’s important as a doctor to have great communication skills when conversing with patients along with colleagues. In addition, I believe includer also means that I accept everyone for who they are. 
        Although my top 5 signature themes really sum up who I am now, I don’t think I would’ve received these same five signature themes back in high school. I believe my strengths changed as time progressed mainly because of the experiences I had. Back in high school I was contained to a limited number of friends and mainly participated in activities with them rather than expanding my friend group. After coming to college, it has forced me to come out of my shell, which I truly do appreciate, and learn about people from all over the country. Each and every person has a different background and I love to learn about what they did in their free time and how life was for them. Honors also pushed me to step out of my comfort zone by participating in conversations and activities over my values.
     After doing the activity, my top three values were friendship, autonomy, and fairness. I really cherish the friendships I make with people I meet, even if I meet them only for a day. Those who know me know that I like to be around friends and meet new people. Although I used to not like talking to people whom I’ve never met back in high school, I now like to meet new people and potentially create a deeper friendship with them. As for autonomy, I believe that if you’re able to live life independently, then you’ve reached a level of maturity and responsibility that allows you to be efficient and accountable with your actions. I remember transitioning from depending on my parents to make sure I’ve done my homework to me making sure that I’ve done all the work I need to do, and honestly, it’s one of the biggest yet most satisfactory decisions I’ve ever made. Being responsible is scary but at the end of the day you’re doing what you like and you’re not bound by what others want you to do. At the same time, I believe that ambition is interconnected with autonomy. It’s important to strive for the things you want to do and not just remain lax and hope stuff happens your way. 
        I think growing up in Kentucky really influenced who I am today. I went to schools with low levels of diversity and it required me to develop two faces. One for my friends who know me outside of my home, and one for my family and friends who know my Indian heritage and culture. It took me a while to accept that I’d have to continue to present these parts of me differently to different people but I soon started finding people that appreciated all of me and not just one “face” of me. Through honors, I hope to find more people that will accept me for who I am by participating in Honors seminars and study abroad opportunities. I would like to join the seminar that travels to Italy at the end of the semester as I’ve always wanted to visit Europe. I also want to create a self-designed honors experience that allows me to travel abroad for a semester and become immersed in the culture of another country. I believe that pursuing this opportunity will allow me to appreciate my culture and the cultures of those around me. I hope that making connections with people will enable me to become a global citizen scholar and expand my skillsets which hopefully can help me get accepted into a medical school.