I didn’t think I was smart enough to be chosen to take an IB class. Matter of fact, when I discovered that a teacher personally recommended me to take IB, I was shocked and even a little fearful. I had only started taking Honors classes sophomore year, which was the year that I was asked to take IB. I did it, still didn’t think I deserved to be in the class but I took it anyway. During my first few weeks of my junior year, I realized that this was not like any other class I’ve ever taken. There were actual papers for tests, not short answers or multiple choice. I was coming from honors to IB and it was a very intense change in my work study. After I found out it was much more different than regular classes, I became more hard-working and focused on my studies rather than I was before. Although I was building more writing skills based on textual analysis, IB was still a hard class for me to adjust to, especially because I still didn’t think I deserved to be in a higher class with the other students. However, when I started to get my paper grades back, I realized that the hard work that I was putting in was paying off in my grades. As I went through this course, I have become a kinder person. During all the debates and presentations, I began to understand and see other peoples opinions and perspectives of the topics that were being discussed. IB helped me get out of just acknowledging my perspective on different conserval topics. Even though I didn’t always agree with everyone's perspectives, It made me become more open-minded to other people's mindsets. Also, it made me understand different perspectives on topics. International Baccalaureate isn’t a course that proves if students are smart or not, but it’s a course that creates your mindset for college, unlike any other class that I’ve taken throughout high school. IB builds for the future, not just the present. The research, pace, and the workload has built me to be a more hard-working person. Leading up to college, my parents didn’t have big opportunities to save for my college education. So, I would try to look at cheaper college options instead of actually looking at what is the best thing for my major or what I want to do in life. I think since I know my parents don’t have tons of money for college, I have to hinder my college decisions by choosing a cheaper college option. My parents are the most hardworking people I know and they have always given me everything that I needed, so I think that if I choose the cheaper college option, I can honor my parents hard work and dedication. Although my parents have never been to college, they have always encouraged me to be my best and perform my best during school. IB has helped me feel better about my college decisions because it makes me realize that I am more prepared for college than I think. I understand what it’s like to manage different responsibilities based on deep dives into subjects that aren’t built on memorization, but actual understanding. Therefore, this IB program makes me feel prepared for the challenges and opportunities that will appear for me in the future. Not only has IB prepared me for the future, but also shifted my way of thinking about college. I should choose a school that fits what I want to do and who I truly want to become in life.