Real Cultivating My Belief System At Notre Dame Tran 1 Nhat Nguyen Moreau First Year Experience 15 October 2021 Cultivating My Belief System At Notre Dame To begin my integration, I want to address who I was before entering this class and in an even more general spectrum, joining the community that is the University of Notre Dame. Before, I was a suburban Georgian inhabitant, a high school student, and a scared teen dreading the stressful future ahead. Now I don’t think I derived far from my past self in terms of fears and identity, but I can certainly say that the way I have adapted to the anxiety and insecurities that ruled my life has changed. By responding to the prompts in this class, I have formed beliefs to help myself grow into a better, more balanced person emotionally and mentally, and for that, I am grateful for taking this Moreau class. I believe that I can pursue truth by being courageous and true to myself. This belief stems from the first week’s assignment where I watched a captivating Ted Talk by Dr. Brown. One particular line that stood out to me was, “Courage… the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One). From this, I realized how I want to be authentic with myself and other people. Brown emphasized how it takes courage to be vulnerable, and I decided to bask in my own discomfort and open myself up to new people, especially in my college experience. Ever since I came to Notre Dame, I have talked to many people. Domerfest was a social melting pot, and the Tran 2 overall welcome weekend gave me dozens of Snapchats, Instagrams, and phone numbers. However, the real problem was following up with all of these contacts, and that was where courage came in. I can confidently say that a large fraction of these initial people are barely acquaintances to me, but for the few people I did actively text back and meet up with, I was able to be vulnerable and develop a relationship with them. Simply stated, I am progressing well at having more courage to put myself out there, but I hope that in the coming years, I can be a “cool” upperclassmen like the upperclassmen I have met, and I can help underclassmen come out of their shells to live a fun Notre Dame life. Moreover, I believe that I am on a journey to find myself. According to Father Pete, “The greatest journey you will ever go on is one of self-discovery” (“The Role of Faith in Our Story” by Fr. Pete McCormick - Moreau FYE Week Three). There are many pathways that I am going to pass through: I have already finished my route through elementary school, high school, and I am currently in my teen years, just starting my college life. Nonetheless, it is important for me to understand that the true pathway that I am on is one to find myself, through challenges, failures, successes, and overall experiences. So far at Notre Dame, an experience that is progressing me further in my journey to find myself is how I have performed much worse than I did in high school, and it has taken a toll on my mental health. These biology and chemistry classes are much tougher than my high school classes, but I have learned to adjust and move forward, making myself a more resilient person. I hope that I continue picking myself up after failures because I am proud to still be standing. I also believe that I am made to love others. This may seem like a straightforward statement, but the meaning of love stems much deeper than this, which is conveyed through Tran 3 Brook’s line, “Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone, therefore we must be saved by love” (“Should You Live for your Resume or Your Eulogy?” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week Two). Brook’s quote reveals how the current American fantasy of working hard and achieving success and money is not a valid way to achieve fulfillment; instead, a commitment that will last a lifetime will garner true fulfillment, and the approach I want to take in terms of this is to share love with other people. Although this may be hard for me since I am a STEM major at the University of Notre Dame and my focus is always on school for my future, I want to spend time helping other people, whether it's by studying with them, opening the door for them, or just simple actions to make someone's day. I have a small hobby of complimenting one person a day on anything, and I hope to elevate my love in stronger ways, such as baking cookies for my dorm or volunteering in underserved communities. I wholly believe that I forge true relationships by growing with another person and enjoying my time with them. As Taylor portrays, “The best kind of friendships are the ones where you leave with a smile on your face, knowing you’re both growing to be better people and that you’re helping each other get there,” (“5 Signs You’re in a Toxic Friendship” by Olivia T. Taylor - Moreau FYE Week Four). I have been creating and procreating friendships throughout my life, and my most significant relationships were formed during high school with five amazing girls. However, I left them all back home for college, and I felt so empty without them; they were the ones where I would leave a hangout, sleepover, or even just a conversation with a smile. I felt like I would struggle to build new relationships here at Notre Dame, but I soon realized that I did not have to form so many relationships. Within my first week here, I made a new friend, Antaya, who would later be someone I would hang out with everyday, someone I could talk about Tran 4 anything with and be there for, and someone I could wholeheartedly smile with. I know that I will maintain this healthy relationship with her and other peers as I find “my people” at Notre Dame. I believe that my time on Earth is priceless. Harris in her Laetare Medal acceptance speech enunciates, “We can always get more money, more houses, cars, and things, we can never get more time” (“2021 Laetare Medalist Address” by Carla Harris - Moreau FYE Week Five). Through this quote, I found that time is one thing we humans can never get back. Once it is used up, it’s gone forever, and because of this point, my time should be invested beyond just attaining success. Therefore, I need to focus on what is in the present instead of obsessing over my hopefully prosperous “future.” I have fostered this into my life by spontaneously making plans with other people. One of my favorite encounters was when my dorm neighbor invited me out to Fall Mall, but I had an optional freshman meeting at the same time. I ended up missing the meeting and went to Fall Mall with her, got a tapestry, and had the best time making a new friend. I want to fill my life with precious memories like this instead of working like a machine for time that has yet to come. Another thing, I believe that I am here to expose my origins to other people, and to teach others. From a poem written by myself, I wrote: All the luxuries in America Can’t compare to the heart That is found in Vietnam Plus grit and strength (“My Origin” by - Moreau FYE Week Six) Tran 5 My past is much different from a majority of the students I attend the University of Notre Dame with. The primary difference is how many Notre Dame students come from parents who have a college education (possibly Notre Dame alums), white picket fence houses, and Catholic/private schools, and I do not have any of those things. Instead, I come from Vietnamese immigrants, a jagged homemade-wooden fence, and helping my parents file taxes. We are from different backgrounds, but we live in the same world. I get to learn so much from the students here, like how different school systems work, what countries people have traveled to, and in return, I tell fellow students about my home of a majority minority population and public school stories. I am helping Notre Dame to further become a melting pot of different people all aiming to achieve success at our prestigious university. I believe that I pursue truth by avoiding implicit bias and determining the truth by my own experience and research. From one of my favorite Ted Talks, Adichie states, “All of these stories make me who I am, but to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed me” (“Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Moreau FYE Week Seven). This exposes the tendency for people to allow their predispositions and implicit biases to characterize a person instead of their actual personality. After realizing such an intertwined condition in American society, I am putting more effort into getting to know a person more, instead of basing my impression of a person based on their looks. I have done this so far by walking up to white people, which were a rare “race” back in my hometown, and learning about them personally. I have met many different people from this, some new friends and some acquaintances, and I am not judging them based on society’s Tran 6 stereotypes of them. As I meet more unique people here at Notre Dame, I hope to truly know those I cross paths with. Ever since I saw Hannah Montana go to college in 2011, I have been working hard for a great college experience, but it is not all that meets the media’s eyes. College includes a lot of stress, from the academic stress of the course load to social stress of feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) and that you have to find your best friends in college or get a “ring before spring,” a traditional joke where college freshmen find their true love and get engaged by the spring semester. Both stressors have really taken their toll on me, but I am resilient, and I choose to take the failures I have accumulated so far in college, from getting bad summative grades to being socially awkward, and growing from them with the help of my core beliefs. I want to build true relationships with people, getting rid of implicit biases and toxic relationships, and I want to take care of myself, find myself, and love myself and others. College is just a time in my life to grow, like every other part of my life, and this time is valuable. I cannot wait to develop myself over these coming years at Notre Dame, and although I hope my future self is thriving, I will focus on the present and work up from there.