Integration Two Daniel Schrage Professor Friesen Honors Writing and Rhetoric 6 September 2021 The Beauty of Community One of the most important topics we addressed this semester was the idea of being one’s most genuine self. This topic is relevant to me because I am going through a new era in my life right now. College is a time for people to figure out who they are, which is allowed by the increased freedom as well as responsibilities that come with it. Throughout high school, I always struggled to truly be myself because I had some unhealthy friendships that I had to get rid of. I was scared to really be who I am and who I wanted to be. Now that I am at college, however, I have found that the escape from the high school environment has allowed me to begin finding who I really am. The high school environment I am referring to consists of unreasonable expectations adding unnecessary stressors to everyone’s lives. They add stress because “Those expectations are the bars we set for ourselves. When we meet (or surpass) them, we feel like we are worthy. If we don’t meet those expectations, we feel like the exact opposite — that we aren’t good enough” (“Why Letting Go of Expectations is a Freeing Habit” by Julia Hogan, Moreau FYE Week Nine). While setting achievable goals for oneself is a healthy habit, these goals should come from an individual person and be based on only that person. When we start comparing ourselves to everyone else around us, we do nothing but create more stress for ourselves. We need to be able to relax a little bit and give ourselves some credit for what we are doing as opposed to constantly comparing oneself to those around us. For example, there is a pressure in our society to “manufacture whatever we want or need—learning to relax and receive a gift requires hard work!” (“Thirteen Ways of Looking at Community” by Parker J. Palmer, Moreau FYE Week Eleven). Being able to relax and appreciate oneself can be a difficult journey nowadays. However, in order to become my most genuine self, I need to worry less about societal expectations and learn to appreciate myself more for all the good things that I do. Along with an altered look at societal expectations, college so far has taught me the beauty of living in a more diverse community. Although diversity in the Gateway program is not great, I have noticed that there is much more diversity not only in terms of backgrounds, but there is more diversity in terms of hobbies, interests, personalities, etc. I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood, which did not accurately prepare me for the real world. I feel as though people at my high school are all very similar to each other because we all had very similar upbringings and experiences. I found that the similarities in our upbringings created a sort of expectation for all of us to become a certain person. It was because we all had the same upbringing that we had the same pressure to become this same “ideal” person. However, at college, there are people from all across the country, from rich and poor families, and from private schools and public schools. Those are just a few examples of the differing experiences I have witnessed throughout my first semester at college. I feel that it has really opened my eyes to the real world and given myself a better perspective on how life really is. The importance of facing diversity is that “One does not have to be a Christian to believe that adversity does, or at least can, make people stronger and prepare them for harder challenges in the future, but no education in the faith is complete without an understanding of how the cross is much more than a burden once carried by Jesus” (“Holy Cross and Christian Education” by Fr. James B. King, Moreau Week Twelve). According to Fr. James B. King, it doesn't matter what religion we are or where we came from. We can become stronger and better people regardless of our backgrounds. That is why it is so important to celebrate our diversities while also realizing the common goals that we all share together. Diversity, however, must come hand-in-hand with equality to ensure a fair society. This is why “The conflict between those who favor solutions from critical race theory versus those who prefer a common humanity approach has followed a predictable pattern of polarization. It mirrors the secular political discourse of the day, pitting cultural conservatives and progressives against each other” (“Should Catholic Schools Teach Critical Race Theory” by Christopher J. Devron, Moreau FYE Week Ten). I feel as though people today are arguing too much about the correct ways to go about these issues rather than realizing we are all fighting the same issues. Everybody desires a society where there is equal chance and opportunity for everybody. The only way we can work towards an ideal society like that would be to unite and work together. As Parker J. Palmer puts it, “Community is not a goal to be achieved but a gift to be received” (“Thirteen Ways of Looking at Community” by Parker J. Palmer, Moreau FYE Week Eleven). Community is something we are all gifted with. Everybody needs a community around themselves for support and guidance through the ups and downs of life. However, I believe that community, while it is a gift, needs to be nurtured and taken care of in order to ensure it remains healthy and prosperous. Each individual person needs to open themselves up to the idea of community. On top of that, we all need to learn to be more accepting of each other and each other’s backgrounds. Someone’s background does not define who they are and we should never treat someone in that way. Everybody deserves a fair chance. The way we allow ourselves to become open to community is by cultivating “a capacity for connectedness through contemplation.” (“Thirteen Ways of Looking at Community” by Parker J. Palmer, Moreau FYE Week Eleven). Contemplation comes in times where we are able to disconnect ourselves from and allow our minds to think. I have found in my own life that making regular times to allow myself to meditate or even just block out distractions makes me a better person. I enjoy going on late-night car rides and walks often because I find that it is my space to clear my head and just relax. This time is crucial for myself to grow as a person because it is one of the only times that I am not being influenced by others. In today’s era, we are always connected to everyone else in the world, which is an amazing thing. However, it can cause problems when people stop thinking for themselves and allow others' ideas to take stock over their own. Throughout life, everyone is going to face highs and lows and be challenged to remember who we are throughout all of life’s troubles. This is how we grow as people. This growth breeds a new sort of community that enables us to be stronger and more united. However, this is a very idealistic approach to this issue. We still face plenty of issues as a society today and many stem from arguments over people’s backgrounds. We as a society need to learn to accept everybody for who they are because facing diversity is how we grow as human beings. In order to progress towards a greater community, we need to spend time working on ourselves while also appreciating the diversity of others around us.