Integration Essay Samberg Moreau 6 October 2021 Integration Essay I believe that I am courageous; however, in my first week here, I did not hold the same belief. Dr. Renee Brown’s definition of courage, “to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart,” at first, scared me for it was just my first week as a college student and I was away from my family for the first time (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brene Brown - Moreau FYE Week One). Trying to meet new friends, especially when I came here with none, proved to be quite a challenge as I had to show people who I was as a person, without trying to turn them away. So, in the beginning, I did not tell my entire story and, in turn, I was not courageous. After coming to a realization about the type of people who are here (the accepting kind), I realized that I do not need to hide my story and, as a matter of fact, it is much better to share more about myself when meeting new people. Interesting enough, courageousness also comes with truthfulness. To be courageous, I realized, I had to look in the mirror and accept every part of myself that makes me, me. Further, to understand who you are as a person, you “have to lose yourself in order to find yourself’ (“Should You Live for Your Resume or Your Eulogy” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week Two). I believe that, in my process of losing myself, coming to Notre Dame was my first step. At home, to a certain extent, I was surrounded by similar people with similar experiences, getting “lost” in others’ experiences, experiences which I have learned here, has allowed me to find a deeper understanding of myself and the path that life may or may not take me on as I progress through college in the next three years. Also new to my experience at Notre Dame is faith and, for that, I believe that I want to be a man of faith as I go through college. Coming from a town with little catholic representation, faith has never had an effect on how I carry myself; yet, after being here for just two months and attending mass weekly, I have a deeper understanding on the positive benefits faith has on my life, “when my spiritual lighting changes, what I can see spiritually also changes” (“The Role of Faith in our Story” by Fr. Pete McCormick - Moreau FYE Week Three). While I may not be studying theology, I like to think, as Kyle Moon puts it, that I am “doing theology” meaning I hold faith in my every action, as a friend or, hopefully, as a doctor in the future where I can forge relationships with friends or patients in the future. Part of building these relationships is a true, unbreakable bond: love. Love, Olivia Taylor claims, comes in many forms but “attention is the rarest form of love” (“5 Signs You’re in a Toxic Friendship” by Olivia Taylor - Moreau FYE Week Four). I believe that I can grow myself by becoming more attentive. In today’s technological age, it is too easy to get lost in your phone; by many (including myself), the phone is considered an addiction. By finding other ways to entertain myself, for example, meaningful conversation or physical exertion I can build stronger relationships with those I consider to be close to me. After looking at my screentime trend going down over the past two months, I can say that, since being here, I am going in the right direction. Even though the downtrend in screen time could also be related to an increase in time studying, I can testify that I am building different friendships here compared to ones back at home. Here, it seems, I have found I can connect with people easier, even after just two short months, a blink of the eye compared to the time I had with friends back at home. I believe that I am from relationships, in my poem from Week 6, I penned “I have formed myself through relating with others, Spending time to find a friend, all of whom, so far, have built me to be myself.” From the lifelong relationships I was gifted in my parents and sister or the relationship I built with the local pizza shop owner, I have found who I want to be and how I want to be known by others. Through relating with others, I have found two valuable lessons. First, I came to understand that I find joy in kindness and respect, two pillars I have let guide me through a large majority of my life. Second, I have found more experiences, leaving me with a better understanding of the world and the struggles that some have to endure and carry with them through their lives. I believe that I am responsible for being aware but I also recognize that, like everyone else, I also have implicit bias. For too long, as a result of the culture in the United States, I have “heard and seen different versions of the single story” (“Danger of a Single Story” - by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche - Moreau FYE Week 7). The single story can be defined as stereotypical norms that have been told to us about other cultures— cultures that we have little to no original knowledge on. Now, given the resources to easily become culturally aware (through personal connections or literature at the University), I must take on the responsibility to limit the implicit bias that can impede me from building deeper connections with students and, hopefully, lifelong friends. I understand that I have been given the opportunity to meet good humans from every corner of the globe, I must take full advantage of the advantages that could come with building a web that reaches across just the United States. Going forward, I want to be able to build more “I believe that…” statements for they are powerful, defining characteristics that embody my most important values. At Notre Dame, I have no doubt that, through faith and the people around me, I will build stronger beliefs to stand behind.