Chung 1 Dr. Vanessa Chan Moreau FYE 15 October 2021 What I am Made to BElieve Having been raised in a Catholic high school and attending Catholic school my whole life, belief is innately integrated into my being. In Week 6, we discussed what has formed us, and this upbringing in the church has shaped my decisions, choices, and actions today. On campus, I have gotten involved primarily in campus ministry and service events, such as being the Commissioner-In-Training in my dorm for organizing service and faith-based endeavors, including fundraising for Saint Adalbert’s School. The heavy emphasis on religion throughout my childhood also led me to immediately associate belief with religion. However, through the growth and maturation that accompanies age and is required for success in college, I have come to recognize that I not only have external beliefs, but I have beliefs about myself and what I am meant to accomplish and do. I consider myself to be a dedicated and individualistic individual, but also an encouraging and collaborative one. Therefore, one of my foremost beliefs is that I am made to push both myself and others to perform each task and live to the very best of our abilities. During the fourth week of Moreau FYE, we discussed the ways in which we can create positive relationships. I was particularly impacted by the assertion that “A healthy, balanced, mutual friendship involves peers who ask questions and bounce ideas back and forth” (“5 Signs You're in a Toxic Friendship” by Olivia T. Taylor – Moreau FYE Week 4). While this directly pertains to healthy relationships, as I often think about things in the context of my own life, I also https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ Chung 2 related this concept to the ways in which I interact with the peers I encounter on a daily basis. While emotionally or spiritually stimulating conversations require a healthy back and forth of conversation, intellectually stimulating ones do too. Healthy relationships with lab partners in my chemistry and biology courses and with partners for discussion in my Theology USEM require requited attention and devotion to any ongoing conversation. When engaging in these interactions, I always try to put my best foot forward, pushing my peers to provide their best work and use critical thinking skills, not only to get the most of class or a discussion, but also to better ourselves intellectually and foster positive, beneficial relationships. However, I sometimes have difficulty in achieving my goal pushing others, as well as myself, to become our best selves. I, like all individuals, am flawed and have traits that impede my ability to most effectively interact with others and collaborate to become the best versions of ourselves possible. Upon completing the VIA character survey during Week 2, the knowledge that I am a strong leader, but struggle with vulnerability was reinforced. While I often use my leaderships skills to spearhead a charge, whether it entails organizing a study group in the library or inviting new friends to the dining hall, I often struggle to be vulnerable with others and reveal what I consider to be weaknesses with others. Due to this fact, Dr. Brown’s TED Talk from Week 1 heavily resonated with me. I thought Dr. Brown’s honesty about her struggle for vulnerability served as a testament that while vulnerability is difficult to accept for many people, once you choose to work towards the courage and love that vulnerability requires, you can be a more vulnerable and wholehearted person. Entering freshman year, I seek to build meaningful relationships and grow in academic, social, and personal facets. Dr. Brown emphasizes how being vulnerable takes courage, but is rewarding as it allows us to create the connections that we all intrinsically seek. Additionally, it enables us to be wholehearted and happy, which are traits Chung 3 indubitably associated with our best selves. When Dr. Brown said that “[Wholehearted people] fully embraced vulnerability. They believed that what made them vulnerable made them beautiful” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One), I realized that vulnerability makes people wholehearted and incredible, not “weak.” This wholeheartedness helps foster the positive and genuine relationships that make it possible to engage in mutually beneficial discussions and lifestyles that enrich my goal of pushing both myself and others to be our best, even if that means branching outside of my comfort zone. Since arriving at college, I have acknowledged my tendency to avoid vulnerability and have worked to rectify this avoidance, even if only through small instances. When I begin to become overwhelmed with assignments, I reach out to my friends and describe my stress or ask for help, something I often have trouble admitting I need. I have come to recognize that this vulnerability is not a weakness, rather it helps me create deeper connections with other people that allow me to be my best self and encourage others to be their most authentic and best selves as well. In relation to my belief that I am made to encourage myself and others to be our best selves is my belief that I am responsible for fostering not only the acceptance of differences, but the appreciation of them, as communities are best when inclusive and diverse. During Week 7, we discussed the pursuit of truth and ways in which the truth can be distorted. In a moving TED Talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie emphasizes the problem with what she calls the “single story.” She says that when only one version, side, or perspective of a story is told, it stereotypes individuals and puts them into one category. She asserts, “The single story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story. . . It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar” (“Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Moreau FYE Week https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story Chung 4 7). This single story is incredibly common in the modern world in which people form first impressions and judgements based on stereotypes, appearances, or other arbitrary categorizations. Upon examining what has formed me during Week 6, I realized that my experiences as a bi-racial, Asian American have prepared me to constantly seek new ways to combine individuals, concepts, or groups that may seem to oppose each other. When I encounter strife or disagreements, I often seek to reconcile these differences or disagreements due to my upbringing in two different cultures. I actively work to help others overcome differences or contrasts, even in mundane settings, such as helping roommates in my dorm reconcile disagreements. While I recognize the importance of this ability and prioritization and will continue encouraging all communities I encounter to be the most inclusive, and thus the best, they can be, this is not always an easy task or one I wish I was equipped for. Especially when meeting new people, a common occurrence during the first semester in college, it can be worrisome that I too will be stereotyped or pigeon-holed into a single story. Despite the open- mindedness of the University of Notre Dame and the myriad of impressive and kindhearted people I have met here, I have also experienced moments of uncomfortability in which I feel as if my race impacts how people view me. In a moment in which I sought to display vulnerability in front of my peers, I shared in Moreau when one of my TAs implied that my handwriting was messy as English was a second language that I was not well-practiced in. While difficult and unsettling, this interaction furthered my determination to continue fostering an environment in which everyone’s differences are accepted and celebrated, as I recalled how it felt to be in a community that did not uphold these values. I believe that I am responsible for nurturing and developing an atmosphere in which everyone can feel comfortable and included, something we Chung 5 all seek and something that will permit both individuals and the broader community to be the best they can be. This belief is closely related to my belief that I grow as both a person and in my faith by working through difficulties. In the past 8 weeks, I have experienced difficulties that I expected as a college freshman, but still was not entirely prepared for. After a poor decision or performance on an exam, it is easy for me to become very easily discouraged and feel inadequate or that I did not prepare well enough. As I have been very academically driven and tend to orient my life around school, receiving a grade that I would have in high school was very shocking and disheartening to me. During the first few weeks of school, I was overly focused on just school and did not get involved in the campus at all due to these worries. However, after Week 3 when we discussed how faith alters our outlook of the world, I recognized that faith could help me work through these difficult times. Reading Lala’s (a current Notre Dame senior) remarks in the campus ministry pamphlet reminded me that in moments of difficulty, we can look to faith and service in order to alleviate stress and gain perspective. Father Kevin’s video from the fifth week of class when we identified narratives further proved this idea to me when he asserted that “There is no failure that grace cannot transfigure into a blessing” ("Two Notre Dames: Your Holy Cross Education" by Father Kevin Grove – Moreau FYE Week 5). I have begun to realize that struggling is wholly normal and not something to be embarrassed about or hide from others. Rather, it is a manageable concept that provides me with the opportunity to grow closer to and appreciate God’s presence in my life. Even this past Sunday, with 3 exams and 2 papers due for midterms, I allotted the time to attend 9:00 mass in my dorm. I ensured that I could go to mass and devote time to cultivating my relationship with God, as it both provides relief and can help transform my failures and stresses into opportunities for growth. With these realizations, I have https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=859bc1a8-0d0f-4eb4-a1c1-d0a45c429187 https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=859bc1a8-0d0f-4eb4-a1c1-d0a45c429187 Chung 6 started to use all occasions, even those of stress, as times to “to live in a way internally that honors God, creation, and our possibilities,” (“Should you Live for Your Resume... Or Your Eulogy?” by David Brooks – Moreau FYE Week 2) as Adam II (versus Adam I) would. I have realized that the best version of ourselves, our Adam II, is the one who wants to accomplish things in the name of God and all of the gifts that He has given to us, in both the easy and the difficult times. I think that this quote is particularly important because as I enter college, I want to excel, learn, and leave a positive impact on others, developing my faith and growing throughout all circumstances. I know that it's pivotal to remember that everything I do ought to be done with God, His plans for me, and the best well-being of others in mind as well. The first 8 weeks of college have shown me that I believe that I am made to encourage both myself and others to become our best selves, nurture an appreciation for differences and unify separate groups, and grow as both a person and in my faith through difficult experiences. While these goals may seem separate or lofty, as I enact them, I have realized how intertwined they are and that being my best self requires being a part of an inclusive community centered in faith and support. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM