Moreau Integration One Moreau Integration One Assignment October 15, 2021 My Root Beliefs Blossoming Through the Notre Dame Experience I believe that my purpose is to help others. Throughout my life, I have always felt the most purposeful when my actions have been targeted towards the wellbeing of others. In school, certain subjects have grasped my attention throughout the years, and I have followed many different interests, but I have always felt the most driven when my work has been targeted towards the greater good. For example, I did several service projects throughout high school, and I volunteered at a variety of nonprofits, and that was the type of work that made me feel whole. Throughout my college experience so far I have tried to follow this passion through getting involved in different clubs. I joined a club called Impact for Innovation, which works with an all girls school in Uganda to help young women receive an education that they would not otherwise have access to. As of now, I have been working with the marketing team to explore different ways in which we can raise money for the school and bring awareness to the overarching issues regarding women’s education in Uganda. On a smaller scale, I have also been following this passion of helping others by simply doing what I can to make my peers feel comfortable with adjusting to college. I was fortunate enough to make friends fairly quickly upon arriving at school and I have been handling my class workload pretty well, but some people have been struggling in those departments. In high school these were two things I often struggled with, and so I would not want anyone else to feel that same burden weighing on them. For this reason, I have been making an extra effort to get to know everyone, invite them to any plans or simply to get food at the dining hall, and help them with any class material that is challenging them. In doing so, I feel that I have been able to make everyone’s transition to college a little easier, and I have felt purpose in being here. For our first week, we watched a Ted Talk that said “Connection is why we’re here. It gives purpose and meaning to our lives,” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One). Well, doing what I can to help others is how I feel connected to those around me, and therefore how I have found my purpose in life. When we took our VIA surveys for Week Two, my signature strength was kindness, which I honestly was not surprised by (VIA Character Strengths Survey by VIA Adult Survey - Moreau FYE Week Two). Although I was flattered and took that as a compliment, I was also able to recognize that spreading kindness and helping others is what makes me feel alive and purposeful, so it makes sense that it is one of my strengths. I believe that I pursue the truth by broadening my perspective. This is a core belief that I have had ever since I can remember. I think that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie articulated the basis of this belief really well when she was explaining the idea of a single story, and how, “to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. 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,” ("Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Moreau FYE Week Seven). Oftentimes, people look at me through a very narrow perspective. They only see what is on the surface, and do not make an effort to search any deeper, so I feel that they do not know who I truly am and their vision of me is warped. Writing my “Where I’m From” poem for Week 5 made me really consider who I am on the inside, and the side of me that people fail to consider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&list=PLmiPsabET-W_hjesjTZaITh2s1WbM-Kd0&index=3 https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register?registerPageType=popup https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story ("Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon - Moreau FYE Week Six). I chose not to write about this in my personal poem, but this activity made me think of how my home life has shaped me. My family has experienced many hardships, which is one aspect of my life that people do not really consider. Part of my single story causes people to think I have this perfect, cookie-cutter life. However, that is not necessarily the case. Because of this, I know how it feels for people to look at you through a fixed perspective, and how that can lead one far away from the truth. So, I believe that in order to know someone’s full truth you must get to know them from a broader perspective. Going into college, I have tried to do this. With everyone I have met so far, I have ignored any initial assumptions I may have made in order to get to know everyone for who they really, truly are. I believe that God is always with me, whether I can sense him or not. This is a belief that I have gradually been developing. This is because during challenging times I’m life, it can be difficult to sense God’s presence, and it can feel like he is nonexistent, but I have realized that during those times he is simply working in the background. Professor David Fagerberg said that, “Normally, I should be able to see the real world around me, and the neighbor with whom I should be concerned. But if the lighting is wrong, I will see myself instead,” (“Faith Brings Light to a Dark World” by Professor David Fagerberg, Grotto - Moreau FYE Week Three). I think that during these times of hardship where I have doubted God, I focused too much on myself in the moment and not the greater picture. This is when I failed to sense God’s presence and doubted his existence. However, I have begun to broaden my perspective and understand that every negative thing that’s happened to me has led to a greater long-term good, and that specifically is why God presented me with such obstacles in the first place. So, even when it feels like I have been abandoned or forgotten by him, I am now able to realize that whatever is going on in my http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html https://bit.ly/2MwCxs4 https://bit.ly/2MwCxs4 life has a greater purpose. Carla Harris said, “Failure always brings a gift, and that gift is experience,” (“2021 Laetare Medalist Address” by Carla Harris - Moreau FYE Week Five). When I first got Gateway, I felt like a failure and I felt as though God was neglecting all that I had worked for. After two months of school, I now realize that Gateway was truly a hidden gift, and that it was just part of God’s greater plan for me. So, even when I feel ignored by God, I have been able to learn that he is still there but just adding some unexpected twists in my journey to reach a positive end destination. I believe that I forge life-giving relationships through being my authentic self rather than who society says I should be. In many of my past relationships, I have shaped myself into who I thought others wanted me to be rather than who I truly am inside. Whether that meant dressing, talking, or acting differently, I would change what was natural for me in an attempt to please others. However, I have noticed that these relationships never lasted long, and that I never felt connected to anyone when altering the way I projected myself. This is because I was not being my full, authentic self. In her Ted Talk, Dr. Brown explains that people formed the deepest connections when “They were willing to let go of who they should be in order to be who they were, which you have to absolutely do for connection,” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One). Looking at every long-lasting relationship I have had, whether it be with my closest friends or my family, those are the relationships where I ignored who I was “supposed” to be and just acted as myself. An article we read week four described healthy relationships as “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” ("Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Relationships" by The Red Flag Campaign - Moreau FYE Week Four). This is how I feel when I am my authentic self in a relationship, and so I can only truly form life-giving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSwjn-SyB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&list=PLmiPsabET-W_hjesjTZaITh2s1WbM-Kd0&index=3 https://drive.google.com/a/nd.edu/file/d/0B93cIKOnINCLS1JpUzZ5Q1JseGs/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/a/nd.edu/file/d/0B93cIKOnINCLS1JpUzZ5Q1JseGs/view?usp=sharing relationships by refraining from hiding who I am on the inside in order to fit societal standards, and by embracing what makes me unique. So far in my college experience, I have tried my best not to hide my true personality, which honestly has been a little scary. It has put me in a vulnerable position because if people do not like me, then I know that they do not like me for who I really am as a person. However, so far everyone has accepted me for who I am, and so I feel that I have already been able to make long-lasting friendships.