Kevin O'Regan Integration 1.pdf


Believing in God

When it comes to answering the question of “what do you believe” there is no one topic

that I can speak of which will cover everything which I believe in. Everyone has a set of core

values that often stem from family and experiences they have had. I believe that in my life I am

searching for a way to reach happiness on this earth. I don’t entirely know what that happiness

is going to look like. Whether it's a career in pro golf, a business job, or raising a family with

whomever I marry. The last one may be the most important to me, but I am not limiting myself to

just that. I believe that forming a deep relationship with a spouse comes when someone feels as

if they are seen. Brene Brown would agree, as she said “In order for connection to happen, we

have to be seen. Really seen” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE

Week One). I believe that I was put on this earth to be seen at a deep level by many people, not

only my future spouse, but my friends and immediate family. I believe that in my life it is my job

to serve the lord above by acting as a good Catholic in all ways. God put me on this earth for

me to prove to him that I love him enough to want to spend the rest of eternity with him in my

next life. My purpose in this life is to serve him first, then do what I would like to do with my time

here on this earth, no matter how long or short my time ends up being. As stated in the ted talk

given by David Brooks, “nothing worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime” (“Should You Live

for your Resume or Your Eulogy” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week Two). This quote relates

in great ways to my faith.  Believing in God allows me to not obsess over every result, detach

from the result of little events, and lastly it helps me be at peace with the fact that nothing worth

doing can be achieved within my time here on earth. Due to this, I do not have to worry about

doing great things in this life, because I know nothing worth doing can be achieved. It is all

about the next one. I believe that my community should do everything that they can to help each

other. It does not mean that everyone has to donate to the poor, but rather it means that we

need to look out for our brothers and sisters who may be struggling. Father Pete says “At the



core of one's self is the very presence of God” (“The Role of Faith in Our Story” by Father Pete

McCormick - Moreau FYE Week 3). Knowing that at the core of one's self is the presence of

God, it should be incredibly easy to want to help everyone in our community. Another important

aspect of being able to help someone is being selfless. An aspect of being selfless is being able

to love our neighbor. Father Kevin Grove says, “We cannot love the God who we do not see, if

we can not love the brother who we do see.” (“Two Notre Dames: Your Holy Cross Education”

by Father Kevin Grove - Moreau FYE Week 5). This quote speaks volumes as to the way that

we need to treat our brothers and sisters on this earth. Far too often people are selfish and only

hold their own values or goals in mind and never care to help others or take a minute to ask

someone how their day is. I believe that a crucial part of the community is coming together and

being selfless the way I spoke about above.  When I watched the clip “Because I love You,

Double Whiskey'' someone muttered “You deserve what it feels to be disrespected” (“Because I

love You, Double Whiskey” by One Love Foundation- Moreau FYE Week 4). I believe that in my

community, no one should ever feel disowned or disrespected to the point where they feel the

way this person did and seek revenge. This is something that I have struggled with in my

relationships in the past that have not ended the best that they could have. God would want for

someone to forgive the other person and put it behind them. After all, we are taught to be

forgiving in the church. That does not mean that you have to forget about it, but I believe

forgiveness is key. I also believe that I am made to be a representation of something bigger than

myself. Being an athlete here at the University of Notre Dame, I believe that it is my

responsibility to represent this school with class and respect in everything I do and say which

pertains to the school. With this being said, I also believe it is my job to make sure that those

around me do the same and I have to hold my teammates accountable so we can become the

best unit that we can be. I believe that I pursue truth through my relationship with my family and

with God. God is all powerful and almighty, the knower of all things good and bad. I believe that

having a great foundation for my relationship with God will lead me to see truth in places where



others can’t. Relationships with God can be very complex, and this is why using my family to

pursue truth is also extremely important. The people around me can be my greatest asset, as

using them to bounce ideas off of will make me a smarter and far more well rounded person. I

believe that it is also my job to take care of my parents. They raised me from a small child into

an adult, and I owe it to them to help them out when they need it. As I stated in my ‘Where I’m

From Poem’ “Where I’m from we are taught to respect our elders, especially our grandparents.

Without them, we would have a much worse foundation for what our family life looks like. We

are taught to look after each other within my family, all 9 of us” (“Where I’m From Poem” Moreau

FYE Week 6). The last belief I’d like to speak about is that we are all created equal in the eyes

of God. “There are perceptual illusions, for example, in which white subjects perceive Black

faces as angrier than white faces with the same expression. Race can bias people to see

harmless objects as weapons when they are in the hands of Black men and to dislike abstract

images that are paired with Black faces. And there are dozens of variants of laboratory tasks

finding that most participants are faster to identify bad words paired with Black faces than white

faces” (“How to Think about Implicit Bias” by Keith Payne, Laura Niemi, John M. Doris - Moreau

FYE Week 7).I believe that this is unacceptable as a society and something that the world is still

working on. It hurts me that our society is still fighting racial stereotypes, but I know we will get

through it.