Integration 1 Maria Finan Moreau FYE 14 October 2021 Discovering Myself at ND 1. I believe that we build the strongest relationships by being vulnerable and opening up to people. 2. I believe that healthy relationships will bring more happiness than objects or money. 3. I believe that we will be happiest when we are our true selves. 4. I believe that we should view the search for meaningful relationships as a great opportunity. 5. I believe that God always has a bigger plan for us even when we do not see it. 6. I believe that we are better when we embrace our differences. 7. I believe that the younger generations have a great opportunity to change the world. I believe that we build the strongest relationships by being vulnerable and opening up to people. I believe this because I have built my strongest relationship with the people that I am able to tell anything. Opening up is not easy, but creates trust between two people. Brené Brown said, “Courage, the original definition of courage when it first came into the English language, - it's from the Latin word, cor, meaning heart - the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week 1). I love this definition because it truly does take a lot of courage to tell someone about your whole self, which is why it builds so much trust when we do. So far at ND, the people I am https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be closest with are the ones who I have told the most about myself. I do not think that it is a coincidence and the more I would tell them, the easier it was to continue opening up about myself. I believe that healthy relationships will bring more happiness than objects or money. The greatest example I have seen of this is with my grandparents. They have lived in the same little house for over 50 years and they are the happiest people I know. They find joy in the little things like family gathering or my grandpa going hunting and fishing with his grandkids. David Brooks said, “We live in perpetual self-confrontation between the external success and the internal value” (“Should you live for your résumé ... or your eulogy?” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week 2). I struggle with the issue that he is talking about. I get more focused on achievements than relationships and internal happiness. Here at ND my favorite days have been the ones where I am with my friends doing the simple things like playing ping pong or baseball. The achievements will bring temporary joys, but friendships will bring long lasting happiness. I believe that we will be happiest when we are our true selves. When we pretend to be someone we are not, we are constantly stressing to impress others and make them believe us. It is like we are trying to hide behind a mask, so we cannot tell people how we really feel. To be our true selves, we must figure out who we truly are. Father Pete said, “The greatest journey you will ever go on, is one of self discovery” (“The Role of Faith in Our Story” by Father Pete McCrmick, C.S.C. - Moreau FYE Week 3). If we do not know who we are, then we cannot be open with others and build true friendships. I feel like I have discovered myself in my faith here at ND. I found myself voluntarily going to mass and The Grotto to pray. This was a big step for me because in the past I was always told to practice my faith. Through my faith, I am becoming more comfortable with who I am and feel less inclined to put up a mask just to please others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcZMeqWWOIs&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=UniversityofNotreDameCampusMinistry I believe that we should view the search for meaningful relationships as a great opportunity. Being able to make new friends is a great chance to learn about new people and create lifelong relationships that will bring us happiness. It should not be a burden to us when we need to make new friends. While I agree that “finding quality friendships is not easy” (“5 Signs You’re in a Toxic Friendship” by Olivia T. Tyler - Moreau FYE Week 4), they are definitely worth it when you find them. I think this has been something I struggled with early on at ND. I was not willing to put myself out there to find new friends, but now that I have, my experience has been so much better. I believe that God always has a bigger plan for us even when we do not see it. One of the hardest things in life is to realize that there will always be good things coming out of the bad times because God has a plan for us. I struggle with that a lot even though I know for a fact that God has my back. The quote "Man proposes, but God disposes" (“Letter to Father Moreau” by Father Sorin - Moreau FYE Week 5) sums this up perfectly. I had my own plans, but God had other ideas for how I would reach my destination. I believe my whole journey to ND is an example of this. I envisioned a perfect senior year with school and sports and instead I had a major injury and online classes. Despite all of this, God still brought me to ND. I believe that we are better when we embrace our differences. “We want to gather the diversity of our voices” (“Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon - Moreau FYE Week 6). When we join together despite our differences, we learn a lot from each other. Our differences are what make us great. At ND, I have met people from all different backgrounds and because of that, I have learned about many cultures and found out some of my beliefs were wrong. One of the main reasons why I came to ND was because I knew I could learn from many people who did not come from the same background as me. https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o56woQDq3QrRkziT8eYrvYly5CQaP2Vb/view http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html I believe that the younger generations have a great opportunity to change the world. If the younger generations begin to see the implicit biases that they have, they are able to correct them. Chimamanda Adichie says in her TED talk about implicit biases, “What this demonstrates, I think, is how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children” (“The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie - Moreau FYE Week 7). I think the best way to combat implicit bias is by teaching children to be open to learning about people from different cultures and backgrounds because they are so impressionable at a young age. If the younger generations are taught to be kind and inclusive, they can then change the world for the better. At Notre Dame, I have seen some of this in action with the many different clubs and organizations that we have centered around being inclusive of all people. College students are still finding themselves and their beliefs, so they are very impressionable as well. If we learn to be inclusive, we can then pass that on to the future generations to continue to make the world a better place. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story