FA21-FYS-10101-107 

Nhat Nguyen 

December 3, 2021 

Moreau Integration Two: Living Like the World Is Blind –  

 Brian Tracy once said, “personal development is your springboard to personal excellence. 

Ongoing, continuous, non-stop personal development literally assures you that there is no limit 

to what you can accomplish.” After having learned that personal growth is something that should 

be never-ending, everything that occurs to me I use to contribute to a life lesson or major 

experience on some level. Once I began to live my life appreciating every moment, I began to 

start improving myself so that I could further become the person I want to be. 

 In our ninth week in the Moreau First Year Experience, we shifted focus to dealing with 

dissonance and how it impacts our lives. For this unit, I wanted to talk more about when set 

expectations become negative and how it can cause imposter syndrome. Having watched the 

video that mentioned Albert Einstein’s and Maya Angelou’s feelings of fraud was incredibly 

eye-opening yet comforting in a very odd way. The fact that, “accomplishments at the level of 

Angelou’s or Einstein’s are rare, but their feeling of fraudulence is extremely common.” As a 

Notre Dame student, it is nearly impossible to stop comparing yourself to the rest of the student 

body that is so evidently amazing in every way. I recall coming to campus and already feeling 

very out of place and odd. When applying to colleges, I knew that Notre Dame’s diversity was a 

bit lacking, but I never thought it would be so mind-burdening and effective in making me feel 

small or inadequate. After spending more time here, and thanks to Moreau, I was able to grow a 



bit more resilient to my negative thoughts as I learned to keep reminding myself that college is a 

bit of a difficult journey, so it is normal to feel overwhelmed at first, especially when it is such a 

drastic change from home. I have always struggled with comparison, so I just have to continue 

reminding myself that a mountain and the ocean are both beautiful, but they look nothing alike; 

similarly, two students are both incredibly capable, but they may experience struggles that are 

not the same. Essentially, that week I was able to start learning how to start denying negative 

thoughts and replacing them with positive self-comments so that I could improve my esteem. 

(“What is Imposter Syndrome?” by Elizabeth Cox – Moreau FYE Week Nine) 

During the following week in Moreau, we began to discuss how we react when faced 

with adversity throughout our lives, especially within the community. I decided to delve into the 

aspect from this module where Father Jenkins speaks out about how “malice, hatred, revenge, 

bitterness, whether in us or in you, in our hearts or yours, are an abomination to the Lord? Be our 

opinions right, or be they wrong these tempers are undeniably wrong. They are the broad road 

that leads to destruction.” I focused more on this quote because the modern society we have 

cultivated around us is one that has become full of resentment and wickedness. I have never felt 

more vulnerable than when students at Notre Dame began to experience sexual assault or 

incidents involving weapons. It was then that I knew how increasingly dangerous this nation has 

become and so I wanted to maintain myself far away from those dangers as possible. As I was 

continuously faced with difficult situations, I made sure to remain loving, calm, and persuasive 

to avoid joining “the hateful world in it’s agenda to bring everything down.” The lesson I learned 

for my development this week was whether our opinions are right or wrong, we must be able to 

step back and compromise to prevent such foul behavior. (“Wesley Theological Seminary 2012 

Commencement Address” by Father Jenkins – Moreau FYE Week Ten) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQUxL4Jm1Lo
https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/wesley-theological-seminary-commencement/
https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/wesley-theological-seminary-commencement/


For our eleventh week, the topic at hand was how to strengthen our relationships with 

people even during conflict and how the evident racial inequality in our society continues to 

impact us. Professor Agustin stated, “we don’t accept inequality as a good thing, but it I present, 

but they’re not fixed.” I recall choosing this quote because it touches on the subject of the 

nation’s huge issue of inequality across various forms. It is not a secret that white males are more 

favored than any other gender or race and it has been occurring for countless centuries. Race has 

always been such a huge factor in everything, though some continue to deny it or play blind to 

the fact; however, it can be clearly seen having an effect on minorities throughout history. For 

example, when there was so much slander towards Hispanics simply because people kept saying 

that they were all illegal, drug dealers, didn’t speak English, stealing jobs, etc. At Notre Dame, 

there was a story a while ago that covered how a white boy killed another person and he was let 

off as not guilty. However, it was clear that he was at fault and there was constant discussion of 

his white privilege around our campus. This incident further demonstrated the racial inequality 

because if it had been any other race they most likely would not have gotten the same verdict. 

That being said, I also learned from this that it is important to not judge others so they can be 

treated as equals, regardless of their skin color or background. (“Diversity Matters!” by Professor 

Agustin Fuentes – Moreau FYE Week Eleven) 

The final week of Moreau we communicated about the importance of hope and how to 

maintain a persevering faith throughout adversity. The quote that was stated in Hope – Holy 

Cross and Christian Education, “Whenever we have to shed old ways of thinking, viewing, or 

perceiving the world around us and ourselves, a conversion of both heart and mind must take 

place,” was especially enlightening. It embodies the whole purpose of learning while still 

remaining optimistic during a hard moment in life; it was so interesting to see it being said this 

https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=d14a0472-9c0e-44ea-bd39-53c67ee1d436


way because one would have never imagined that people are growing while retaining their faith 

and composure. When we begin to grow and experience personal growth, our minds and hearts 

are being cultivated because it takes effort to be able to move past things with an open mind to 

the continuously changing world that we live in without allowing ourselves to become malicious. 

As a Notre Dame student, I have come to learn a multitude of various things both academically 

and personally. I have not only come to experience my first semester as a college student, but I 

have also had a taste of adulthood and independence as well. While this semester was 

overwhelming and straining at times, I also recognize that there were exceptionally beautiful 

memories made that will last a lifetime. I have also been able to anchor myself in my faith which 

has allowed me to persevere after unfavorable times. A huge lesson I learned from this unit was 

that hope can truly save you from crashing and burning down, and this lesson will be essential to 

my further personal development as I will inevitably continue to face hardship. (“Holy Cross and 

Christian Education” by Father James B. King – Moreau FYE Week Twelve) 

Throughout this past semester in Moreau, I have learned a lot about what it means to be a 

person who is constantly learning and growing; I am not at all the same person I was when I first 

stepped on campus, and I understand that I will most likely be even more different by the time 

that I graduate. It has been during this first semester that I have been able to truly ground myself 

in a stable manner that allows me to move between rough patches without being washed away 

completely. I have learned to foster more self-love than I ever had before, more motivation to 

remain level-headed, equality, and true faith. I know that I will work on myself and keep in mind 

the quote, “if the world were blind, how many people would you impress,” to remind myself that 

personal growth I achieve will reflect on the outside and how I treat others and myself; with this 

in my mind, I will be able to continue to make myself proud with the progress I made.  

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https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/25086/files/192591/download?download_frd=1