Moreau Final Paper-Week 8 Moreau FYE Mike Week 8—Integration One 10/15/21 The WAY(len) of Life: from Failure to Victory, and Everything in Between Life is funny. The peak of this humor--at least in my opinion--comes during one’s time in college. Throughout life, and certainly throughout college, one will fail many things: exams, friendships, goals, and even God. During this time, one will also be placed in many uncomfortable scenarios. However, I firmly believe that it is what one does with that failure, rejection, or discomfort, that is most important. One can often learn the most from a healthy amount of distress; in many cases, experiencing discomfort will promote one’s future. Furthermore, one’s community ought to embrace victories, failures, and discomfort to the same extent. Overall, I believe that a certain balance between comfort and discomfort is the key to a happy, successful life. One major belief of mine is that I pursue the most revealing truths when I place myself in uncomfortable scenarios with other people. During several of the Moreau First Year Experience classes, we had discussions revolving around different classifications or feelings. Moreover, we were often asked to reflect on which group we associate with the most and why. Just looking at the physical attributes of the seventeen individuals in the class, one could easily fit us all into two or three separate groups based on arrangements such as skin color, ethnicity, presumed background/economics, or several other categories. But, nobody truly knows what Brazil was like for Pedro (x2); nobody knows what Chicago was like for Marco; nobody knows what South Bend was like for Noah; and so on. The “Where I’m From” (“Where I’m From” by *student*- Moreau FYE Week Six) poems that we shared in the class certainly helped others have a clearer look into who we are and why we are the way we are. This exercise helped me understand my fellow classmates on a deeper level…not based upon wealth, family ties, or reputation…but, rather, based upon experiences and stories. Coming into the class, I am sure many of us held implicit biases toward one another. “That doesn’t make you a racist, sexist or whatever-ist. It just means your brain is working properly, noticing patterns and making generalizations” (“How to Think about ‘Implicit Bias’” by Keith Payne, Laura Niemi, John M. Doris, Scientific American-Moreau FYE Week Seven). We obviously knew very little about each other. But, as we grew together as a class and began to reveal more about ourselves, which peaked during week six, we began to realize that “all of these stories make [us who we are]. But to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten [our] experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed [us]. 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). I actually had an experience during the second day of Welcome Week that involved my use of implicit bias. I sat down at a random table since everyone had not yet arrived on campus. A kid wearing a Ronaldo Juventus jersey sat next to me. He https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-think-about-implicit-bias/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-think-about-implicit-bias/ https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story started to talk, and I noticed his thick Italian accent. He told me he was from Milan. In my mind I assumed that he was wealthy since he was from Milan, had a classy soccer jersey on, and could afford, to some extent, to come to Notre Dame. However, as we talked, I was proven wrong. He told me about his family: his mom was raising his three younger brothers at home; his dad was working two jobs just to remain stable; he was going to try to walk onto the Notre Dame soccer team so he could get some scholarship money; he was on his way to apply for a job at the Duncan Student Center. My assumptions about him were completely wrong. But, I learned so much about what it may mean to be a foreign student at Notre Dame. He basically gave me a whole “Where I’m From” poem during out lunch conversation. And, in fact, this implicit bias was far from the whole story. Similar to this Italian friend that I met, I believe in hard work. Further, I believe that an individual’s hard work and sacrifice now pays off in the future. My dad has always told me that “Whalens are very rarely the smartest in the room. But, we are often the hardest working in the room.” I was always weary of this, growing jealous of my classmates who could study for thirty minutes and get and A+ on a physics test, while I would study for hours and receive a B. In the Moreau First Year Experience class, we examined our own strengths and weaknesses. I remember writing down “persistence” as one of my strengths, and “comparison” as one of my weaknesses. I can study for hours and hours, as proven by my first eight weeks at Notre Dame. However, I often find myself wishing that I could “be like Devin” (my school’s valedictorian, who is now at Harvard). This is an odd combination when it comes to college, and even life in general. Even within the first week of classes, I established myself as the early-riser, hardworking type. I am the first to get up and the last to go to bed, often because I am working or studying. My mindset, as seen in my high school senior quote, is to “reach for the stars so if you fall you land on a cloud” (“Homecoming” by Kanye West). This tactic became even iffier when I was introduced to college, as compared to high school, especially at a place like Notre Dame. In certain college classes, such as chemistry, I found myself on the low end of the grade. After the first test, I would be doing at least two hours of chemistry work per night just to stay above the “acceptable Gen. Chem.” grade for medical school. During that first week, I found myself wishing that I was one of those naturally intelligent people, like many individuals in this class. However, I have grown to acknowledge that “each journey is unique. As [I] try to sort things out, [I must] resist the temptation to compare yourself to others” (“The Role of Faith in Our Story” by Fr. Pete McCormick-Moreau FYE Week Three). I have the belief that I am at Notre Dame because of the sacrifices I made during high school, whether that be sleep, food, or even sometimes experiences. I have accepted that I am not one of those whizzes that can ace any test that is put in front of them. Overall, I believe that hard work combined with a healthy amount of sacrifice is incredibly worthwhile. This hard work tactic of mine certainly has its limits, however. I have had my successes during college, and I have had my failures during college. I believe that a community should share in victories and failures equally. Although my name is Brody, my ethos is composed of two different Adams. “Adam one is built by building on [my] strengths; Adam two is built by fighting [my] weaknesses” (“Should You Live for your Resume of Your Eulogy” by David Brooks-Moreau FYE Week Two). Duncan Hall is a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcZMeqWWOIs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM unique place. I have carried on several of my strengths in conjunction with my hall brothers. For example, just last week we competed in an interhall cross-country event. We celebrated at the finish line together and had an immense amount of support for each other. One of the best moments of the event was when the Duncan finishers ran our president in the last half mile, cheering and singing the Duncan theme song along the way. On the contrary, I have shared my defeat with my fellow Duncan brothers. Sticking with the chemistry struggle: when I came back from receiving a low midterm grade, I was extremely distressed. Some of the guys could visibly see this. One of my friends—the president of Duncan, as well—came up and asked what was wrong. I told him about my struggles in this class. Funny enough, he had been through that same exact class! He gave me some advice, and a perspective of the overall class. He recalled his brawl with the class, reassuring me that I am not the only one who has ever had this experience. He “had the courage to be imperfect” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brene Brown-Moreau FYE Week One), which I greatly appreciated. He even called a couple other Duncan guys over who had been in that same class. That day, I learned that “the best kind of friendships are the ones where you leave with a smile on your face” (“Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Relationships” by Olivia Taylor-Moreau FYE Week Four). I did indeed leave with a smile on my face, after realizing that my college community will support me in my failures just as they do in my successes. Throughout my college career thus far, I have experienced all of my main core beliefs firsthand. I have encountered many individuals that are drastically different than me; I have put in a lot of work in hopes of becoming a doctor; I have been vulnerable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&list=PLmiPsabET-W_hjesjTZaITh2s1WbM-Kd0&index=3 http://www.theredflagcampaign.org/handouts with both my successes and failures within the Duncan Hall community. Although I am sure I will edit my approaches in college in some way, these core beliefs have helped me maintain a certain equilibrium among school, clubs, athletics, family life, and more. It is due to this state of equilibrium that I am able to experience a minimally fluctuating sense of contentment. As I go through college, I aspire to both refine and confirm my core beliefs. Above all, I hope that “every [belief] searches for truth, and shares in that final and most beautiful truth that calls us to serve each other in love” (“Fr. Sorin Letter to Bl. Basil Moreau, December 5, 1842” by Fr. Sorin-Moreau FYE Week Five). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o56woQDq3QrRkziT8eYrvYly5CQaP2Vb/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o56woQDq3QrRkziT8eYrvYly5CQaP2Vb/view