Integration 1 Assignment Áine McFail Mr. Whittington FYS 10101 15 October 2021 What Makes Me Who I Am Since arriving at Notre Dame, I have learned a lot about myself. It has been a very eye opening experience. I have been able to better identify my strengths and weaknesses, as well as the type of person I would like to become. It can be hard at times to realize that I am not exactly where I want to be but it is important to recognize that, so I can eventually get there. Moreau has given me the opportunity to reflect and work on this. I believe that it is okay to struggle. The times that I have grown the most from are because of the struggle that I have been through. Everytime I struggle, I come out a better person. I went into middle school not knowing anyone and had a really tough transition. “I am from crying in the dark,” (“Week Six Poem” by Áine McFail - Moreau FYE Week Six). I would come home and cry everyday, feeling like I had no friends. Having gone through this, I have learned how to better make friends and that sometimes things take time. I also became more comfortable with doing things on my own and being more independent. I don’t really gain anything when it comes naturally. “Let me tell you very quickly what we think about children. They are hardwired for struggle when they get here,” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One). I think that we are all hardwired for struggle, and that since it is natural, we should make the most of it. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YtvxYioJ9l4vsNns7o3qWy6PpCb1sdLEAhaP7BBYAh0/edit https://youtu.be/X4Qm9cGRub0 I believe that I am a good friend. I think that to be a good friend, you have to be the friend that you would want. In my friends I look for thoughtfulness, respect, and someone who listens. It is unfair to ask for these things, if I am not willing to do them myself. I try to follow the rule, “To treat others the way that I wanted to be treated,” (“Two Notre Dames: Your Holy Cross Education” by Fr. Kevin Grove, C.S.C. - Moreau FYE Week Five). In certain situations, I think if I were in their position, what would I want me to do, and then I do that. I also don’t justify my actions in a toxic way. I would never use “Because I love you,” (“Because I Love You, Double Whiskey” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week Four). to manipulate someone into thinking I did nothing wrong. I will be honest and own up to my mistakes. I think that by following these, I am a good friend to others. I believe that I am consistently improving myself. To become the person that I want to be, it is important that I recognize my weaknesses and the areas that I would like to improve. This takes lots of self vulnerability to do this. It can sometimes be difficult to admit that I am not perfect. At the beginning of high school, I was really bad at procrastinating. It would stress me out really badly. I realized that there needed to be a change in my life. It was hard to recognize at first because it can be hard to find things that you need to improve upon because we don’t want to look at ourselves in that way. “You go into yourself, you find the sin, which you've committed over and again throughout your life, your signature sin out of which the others emerge, and you fight that sin and you wrestle with that sin and out of that wrestling that suffering then a depth of character is constructed.” (“Should You Live for your Resume or Your Eulogy” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week Two). It is when we do this, that we become the best version of ourselves. https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=859bc1a8-0d0f-4eb4-a1c1-d0a45c429187 https://youtu.be/MwQ5ur9OZ-g https://youtu.be/MlLWTeApqIM https://youtu.be/MlLWTeApqIM I believe that faith has a strong impact on my life. I have recently started going to the Grotto once a week with my friend. This has helped me for multiple reasons. We will walk together which has brought us much closer, and then it has also been good praying. I have struggled with feeling like I belong here. I have been praying about it when I go, and I have started to feel better about being here. This has strengthened my faith because I feel that God is listening to me. “It definitely hasn’t always been that way, but as I’ve entrusted different parts of my life to God, little by little, he has rewarded my trust time and time again.” (“Student Reflections on Faith” by Tim - Moreau FYE Week Three).I also feel that way. I know that if I continue these weekly trips, I will be able to watch my faith grow over time. I also know that I will see a difference for the better in my life. I believe that I judge fairly. Judgement and fairness were both in my top three traits in the quiz we took at the beginning of the semester. I also agree that these are some of the best traits that I exhibit. I always try my best to not judge people and if I do, to make sure that I have enough information to come to my conclusions. I am always sure to not judge people off of a story that I have heard, but off of my own experiences. I also try to recognize that everyone has different experiences with others. For example, someone can love and want to be with all the time, the person that I find to be super annoying. I also try to view situations from the other person’s perspective. It’s like how in a tv show, we see both sides of the story, and are able to not necessarily justify it, but to understand it. I believe that it is exactly like that in real life. In her TED talk, she says “I did not have a single story of America” (“Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Moreau FYE Week Seven). She also recognizes that because she knows multiple sides, she is https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YVemqUBaAs5DNBPYm806TyQZr3F0xElP/view?usp=sharing https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story able to make better judgements. I do my best to make sure that I am not judging others based on a single story. This way I am making the best judgements and am not letting one thing define a person. All of these “I believe that” statements are who I am and I do not want to change that. I only hope to grow through them during my time at the University of Notre Dame.