Integration 2



Overcoming Obstacles

Prompt: What have I encountered and how will I respond?

This semester at Notre Dame has been full of challenges and obstacles that have brought
blood, sweat and tears. It feels like I have been through the thick and the thin and have had to
deal with many different challenges. From academics to athletics to relationships and weather, it
has all contributed to my overall experience whether good or bad. I have learned how to be
strong, how to push through, how to let things out and suffer, but also how to get back up and
brush it off. One of the most important things I have learned is the ability to move on and come
back stronger with a mindset that doesn’t dwell on the past, but pushes to the future and finds
hope in what is to come. I have had to find what works for me in times of distress to be able to
carry this mindset through to the next day. Each day I find another opportunity to do my best and
to be grateful for what I have and where I am. As I continue to be at Notre Dame, I increasingly
feel blessed to be there and blessed with the opportunity to go to this school and be surrounded
by this amazing community. My drive to keep going is to become the best version of myself.

Obstacles are hard to ignore, so in many cases, dissonance is inevitable. For me, there are
so many expectations in my life that I either try to meet or strive to meet. This can be healthy, but
also unhealthy in a sense where I may be disappointed if my goals are too high and too hard to
reach. As said by Julia Hogan in Why letting go of expectations is a freeing habit in Moreau
FYE week 9, “Not only are these expectations arbitrary, but they will almost always backfire on
you. You can’t live your life according to the expectations of others.” When people place
expectations on themselves that are binding to their happiness and success, it limits their mind to
think that they are only good enough if they meet these expectations. There are no real
expectations that should or should not be set for each person because each person is their own
and shouldn’t focus on such little things that are so arbitrary. In the end, if you are constantly
focusing on these little things, it is much easier to get disappointed in yourself when you don’t
meet them, which just doesn’t help keep the journey fulfilling and rewarding. Instead, it puts
more pressure on every step and puts pressure on the individual every step of the way. The best
things to focus on are doing your best and doing what you can in that moment. Yes, people may
make mistakes, but that is all about life and how we learn. As an athlete, I struggle with this
constantly throughout my life. Constantly, I am setting expectations for myself that I would love
to achieve, but sometimes they are not realistic and cause me to feel discouraged if not
completed. What I constantly must look back on and consider is all of the factors that went into it
and why I got to where I did or didn’t. This can help me understand what to do and what to work
on next time so that I can reach my goals in the end. Often anyway, I set high standards for
myself because I expect a lot of myself. I am a student at the University of Notre Dame and feel
like I must live up to that and demonstrate it to the best of my ability. Striving for excellence can

https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/health-and-wellness/letting-go-of-expectations/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau


be a good thing and a bad thing, but I've found that balance in these two is the best way to
succeed. Being able to be okay with the fact that something didn’t turn out right, learning from it,
and accepting that I make mistakes is healthy for the mind to recover and to help take the
pressure off. Focusing more on the aspect of effort and trying my best has always been helpful in
pushing me forward and focusing on the little successes.

I have also been able to learn the fact that obstacles are there for a reason. They are not
there to solely break us down and to kill us. They are there to break us down, but what many
people fail to realize is that when we are broken down, it forces us to be vulnerable and realize
what things we need to work on. Some people could take this as negativity and refuse to believe
they have flaws, while others can use it as feedback and learn from it. They can strive to be
better next time and learn what will make their next hard encounter a little bit better. This quote
is very powerful in helping people realize the realities in life of hardships, “I want people to also
know that their hearts are breakable, and it’s a very good thing, that it’s worth celebrating
because it allows you to grow and expand. And you get to put your heart back together.”
(“Women Find Healing Through Kintsugi Workshop,” Kirsten Helgeson, Moreau FYE Week 10)
Teaching people this type of mindset helps everyone feel comfort in the fact that they are not
alone. When allowing women to break pieces of pottery and put them back together with gold, it
helps symbolize that we are breakable and can be broken, but can be put back together even
prettier than we started. We can all be broken, but can come back stronger and better than before.
All of these things that break us down are there to help us get stronger and to learn and grow
from those experiences. All of the things that people experience in life, the good and the bad,
shape them into the beautiful and well-rounded person they have become. Our society has many
challenges and obstacles that are constantly in the way of our successes and goals. In my life
specifically, there have been many obstacles along the way especially in my sport. I have been
through two tough injuries in which I was unable to train or run. Instead of sitting on the couch
doing nothing, I proactively did my exercises, and started back cross-training when I could. I was
in the pool everyday until I could slowly transition into running again and eventually came back
to win a state championship. Although learning of the injuries were devastating at the time, they
caused me to focus on myself and love the person I am outside of running. They helped me
realize how much I love running and helped me learn that sometimes my body needs a break and
can’t take constant training. I learned to listen to my body more and to take its cues when it
ultimately knows me the best. In addition, I have had academic challenges and obstacles. Going
through covid and experiencing online learning was difficult because many of our teachers
actually taught the content of the course. Instead I had to find it within myself to learn it on my
own and to study hard to be able to get a good grade. At times I got bad grades or did badly, but
then it helped me realize what I needed to work on and do better next time. In the end, I
eventually was able to learn myself and learn what I needed in order to be successful, and ended
up thriving. Obstacles are difficult, but they are worth it in the end to shape the person you are
and the things you learn.

https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/heal/find-healing-through-kintsugi-art/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau


One of the most helpful things at Notre Dame especially is the community. When others
around you are struggling and you are too, it is important to know that you are not alone. The
people surrounding you are there to help you. It may not seem like it, but they are there to lend a
hand and are willing to help you. In addition, you can be there for them if they need help. You
can rely on each other and pick one another up when everything may seem impossible. Bonds
and friendships and relationships are extremely powerful in helping people see the positive side
of things. From Parker J Palmer in “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Community,” (Moreau FYE
Week 11) “Community is not a goal to be achieved but a gift to be received.” This quote
overarches the idea that community is not something that should be readily worked for and
searched for, but rather as something that develops from within each person that is able to be
shared when everyone is together. Community should be thought of as a gift to each of us, not as
something that we must manifest to make happen. If individuals must strive to work for the
community, it is not natural and we will often find ourselves trying to make something that we
simply can not. In order to achieve effective community, we must relax into the natural things
that bring us together as people with common interests within one another. Ever since coming to
Notre Dame, I have felt a huge sense of community that I think is so unique to this campus and
school. Everyone around me is incredibly friendly and willing to help one another and put each
other up. Where I grew up, many of the people around me were fake and didn’t genuinely care
about anyone else but themselves. They always had to be better than the people around them
which led to constant conflicts and head-butting until someone was the victor. I love that
everyone around me at Notre Dame are real people. They have discipline, goals, desires, and are
driven. Even through conflict, the people around me here are willing to lend a hand and guide me
to success. People want me to succeed here which is an amazing family to be a part of. There is
no wasted energy on being negative to people or not being kind which makes this place one of a
kind in my eyes. Being here has helped me realize that I can continue to foster this energy and
pass it along to others. It is a powerful way to develop community and great bonds with one
another and empowers positive attitudes and mindsets.

Keeping hope is one of the most important things I have done to survive obstacles in my
life. It may be difficult at times, but that is why it is so special and important. The power of hope
can overcome almost anything. In “The Screwtape Letters,” by C.S. Lewis Chapter 8 (Moreau
FYE Week 12), the author writes, “He wants them to learn to walk and therefore takes away his
hand; and if only the will to walk is really there, he is pleased even with their stumbles.” This
quote demonstrates that in order for individuals to grow and progress on their own, they must
learn on their own. They must be put out into the real world by themselves with no handicaps or
someone to hold their hand, and experience life alone. This helps them develop on their own and
explore the world around them individually and learn things on their own. It teaches them that
there are ups and downs in life and that life is difficult. They are able to experience hardships and
obstacles, but overcome them and learn from them. If they are constantly holding someone’s

http://couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/13-ways-of-looking-at-community/
https://iansuffix.kontek.net/docs/screwtapeChpt8.htm


hand, they often won’t be able to experience the reality of the world around them, which is
difficult. Many things in life I had to learn the hard way. When my parents and coaches had to
stop holding my hand all the time, I experienced the world as it truly is and learned the values of
the ups and downs of life. College is especially a big step for many students in the world because
it is one of the longest times many of them have been away from home and their families and
support system. Being immersed in this new environment helps each of us grow on our own and
experience how to live on our own and develop new habits and ways of living that make us more
independent and productive towards what we want. With this new transition, I was able to see
the world differently and learn to manage my time on my own around my priorities. I had to go
through hard times of being stressed and not being able to organize my time well with what I had
going on, which taught me what to do next time, and helped me see what I really needed to do in
order to make my life run smoothly on my own. Having confidence in myself and the things I
can do on my own, help me grow and live in hope that I can get through hard things and work
my way around difficult situations. There is a future outside of the world we currently live in that
will lead to bigger things and opportunities. Having hope is worth it because it allows us to get
there and know that there is more to come. We can have hope that the sun will rise the next day
in order to help us keep going and see that things will get better and we will find light.

Throughout my life, I have been through a lot, but the ability to have hope, overcome
obstacles, see them as a learning experience, keep an open mind, and move on, have helped me
see through to the other side. There have been many difficulties or times I have wanted to quit,
but the little drive inside of me with the support around me has helped keep me afloat. I have
learned the importance of community and the power of shared experiences. I have also learned
how to learn from my mistakes and know that they are okay and inevitable. These experiences
have helped me grow and become a better person in times of despair and adversity which help
me to keep moving forward.