Moreau Final Integration Moreau FYS Andrew Whittington Mission Statement At the beginning of the Fall semester of my Freshman year at the University of Notre Dame, my beliefs were dissonant. I lacked the steadfast values that I observed in others around me. Over the course of the year, my beliefs have solidified and I have grown as a person. I have recognized the importance of maintaining self-awareness, the significance of appreciating others, and ultimately learning how to take the next step towards action. Through constant self-reflection for the past several months, I have begun to learn more about myself than before. I realize my goals and my aspirations. I realize what I prioritize in life and what I should start to prioritize. Whether it’s time spent with family or new relationships at college, I will continue to put in more effort than before with no expectation of reward. Maintaining healthy relationships consists of a mutual understanding of each other in which neither thinks better of themselves, nor worse of their partner. I have also learned about the inequality that persists in and out of our campus that which I have not encountered before. From conversing with so many people from vastly different backgrounds, I have gained a great deal of knowledge of the world outside of Glen Ellyn, IL. Coming from somewhere in which people shared common backgrounds, the idea of racism and prejudice has always seemed drastically over characterized by others. With such a diverse student body, Notre Dame has taught me to appreciate others more and to empathize with their unique experiences. Awareness of myself and awareness of others is a pillar of my self-understanding both now and in the future. Taking the next step after discovering conviction. This is what it means to have courage. The idea of courage reminds me of the importance of acting on your beliefs and its separation from pure emotion. It’s important for me to remember that it’s not always easy to act upon my conviction, despite knowing what good effects it will have. Courage is something that I have to mailto:ewhittin@nd.edu grow myself because it’s my duty to. I often find it hard to do what I know I should do due to the discomfort that it will bring me. I know that choices can be hard, but what I will continue to embody is acting on what I know is good rather than avoiding what will make me uncomfortable. I now realize that courage is a virtue that is dormant within each of us, but it’s our responsibility to find and ignite it. - (Me) Finding a Balance I plan to live with my mission statement close in mind, to embody the virtues that I recognized for myself. Over the next three years at Notre Dame, I will take advantage of the community and opportunities that the school has to offer. I know that those around me will only help me in this mission to become a better person for myself and for others. Developing a stronger sense of self-awareness, appreciating others, and learning how to take action are several core values that I have chosen to follow for the rest of my life in some way or another. Throughout the thirteen weeks of Moreau, I have gained something new each time that I will incorporate into aspects of my life. Through constant self-reflection for the past several months, I have begun to learn more about myself than before. I realize my goals and my aspirations. I realize what I prioritize in life and what I should start to prioritize. In the first week of Moreau, I learned the significance of taking some time in life to distinguish between things of importance. The article that we read for that week, Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives by Pico Iyer, discussed how crucial it is to designate time away from technology and away from the world (“Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau Week One). From the beginning of the semester, I was already considering the importance of things in my life and how to allocate more time to things that needed it. Transitioning to college, it’s difficult for me to find time to do everything that I want to do such as keeping up with lecture material and being able to participate in extracurriculars. Finding this balance through prioritization has ameliorated my struggles more than I can think. Alongside prioritization, I’ve learned of the importance of staying grounded in reality and not allowing myself to worry about things that don’t pertain to the present. The quote from Saint Benedict, “Keep death daily before your eyes”, resonated within me because it made me realize the importance of staying present in life (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by New York Times - Moreau Week Three). By reminding myself of the inevitability of death, I will reach a greater appreciation for the moments that I experience. The topic of https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html self-reflection has pervaded the material for this class and continued past previous examples of prioritizing different activities. Continuing through Moreau, I gained a deeper understanding of what it means to truly self-reflect. I began to contemplate the choices I’ve made and have yet to make, learning more about my goals and aspirations along the way. The act of self-reflection was emphasized in the article The Right Way to Be Introspective (Yes, There’s a Wrong Way) by Tasha Eurich (“The Right Way to Be Introspective (Yes, There’s a Wrong Way)” by Tasha Eurich - Moreau Week Six). I have learned the differences in right and wrong self-reflection and utilize new techniques so that I am not keeping myself in a state in which there is no change. Also in class, I learned the significance of my awareness of becoming trapped within an echo chamber of my own opinions. Dr. Paul Blaschko discussed the meaning of an echo chamber and how to avoid entanglement (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber'' by Dr. Paul Blaschko - Moreau Week Eleven). I am able to relate to most of what Dr. Blaschko talks about because of the experience I have with people who are stuck in an echo chamber. Another resource that helped me discern my path for the future was the Irish Compass from the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development, which presented to me possible paths based on the responses that I gave (“Irish Compass” - Moreau Week Four). I plan on using this resource again in the future to help me figure out what to do when I get lost. These several weeks of my Moreau experience gave me a tremendous amount of insight into what it means to grow personally, and how to go about doing so. I will continue to learn and grow from mistakes I make and will continue with these lessons in mind. Taking the next step after discovering conviction. This is what it means to have courage. The idea of courage reminds me of the importance of acting on your beliefs and its separation from pure emotion. Several lessons from Moreau focused on my external growth rather than internal, especially the idea of going out and taking action while building relationships with people who may seem entirely different. The most important thing I gained about this came from the film about Father Hesburgh himself (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s&ab_channel=ThinkND https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ Moreau Week Two). In witnessing his countless acts to better humanity, I learned the importance of taking action towards something that I am passionate about when given the opportunity. In conjunction with taking action, the idea of external relationships was stressed throughout Moreau. The Constitutions of the Holy Cross write explicitly about making a home among more than one people or culture, and how we must go beyond our own borders (“Constitutions of the Holy Cross” - Moreau Week Twelve). Building my relationships with others is one of the core values that I hold in my mission statement and one that I reflect on each day. Something that I hadn’t considered before was the unification with others to eliminate the concept of “I” and replace it with “we”. In a video with Pope Francis, he discussed what unification means for the future and how we must not exclude anybody in our advancement as a society (“Why the Only Future Worth Building Includes Everyone” by Pope Francis - Moreau Week Seven). In order to reach this level of unification, there are numerous obstacles that remain in our way as a society that we have to overcome. Issues such as racism, sexism, and political extremism are very pertinent issues that can be alleviated if each one of us does our part. As we are expanding to develop our relationships with people from other countries and cultures, it’s important to realize the relationships we still have to address at home in our own country. In the article Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism by Dr. Robin D’Angelo, the author broaches difficult topics about racism that appear to be embedded in our society (“Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism” by Robin D’Angelo - Week Ten). By far the most important lesson that I’ve learned about this is the awareness that is required to foster new relationships. Building a new relationship means that there has to be a mutual understanding of each other from both sides. The involuntary compensation that arises when meeting inhabitants of a foreign culture has to be eliminated in order to promote a healthy environment. In the article Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together by Professor Steve Reifenberg, I learned the difference between being the voice for others, and helping others gain a voice (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Professor https://holycrosscongregation.org/holy-cross-resources/constitutions/2-mission/ https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bdVnfLDrJUJhd-4UtYb_kfRpcFgOoOeY7O1WT8_d3iw/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit?usp=sharing Steve Reifenberg - Moreau Week Nine). Going forward, I will incorporate this lesson into how I interact with people who I would otherwise treat differently. These particular lessons from Moreau helped me to gain an understanding of what it means to be courageous, as well as the right way to build new relationships with people I don’t know. The next several years are for building relationships with others and even with myself. While there are many lessons to be learned from Moreau, I will strive to follow as closely to my personal mission statement as possible knowing that I can become a better person for those around me.