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W E E K  O N E :  S E A R C H I N G  F O R  B E L O N G I N G  

I believe that my best relationships allow me to be vulnerable, because vulnerability is honesty – and honesty 

is the bedrock of any functioning, healthy, relationship.  

This has been exemplified by my American Politics discussion session. The class dialogue tends to lean 

towards the leftward side of the political spectrum – as is often the case in universities – and students are 

accordingly uncomfortable or unwilling to express rightward leaning views or opinions. When a student, 

however, expressed his viewpoint (which was decidedly right-of-centre) the entire dynamic of the class 

changed. It seemed like a great weight was taken off his own shoulders, and the rest of the class – irrelevant 

of personal views – collectively announced great respect for his willingness to publicly state his opinion. His 

vulnerability seemed to immediately bring us all closer together and to forge a tighter-knit discussion class. 

And it is this connection that “gives purpose and meaning to our lives,”
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 as was discussed in my Moreau class.  

When an individual refuses to be vulnerable, they are simultaneously refusing to reveal their true selves, 

personalities, values, beliefs, and character. It is thus impossible to not experience the joy of an incredible 

relationship because a truly magnificent relationship is built on an authentic understanding of another person 

and a comfort that one may truly be themselves around that individual. This connection is “why we’re here.”
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In the future, I need to continue working on allowing myself to be vulnerable to others and growing to be my 

most authentic self in the face of my friends to form meaningful relationships.  

 

W E E K  T W O :  S E A R C H I N G  F O R  S E L F - K N O W L E D G E  

I believe that I can best know myself through external dedication. That is, dedicating myself to an external 

cause to serve or an individual to help. This injects a sort of meaning into my life and allows me to better 

know myself.  

So far, I have worked to help others by surveying the Notre Dame Student Body about Student Government, 

trying to understand the aspects of our Student Union that people believe should be changed, and the degree 

to which they understand student government in the first place. Admittedly, however, this work does not itself 

benefit my fellow students – but I seek to use the data I’ve collected to help create policy that will better match 

the needs and desires of my students. And I feel as though there is a genuine meaning that I find when 

dedicating myself to this work; I come to better understand who I am as an individual and increasingly realise 

my “greatest strengths”
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 in the real world.  

And indeed, while helping people does indeed allow me to better know myself, living for the benefit of others 

is most certainly a eulogy virtue,
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 and a virtue that I should work to cultivate. Looking forward, I seek to 

continue helping others but must remember that my ideas of assistance may not always congeal with that 

 
1

 “The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week 1 
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 “The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week 1 
3

 “VIA Strengths Survey” by the VIA Institute on Character - Moreau FYE Week 2 
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 “Should you live for your résumé … or your eulogy?” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week 2 

Who Am I? My Unique Identifying Values and Beliefs 

 



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which people legitimately desire – and that I must remain attentive, to prevent myself from inadvertently doing 

more harm than good. 

 

W E E K  T H R E E :  S E A R C H I N G  F O R  A  F R A M E W O R K  

I believe that my knowledge is built upon scepticism. This means that I am generally doubtful of any new 

knowledge, and seek consistent evidence, proof, justification, or rationed explanation to accept that novel 

information as valid. This system has come to play a significant role in my personal spirituality and my 

investigation of faith.  

“God discloses himself, faith responds,”
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 wrote Professor David Fagerberg. But this sentence seems to come 

into contradiction with the framework by which I live my life; most notably, the evidence-based scepticism 

with which I view the world; my logical and rational way of existence. Does God, I wonder, genuinely disclose 

himself? Can anyone today claim indisputable proof of the existence of God as a higher being? As far as I 

am aware, the general consensus of today is that there exists no certifiable proof confirming the existence of 

a higher authority. But is the concept of faith not entirely independent from proof? Is the power of faith not 

that one is willing to believe even without concrete confirmational proof? This quote would seem to argue 

that faith stems only from evidence, but I would most certainly disagree; in a conversation with the Rector of 

my dorm I asked about the existence of God (or, rather, for confirmation of that existence) and he replied 

that I shall receive none. I must instead simply have faith.  

In the future, I shall seek to maintain the rational and logical heading which I have already set for myself. I 

shall also, however, be careful not to close myself off from accepting new information nor to eliminate the 

potentiality for a certain degree of miracle and mystery in my life. 

 

W E E K  F O U R :  S E A R C H I N G  F O R  R E L A T I O N S H I P S  

I believe that healthy relationships begin with equality, as was made clear in the healthy and unhealthy 

relationships infographic – which claims that partners must “share decisions and responsibilities.”
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 I have 

experienced this with my friendships here at Notre Dame; in the mutual exchange of kindnesses, for 

instance, like helping other people with homework. I may offer help in those areas in which I am most 

proficient, while they help me in my weaker subjects. This is equality – a willingness of both parties to help 

and to offer assistance – and this is, in part, why I have been able to form so many great relationships.  

In the future, I shall continue to remember that all healthy relationships are formed (and continue to exist) 

upon the bedrock of equality. Two people may not be engaged in a mutual enjoyable relationship if there 

does not exist a genuine level of equalness between them.  

 

W E E K  F I V E :  I D E N T I F Y I N G  N A R R A T I V E S  

I believe that my personal journey has greatly influenced my perspective. The places I’ve lived, visited, and 

the places in which I have immersed myself have come together to create me: a patchwork of different 

traditions and cultures.  

 
5

 “Faith Brings Light to a Dark World,” by David Fagerberg - Moreau FYE Week 3 
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 “Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships,” by The Red Flag Campaign- Moreau FYE Week 4 



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For example, my English classes were often taught by British professors, and I accordingly picked up several 

unique linguistic oddities from them. I tend to say, for instance, the words ‘Schedule,’ and ‘aluminium’ with 

British-English pronunciations, despite having been born in America and speaking English with an otherwise 

American accent. Though, in all fairness, my accent is another site of contention: the British and French alike 

will remark that I have an American accent, while the many Americans I have met describe my method of 

speaking as “British,” “European,” or simply “foreign.” Apparently, the way I carry myself and the words I 

choose to employ are somehow give away my European-ness. In another example, my scholastic knowledge 

has generally been very European based: I possess an exorbitant amount of knowledge on the French 

Monarchy, the French Revolution, and the period of Napoleon, as well as WW1 and WW2 in particular. 

Yet by that same token I know very little about American history. My Highschool history teacher was Italian 

and I thus studied in great depth Fascist Italy under the rule of Mussolini, but know very little about the 

American Civil war – and accordingly struggle in courses like my American Studies class that assume students 

possess this most basic knowledge. 

These narratives and the experiences of my life have come together in a great diverse mix to make me who I 

am. Just as Father Kevin Grove identified a narrative to describe the founding of Notre Dame, (“the Second 

Notre, Dame, our Notre Dame, began as a response to the failures of the first one”)
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 I have myself identified 

many narratives that help to explain my own oddities and uniqueness. In the future, I shall continue to absorb 

information from my surroundings, and shall continue to adopt increasingly diverse stances and viewpoints.   

 

W E E K  S I X :  I D E N T I F Y I N G  I N F L U E N C E S  

I believe that I carry with me the palaces I’m from. I shall always remember the time I lived in France, and 

Seattle, and Denver. I shall always remember those unique experiences – as will I remember the time I will 

have spent here, at Notre Dame. I know that as I learn and grow in this marvellous place, it will become a 

part of me. And later, after I have left, it will continue to affect and inform my life. I, for example, will always 

carry with me the concept of building better business as has been taught by my Mendoza professors. I shall, 

in part, be from Notre Dame. I will be from the Golden Dome, from our football matches, and from Carroll 

Hall.
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W E E K  S E V E N :  I D E N T I F Y I N G  P E R S P E C T I V E S  

I believe that experience is best to change a perspective; anyone seeking to test or revaluate a belief must go 

out and live experiences that will provide new knowledge. If holding established views against a group of 

people, for instance, go out and meet individuals from that group. This destroys the “single story”
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 that we 

discussed as being so potentially harmful.  

I have already witnessed changes in my perspective as a result of new experiences in class. My American 

studies course, for instance, entirely reinvented the way that I regarded black slaves in the USA. Prior to that 

class, I hadn’t genuinely viewed them as historical actors; rather, they were helpless, only ever acted upon by 

other groups – most largely white slave owners. My American Studies professor, however, and the experiences 

of our class, have largely eliminated that belief. We examined Phyllis wealthy, who largely changed the course 

of history when she proved that black slaves had an intellectual capacity equal with any other group, and 

whose poetic writings were deeply profound. Or Frederik Douglass, whose impassioned speeches 

championed the wills of white and black individuals alike and hugely contributed to the end of slavery. These 

 
7

 “Two Notre Dames: Your Holy Cross Education,” by Fr. Kevin Grove Fagerberg - Moreau FYE Week 5 
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 “Where I’m From,” by George Ella Lyon - Moreau FYE Week 6 
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 “Danger of a Single Story,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Moreau FYE Week 7 



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experiences in class have helped me to completely revaluate and replace my old beliefs and perspective. By 

examining such a varied plethora of individuals, the “single story,”
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 I held about black slaves has been 

eradicated – that group has no longer, in my mind, been “robbed of their humanity.”
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In the future, I shall continue with my willingness to embrace new perspectives through experience and 

shall actively work to not shield myself form such novel occurrences. I shall always be willing to reconsider 

my viewpoint.  

 

 
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 “Danger of a Single Story,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Moreau FYE Week 7 
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 “Danger of a Single Story,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Moreau FYE Week 7