MYFE Integration 2


How The Act of Encountering Has Helped Me Grow at Notre Dame
Since coming to Notre Dame, I have definitely felt like I have encountered many societal

expectations or general expectations held by my peers. Oftentimes, I find these expectations to
have negative effects. “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 you do,
you aren’t living your own life — you’re living someone else’s life” (“Why Letting Go of
Expectations is a Freeing Habit” by Julia Hogan - Moreau FYE Week 9). I feel like so many
people do things just to live up to people’s expectations of them, but it’s not something that
actually makes them happy. At the end of the day, you have control over your own life. It is your
choice on how to be happy and healthy and not someone else’s. An example of an expectation
that I have encountered is going out every weekend and partying even though that’s something
that doesn’t necessarily make me happy. Instead of living up to people’s expectations and being
miserable, I decide to choose other things to do that make me happier. Another expectation that I
have encountered and am continuing to interact with is the expectation of going into investment
banking after graduation because that is what many finance majors do, and it makes a lot of
money. Although I don’t have much experience with investment banking, I have a mindset that if
I feel like I don’t enjoy it by graduation, I won’t decide to go into that field even though it’s the
expectation that people have for many finance majors. I would rather pick a career that is more
fulfilling for me. In the future, I will continue to try to de-emphasize the expectations that others
have of me because I am going to be miserable if those expectations don’t align with what makes
me happy.

Something else that I have encountered since coming to Notre Dame is brokenness.
Everybody has gone through unique experiences, some of them good and some of them bad, but
that shapes people into who they are. Many people are ashamed of all their flaws and past
negative experiences, but that must not keep them from growing into a more dynamic person
who is better from persevering through their experiences. “Everybody, I hope, walks away with
this greater connection to who they are. That they learn that the things that they’ve experienced
— the good, the bad, the ugly, all of that — it has made them this beautiful, dynamic, interesting
person that they are today. And that person is worth celebrating and honoring” (“Women Find
Healing Through Kintsugi Workshop” by Grotto - Moreau FYE Week 10). I believe that this also
applies to the community. Generally speaking, when people think of Notre Dame, they think of a
great institution that has many areas of strength, and is a force for good in the world. This is what
I thought of Notre Dame as well. While I still believe these things, being a student here has shed
light on the not so pretty aspects of our community. However, that does not mean that the
community cannot learn from its mistakes. I am trying to do my part in addressing this through
joining the Student Government Department of Sustainability. There are so many things that the
university can do better when it comes to being sustainable. The university may be ashamed of it
but that doesn’t mean that it can just be thrown under the rug and left alone. Us students in the
department of sustainability are trying to call for the university to improve by, for example,
calling for divestment of fossil fuels in the university’s endowment or offer more meat free

https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/health-and-wellness/letting-go-of-expectations/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau
https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/health-and-wellness/letting-go-of-expectations/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau
https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/heal/find-healing-through-kintsugi-art/
https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/heal/find-healing-through-kintsugi-art/


options at the dinings halls. I hope to continue to engage in similar clubs moving forward so that
I can help address the brokenness of the university and help improve it into something good.

Encountering diversity at Notre Dame has definitely helped me grow as a person.
“Exposure and access to different types of people, to different life experiences, to different ways
of seeing the world offers insight and allows us to be in a position to think about change”
(“Diversity Matters” by Agustin Fuentes - Moreau FYE Week 11). Even though Notre Dame is
known for historically not being very diverse, it is still much more diverse than the high school
that I went to. For example, there are so many clubs that I saw at the club fair at the beginning of
the year with differing viewpoints, and there were also a bunch of different cultural clubs. I
believe that engaging with people who are different from you is so important to become a more
educated person in general that can then be empowered to create change. Learning more about
different backgrounds is also a great way to become a person who is trying to limit the amount of
implicit bias, stereotyping, and discrimination that may occur. One example of encountering a
different viewpoint from my own was reading a Rover article on a controversial subject. Instead
of disregarding the article based on the title, I made sure to read the whole thing. By reading the
article, I was able to be exposed to new concepts and learn about why others think differently
than me. Because I chose to spend time learning about their perspective, I feel more assured that
I can make a more educated decision on my own stance on the topic. In the future, I will
continue to avoid limiting myself to interacting with certain groups of people/people who only
agree with my viewpoints. I will strive to share my perspective but focus just as much on
listening to others.

Finally, I have found that encountering hope during low points is very important.
“Whenever we have to shed old ways of thinking, viewing, or perceiving the world around us
and ourselves, a conversion of both heart and mind must take place” (“Hope - Holy Cross and
Christian Education” by James B. King - Moreau FYE Week 12). When things are not going
great, it is very hard to change your view of the situation. However, the times when we doubt
things are especially the times when we have to start having extra faith in our abilities, our
community, etc. This creates hope. When we find hope, we become stronger and more resilient
to challenges. When I got a bad exam grade, I began to have very negative thoughts, but I was
able to change my mindset in a way that makes me more determined to do well on the final. It
creates motivation and ultimately changes my view on setbacks like these. I will strive to
continue creating hope like this during rough times.

https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=d14a0472-9c0e-44ea-bd39-53c67ee1d436
https://campusministry.nd.edu/assets/105621/
https://campusministry.nd.edu/assets/105621/