Intregation 1 Moreau First Year Course Integration One Throughout my 7 weeks in Notre Dame I have found that my Root Beliefs are what shape my choices and priorities. And throughout the 7 weeks of the Moreau Course I have found that these thoughts and beliefs are what make me unique. My Family and Religion are some aspects that shape my choices and beliefs. One of my Root beliefs for example, Week 1 (Searching for Belonging), is my Future. And a statement from Dr. Brown that really portrayed my future was, “Connection is why we are here. It’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.”( 3:13- 3:16 min.) I believe that the future that lies for me is one of greatness and success, not only career-wise but also community-wise. I want to be able to use my major (Urban Design Architecture) to help others, especially my latino community. Hence, why I am participating and practicing in my Graphics 1 inorder to ensure greatness for me and others . I want to be able to expand my philanthropy to a national or even global level. I strongly feel that my purpose/ meaning in life is to help and serve others by Connecting with not only my community but also my world. Try to fix what has been damaged in order for our future generations not to struggle, yet expand the greatness WE will leave behind. This is our Purpose to Connect and Communicate with others in order for Peace in the world tomorrow. Another Root Belief, Week 2 (Searching for Self-Knowledge), are my Strengths and Weaknesses. A statement from Mr. David Brooks states in his Ted Talk that, “Adam 1 is built by building on your strengths and Adam 2 is built by fighting your weaknesses.” (3:31-3:38) ]Mr. Brooks states that Adam One's success is built by one’s strengths. For me it would be Mathematics, because it's one of my strengths and that correlates back to my test scores and my major which is Architecture which requires math and physics. However, I am successful only with my strength’s. However, one of my weaknesses (Adam 2) stated by the VIA Character Strengths survey is Honesty. And I agree with this because I have always lied about my true identity and originality because I wanted to fit in with society in both school and nation. I lied because I wanted to fit in with society. Week 3 (Searching for a Framework) was about Faith. A statement from Professor Fagerberg states, “Faith, Hope, and Love adjust the lighting of our life so that we look beyond ourselves to see God” and “Willingness to shed the comforts of the world and above all else to love those who are in most need.” (Fr. Pete) Faith is a tool used to help and guide others towards sanity and service by interacting with those in need and assisting them. Prof. Fagerberg stated in his Text that “Faith, Hope and Love are what brings us towards God.” We use these characteristics by helping others as stated by Fr. Pete in his video stated, “ ...above all else to love those who are in most need.” However, we must have faith in ourselves and God to withstand the critics of the world because only then will we be able to help others and also ourselves. My 4th Root Belief (Searching for life-giving relationships) is Consent. What I took from the video was “your friend’s mouth is a complaint or has some sort of a negative angle, you’re probably not having the most fun with them.” and “A good friend should never make you feel like the things you’re saying are unimportant and uninteresting.” What I took was that one must never be forced or force one to do anything they are unwilling or unconscious to do. The statement from the article, “your friend’s mouth is a complaint or has some sort of a negative angle, you’re probably not having the most fun with them.”, made a personal connection with me in highschool. I had a group of friends who let's say we're not the best influence on my future nor health. They were the friends that skipped class, drank alcohol, revolted against their parents, fought many times, and overall were very bad friends. They didnt into account what either I said or did because they thought it was foolish. The statement, “A good friend should never make you feel like the things you’re saying are unimportant and uninteresting.” really sought me because it connected back to those memories. Week 5 (Identifying Narratives) was about time. Carla Harris states in her speech that, “time is the most important asset.” It is the finite aspect of time that makes it so valuable; money may be earned, but time can never be earned again. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, and it is up to us to either use them to advance society and act as a force for good by "creating our tales," or to waste them. Week 6 ("Where I'm From") was special to me because I got to express and ponder on where I am from in a poem. My poem starts by stating, “I am from Duvalin to Tamarindos” These are basically Mexican candies that as a child you would savour and enjoy these treats. “I am from a barrio in a city that is gorgeous” Barrio is basically a neighborhood in gangster slang. “I am from corridos to the best Himno Nacional” Corridos are music that is commonly heard in Mexico and our national anthem is for me the best out there. “I am from the Mexican farms” This is just to describe the terrain and homes in Mexico where many have farms/Ranchos. “I am from a single mom because my dad left me when I was born” This to show that I was raised and taught by my mother and that I grew up with no father figure as a child. However I see these lines as memories that made me become the person I am today. And finally Week 7 (Identifying Perspectives), was about truth. In the Text: “How to Think about ‘Implicit Bias’” it states that, “For example, metro areas with greater average implicit bias have larger racial disparities in police shootings. And counties with greater average implicit bias have larger racial disparities in infant health problems.” What I drew from this text was that the Truth is often misguided and lost with conscious or unconscious biases. Sometimes we think or believe that the truth we seek or say is often correct but we may be very wrong. We may believe that 1+1=3 and may even enforce our answer to others, however we know that it's wrong. 1+1=2. Overall, these past 7 weeks have really helped me understand the true meaning of being a Notre Dame Student and being a human on this earth. I have found my true identity and that is to help others in their need inorder for a safer tomorrow.