11/27/2021 The Path Towards Happiness There are many things thing’s I have encountered throughout the course of Moreau and my first semester at Notre Dame, a lot of these things have helped me develop as a person, and I believe has helped me become a better person. From all the people that I have met, to all the QQC and weeks of Moreau, it has helped me encounter new experiences and outlooks to which I never thought I would encounter. The journey I have had a Notre Dame has shown me many new experiences and will probably show me many more. But, as I reflect on my time here, I’m sure those new experiences will be fulfilling ones that will help me grow as a person. Being at Notre Dame has helped me encounter a lot of new perspectives on life, which has broadened my outlook on the world. It has allowed me to see the good things that can come out of working as parts in a whole, and overall being apart of the community I will belong to for four years and beyond. Not only has it helped me home in on the good things that life can offer, but it has also helped me see the many ways in which life can illicit despair and sadness. Something akin to being broken, being here has allowed me to see that many things in this life is cracked and can make someone broken in the long run. But in seeing that there are cracks in life, I have also seen that the ways to mend those cracks exist, “all of the loss that you are feeling . . . I want you to put those into the pot” (“Women Find Healing Through Kintsugi Workshop ” by Grotto, Kirsten Helgeson - Moreau FYE Week Ten). Reflecting on the cracks to me is the most important thing to do, as this often leads to new experiences, as your outlook changes. One of the biggest aspects of Notre Dame to me has been the importance of community in Notre Dame, which has helped me mend some of the cracks in my life, whether those be superfluous or not. I was surprised at the place to which I would encounter once I got here, and now that I am firmly into the place I was once new too, it has all but shown me that the cracks can be mended from being apart of something, making a change that only you can make, or a facet of the group that can only be accomplished by yourself. A community that is not discriminatory in nature, where anyone can join as” The concept of community must embrace even those we perceive as “enemy.” (“Thirteen Ways of Looking at Community” by Parker J. Palmer - Moreau FYE Week Eleven) This type of community has helped shaped the encounters I have had at Notre Dame and is a big reason why I think the encounters I will have in the future of me living in this school will continue to shape me into a better person. A person who has a good balance in all aspects of life and makes sure to use the things he learned to do good on this planet. I have always been confident in my abilities, since I always thought it was that confidence that allowed for me to excel high enough to get into Notre Dame, but still at points since I have been here, there have been many times in which I thought my abilities would not be high enough to tackle the task I would need to do. I have learned many new things here, and those new things took time to learn and cultivate, in that time its very easy to feel overwhelmed and not up to the task. But through the community I found, I find that this feeling naturally has dissipated as I have been here for a longer time. Especially https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/heal/find-healing-through-kintsugi-art/ https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/heal/find-healing-through-kintsugi-art/ http://couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/13-ways-of-looking-at-community/ http://couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/13-ways-of-looking-at-community/ since “Instead of letting your life be ruled by the expectations of others or your own expectation that you must perfect, what if you just did your best”. (“Why Letting Go of Expectations is a Freeing Habit” by Julia Hogan - Moreau FYE Week Nine) This type of feelings can only be accomplished when you are around those who stay by your side for you, rather than you’re here that I have at Notre Dame has made these feelings all but dissipate, and I think that’s one of the highlights of my Notre Dame journey so far. I think that my faith has further been shaped by my stay here and has further defined it in a meaningful way. I think that my faith has been able to take through the darkest moments being here, which would all encompass the many times in which I thought that things were overtly difficult. It reminds me of the reason why I decided to come here knowing that it would be hard. My faith helps me stay on the path that leads to my goals, and it the hardest times helps me stay on the paths to my goals. It allows for me to cultivate myself as a person as “They constitute the foundation of an education in the faith, but a person’s capacity for lifelong discipleship is hard to predicate from exam results or resumes no matter how well formed he or she may be “ (“Hope - Holy Cross and Christian Education” by Fr. James B. King - Moreau FYE Week One) Living in faith has helped me grow in a multi-faceted way, not only defining one part of me but all of me, it defines my decisions and actions, and If I did not have as strong a faith as I do, I don’t know where I would be now. It has allowed for me to encounter the hope needed to excel at the things I do best. I think everyone needs to have something that they believe in, which allows them to push through the hard times to achieve their goals. Notre Dame has helped me further define my beliefs and in turn my faith. I would like to think that it has been for the better, as I feel like I am able to encounter experiences that I was not able to handle when I first got here. Moreau’s first half has been a good experience, I don’t think without it I would not have been able to settle in as easily as I did to this school. It allows for reflection, a sort of buffer zone from the daily life of being here. The settling in process was very seamless, and as someone who came in a week after everyone that says something about this process. My experiences at the University has been going really well, and I know this will continue into the future. https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/health-and-wellness/letting-go-of-expectations/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23646/files/190575/download?download_frd=1