Integration One Integration One Eight Weeks at Notre Dame: A Reflection on Identity, Faith, and Social Responsibility It’s widely believed that college is one of the most formative times in a person’s life, and already, I can see why. After just half of a semester at Notre Dame, I’ve had a variety of unique experiences, I’ve learned an abundance of knowledge both inside and outside of the classroom, and I’m actively seeking opportunities to foster my own personal growth. Throughout my quest for self-discovery during my first few weeks here, I’ve identified three root beliefs that shape who I am at this point in time: (1) I believe that I am searching for a concrete identity and way of defining myself, (2) I believe that I grow by maintaining and engaging with my faith, and (3) I believe that I have a responsibility to look out for those around me. My first root belief, that I am searching for a concrete identity and way of defining myself, comes from the fact that I think it’s important to know who you are, and right now, I don’t think I fully know who I am. This belief influences my actions by causing me to encounter new things so that I might discover something new about myself. I’ve made an effort to meet new people, experience new activities and events, and gain new knowledge in an attempt to learn more about who I am. This belief has also played an important role in my Notre Dame experiences so far. By going to different club meetings, I’ve been able to find out some of things that I like and dislike. For example, by going to QuizBowl practices, I’ve learned that I’m passionate about academic competition and that I enjoy being surrounded by others that share my love of trivia. On the other hand, after attending a few BajaSAE meetings, I realized that I’m not really interested in the inner workings of something like a car, which has been causing me to rethink my intended major of mechanical engineering. I’ve also taken time for myself to do things like walk around the lakes over the weekends. This has allowed me to learn how much I appreciate the beauty and peacefulness of nature, which is something I never realized before. I think it can be easy to sometimes just assume that we know who we are without actually thinking about it. In class we talked a lot about the impact of social media and how people’s Instagram pages make it seem like they have their lives all figured out. However, it’s important to realize that although someone looking at my profile online might think they know me, the truth is that I don’t even know everything there is to know about myself. Additionally, during this transition into college, it would be easy to continue to be the same person I was in high school and not make an effort to branch out and try new things, but if I took this approach, I wouldn’t get to learn anything new about myself or come any closer to defining who I am. Based on the remarks of Dr. Brené Brown, in order to truly find out who I am, it’s essential to be vulnerable, because vulnerability will allow me to be my authentic self and to find out where I belong (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One). Additionally, based on David Brooks’ perspective, part of learning who I am means learning about both my internal and external self. Not only is it important for me to explore externalities like academic success, but I also need to take time to consider internal concepts like love and forgiveness (“Should you live for your résumé ... or your eulogy?” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week Two). Writing a Where I’m From Poem provided me with a start on my search for my identity by reminding me about who I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&list=PLmiPsabET-W_hjesjTZaITh2s1WbM-Kd0&index=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&list=PLmiPsabET-W_hjesjTZaITh2s1WbM-Kd0&index=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM am in terms of my past, from the important people and places in my life to the sayings and ideals that have guided me (“Where I'm From” by George Ella Lyon - Moreau FYE Week Six), but now, my task is to continue to search for myself. I’ve learned that I need to be vulnerable and that I need to consider the internal and external facets of who I am, so, under the direction of my root belief that I am searching for a concrete identity, I plan to use this knowledge to take advantage of the opportunities here at Notre Dame to learn more about myself and come closer to being able to define who I am. My second root belief, that I grow by maintaining and engaging with my faith, comes from the fact that faith has always been a significant part of my life. This comes primarily from my family, but also from the development of my own values. In class we took time to discuss the people in our lives that we think of when it comes to faith, and similar to many of my peers, my parents and grandparents were the ones that instilled faith in me. My belief in the importance of faith was challenged over this past summer when I wasn’t attending mass every week, but soon after arriving at Notre Dame, my root belief was restored and strengthened. Some of my experiences here have included going to Sunday and Monday masses in my dorm and visiting the Grotto, and in addition to these religious experiences, my faith has given me an opportunity to grow. For one, I’ve volunteered to be a lector at my dorm masses, which allows me to participate in service. I’ve also been able to make connections from my studies to my faith. For instance, reading the bible for my theology class has allowed me to be more cognizant of the readings during mass and to be a more active listener to the homily, so my faith is truly allowing me to carry out Father Moreau’s goal for the Holy Cross education: to learn and grow in terms of both faith and reason and never cultivate the mind at the expense of the heart (“Two Notre Dames: Your Holy Cross Education” by Fr. Kevin Grove - Moreau FYE Week Five). Perhaps most importantly, I’ve also learned that faith is about community. Just by going to mass and taking the initiative to sit next to someone new, I’ve made several friends, and we’re able to have a closer relationship because we have the connection of a shared faith. One final noteworthy aspect of faith comes from Father Pete, and it is the idea of hope and knowing that the challenges we face will pass (“The Role of Faith in Our Story” by Fr. Pete McCormick - Moreau FYE Week Three). Being able to recognize that hardships will eventually pass is essential to growth and progress. Overall, my root belief that I grow by maintaining and engaging with my faith influences my actions by not only encouraging me to say prayers and go to mass, but also by encouraging me to be a better person and try to do a good deed when I can. Based on what I’ve learned about faith from the Moreau course content and my experiences at Notre Dame so far, my goal is to strive for personal growth by continuing to engage with faith, actively seeking community, and always remaining hopeful. My third and final root belief, that I have a responsibility to look out for those around me, stems from the idea of everyone being accountable for each other. Just as I try to look out for others, I would want others to look out for me and to offer help if I needed it. This belief is very much based on the culture here at Notre Dame. In class we talked about how we are supposed to be “our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers”. There’s also the concept of being an active bystander and following the “direct, delegate, distract” approach (“It's On Us ND- The Three D's of Being an Active Bystander” by the Student Athletes at the University of Notre Dame - Moreau FYE Week Four). Additionally, there’s the emphasis on greeNDot and the saying “No one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something” when it comes to being a bystander. Based on http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=859bc1a8-0d0f-4eb4-a1c1-d0a45c429187 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcZMeqWWOIs https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qk5iI7HctYydSB3xYZs5hNClJ-uo5Hq4/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qk5iI7HctYydSB3xYZs5hNClJ-uo5Hq4/view this information, there is clearly a high value placed on looking out for each other on campus. In terms of my experiences here, I’ve had nothing but positive interactions with my rector and RA, and I feel that they both care about my well-being and truly want what’s best for me. Again, this shows the importance of looking out for others and the expectation that everyone is doing their part. However, the belief that I have a responsibility to look out for those around me is easily challenged by my own thoughts like, if I don’t need any help, why should I try to help others?, but this is not the right approach. Even if I don’t need someone’s help at one time, I may need it some other time, and regardless, I still need to look out for those around me and do what I can if someone needs me. Looking out for others is about more than just being an active bystander or caring about someone else, rather it also involves being inclusive and being open. In class, we talked a lot about the importance of being an ally, and through the course content I also learned about the danger of implicit bias and the way that we unconsciously discriminate against people (“How to Think about ‘Implicit Bias’” by Keith Payne, Laura Niemi, and John M. Doris - Moreau FYE Week Seven). By these standards, looking out for others also means being there for support and advocacy and actively making an effort to recognize possible discrimination and avoid it. Based on my root belief that I have a responsibility to look out for those around me, I plan to continue to grow by applying what I’ve learned and to make more of an effort to help others, be inclusive and supportive, and be an ally. Overall, I have three root beliefs, which stem from my own personal experiences, my Notre Dame experiences, and the Moreau course content: (1) I am searching for a concrete identity and way of defining myself, (2) I grow by maintaining and engaging with my faith, and (3) I have a responsibility to look out for those around me. Throughout the second half of my first semester (and my college years as a whole), I plan to use these beliefs and everything that I’ve learned so far to attain personal growth. To combine my root beliefs with the goal of growth, my plans for the future are to continue to broaden my horizons to new experiences, continue to engage with faith and community, and finally to seek to help others when I can and work towards being an ally. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-think-about-implicit-bias/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/keith-payne/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/laura-niemi/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/john-m-doris/