Akinsanya_Moreau First Year Experience Integration One Assignment Fall 2021 Discovering My New Identity I believe that I am searching for new relationships and ways to adapt to the Notre Dame community and culture. I believe this because the transition from high school to college proved to be unexpectedly different from what I had imagined. The anxiety of a new environment, meeting new people, and the overall uncertainty of what I would encounter filled my mind for the first few days. However, I started to build new relationships due to hall programming events during welcome week which enabled me to meet new people who had different interests and were from various backgrounds. Drawing from the quote; “There was only one variable that separated the people who had a strong sense of love and belonging and those who really struggle for it … They believe they are worthy”(“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One), I had to develop a sense of courage to show authenticity and connect with others. To form new relationships, I discovered that I must embrace vulnerability which is the willingness to be eccentric and to live in the moment. I began to meet people with similar interests (i.e., my intended major) and joined the non-competitive tennis team. I had found a new way to immerse myself in the Notre Dame community which included intentionally seeking opportunities in getting to know new people. One of the experiences that introduced me to the Notre Dame culture was the movie, “Rudy” which highlighted the Notre Dame dream and the need for perseverance, which helps to foster the growth of an individual. This influenced my thought process/actions as I recognized that I needed this trait to succeed at Notre Dame and anywhere in life. Drawing from student reflections on faith ("Student Reflections on Faith", curated by Campus Ministry - Moreau FYE Week Three), faith is shown to help “form and strengthen relationships … and develop what it means to live intentionally”. Faith being a major relevant part of the Notre Dame https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YVemqUBaAs5DNBPYm806TyQZr3F0xElP/view?usp=sharing community, I must incorporate the lifestyle of developing my faith to build new bonds. To develop my faith, going to mass became a way of adapting to the culture while drawing closer to God to show gratitude, and show commitment. A sense of belonging was created from this experience as I made new connections and felt accepted into a brotherhood at the Alumni Hall. I still believe that there are new ways I can adapt to the Notre Dame community and culture, and I plan to adopt the concept of vulnerability by participating in volunteering and new recreational activities such as table tennis, new clubs, or something that challenges me. I hope to continue going to mass to deepen my faith and strengthen my relationship with God and wholeheartedly live purposely. I believe that I forge life-giving relationships by demonstrating respect, trust, support, and investing in something positive. I believe it is important to build healthy friendships that are based on these values where life-giving relationships are where we can all mutually grow together. This is evident in my experience of meeting my new roommate after transitioning into Notre Dame. This relationship is one I believe will be life-giving as we support each other and therefore created an environment where we can both learn and encourage each other in our endeavors. This feeling is also extended to the Alumni community, where welcome week established a meaningful environment based on mutual respect and honesty. As a result, I made a photo essay based on the experiences and relationships I have formed in Alumni Hall for my Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric class to highlight the significance of being accepted into Alumni and reinforcing my sense of belonging. Drawing from the text explaining the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships("Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Relationships", by The Red Flag Campaign - Moreau FYE Week Four), healthy relationships are usually grounded on honest/fruitful conversations, support, trust, and comfort while having dependence as opposed to unhealthy relationships based on https://drive.google.com/a/nd.edu/file/d/0B93cIKOnINCLS1JpUzZ5Q1JseGs/view?usp=sharing control, disrespect, dishonesty and a sense of dependence. A life-giving relationship would be healthy and enjoyable where we all can care for each other and grow to become better versions of ourselves. I believe that in order to forge a life-giving relationship, I must build a depth of character which correlates with two sides of our natures, specifically Adam 2, which is “built by fighting your weaknesses”(“Should You Live for Your Resume or Your Eulogy?” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week Two). According to the video, the suffering from fighting our weaknesses constructs a depth of character to which one of my weaknesses is the anxiety about meeting new people. Therefore, I must be willing to confront my fears and build these values required for a life-giving relationship. Adam II deals with moral logic, which is the humble side of our nature where I must also be willing to lose myself to find myself and give to receive. I hope to grow by taking the first initiatives in starting conversations with my classmates, try to form study groups with people of similar interests to build a relationship where we all benefit from by learning from each other, engage in recreational activities, discover more clubs, find a new interest/hobby. I believe that my purpose is to be a contributing part of the Holy Cross Education and to give back to the community. An integral part of being at Notre Dame is to get a quality education, but it can be much more when I can purposefully use my education. Drawing from the quote “Education - a work of resurrection”( "Two Notre Dames: Your Holy Cross Education" by Fr. Kevin Grove, C.S.C. - Moreau FYE Week Five) which was Father Moreau’s vision to make education a way to become a beacon of hope and change. The experience of getting a Notre Dame education became more meaningful to me, as I can use this education to impact people’s lives and improving their situations. I can also apply faith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=859bc1a8-0d0f-4eb4-a1c1-d0a45c429187 into every part of my life and getting a quality education, which would bring about understanding God’s purpose for me and how I can use my talents. The purpose of giving back what I have learned to benefit the community reminded me of my roots and what/those that led me here. I started to identify my influences and everyone that has impacted/formed me to this point in which I want to give back to them in a substantial way( "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon - Moreau FYE Week Six). Drawing from this text; “No one else sees the world as you do; no one else has your material to draw on. You don't have to know where to begin. Just start. Let it flow. Trust the work to find its own form”, I was able to gain insight and reflect on my influences. Starting from Africa to Family to Christianity, then a transition to Milwaukee, and finally to Notre Dame and Alumni Hall. The experiences from welcome week to waking up early for classes to brotherhood all reinforce the feelings of giving back to a community that has given me so much. I haven’t had the opportunity to give back to the Notre Dame community, but I hope to continue my education with the insight of Father Moreau’s vision and plan to give back to the community by volunteering and donating my time on improving the campus, participate in fundraiser events, and donate when I can. I also hope to donate my time to teaching others, skills I know to improve the learning environment/process and practice eco-friendly behaviors. I believe that I pursue truth by recognizing my implicit biases and gaining new perspectives I believe this because it is important to realize when we make judgments based on a single perspective or stereotype. Sharing a single perspective repeatedly creates stereotypes that tell incomplete stories, and we often believe them. Drawing from the quote: “We all can be victims of implicit bias… we notice patterns and make generalizations”( "How to Think About 'Implicit Bias'", by Keith Payne, http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-think-about-implicit-bias/ Laura Niemi, and John M. Doris - Moreau FYE Week Seven), one can infer that we tend to overgeneralize due to implicit biases and often are unintentional. Though my peers might have made implicit biases based on my race, I have often made implicit biases on people based on their race/gender to which I want to change that by being open-minded and make the effort in listening to multiple perspectives. During daily interactions with my peers, I plan to become consciously aware of the implicit bias I possess and work against them by starting to treat people fairly and only consider their experiences. I also hope to assess people only on their characteristics/values rather than the racial/social group they are associated with. While understanding that implicit biases are unintentional, I plan on resisting them continually and remain open-minded to foster good relationships and pursue the truth.