Integration Integration Moreau 10/15 How does Want to be Remembered? I believe that my purpose is to become the best version of myself while at college. I have an excellent background that I know was created by my family and specifically by my parents. Now that I am off to college and on my own, I must continue to challenge myself and create that version of that I want to be. I think that starts with humbling myself and looking into where I may fall short of my desires. The idea of humbling ourselves leads into week one, referring to vulnerability. I must be vulnerable and look into those things in my life that I don't like about myself and work on them. Working on something that I try to hide is very difficult and scary for me. This leads into a quote that I found in week one, "I learned this from research is that you cannot successfully numb emotion." ("The Power of Vulnerability" by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One) I take this and understand that you cannot hide from your downfalls. It might be easy to try and numb or turn away from the things that I do that aren't perfect. If I want to become my best self, I need to accept these negative emotions, embrace them, and fix them. This will create a baseline for me to build up my version of myself from the ground up. This leads into the second week, where we discussed our strengths and weaknesses as people. My top three strengths were honesty, spirituality, and leadership. When I look deeper into these traits, it reminds me of where I developed them. I created these from my family and being the youngest of five. That reminded me of a quote from week two that says, "Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we must be saved by love." ("Should you live for your Resume" by David Brooks- Moreau FYE Week Two) I wouldn't say a loved one necessarily saved me, but my loved ones are the ones who allowed me to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM accomplish these traits. These top three traits are essential to keep in mind when I am searching for my best self. Keeping these traits at the top and developing others will be crucial to my development. Building off of one of my strengths is spirituality. In week three, we discussed how we see faith through our world. For me, faith is vital, and my spirituality is one of my main focuses when trying to develop my best self. Being away from home, you have more freedom, and some things for me, like going to church every Sunday, might not be my main focus. To become my best self, I must focus on making it to mass every Sunday and devoting time to God so he can help me in the pursuit of my best self. I have been very good at this so far, and I must continue to work at it. Also, a quote from this week stands out, "Hope directs our desire toward its true end, which is the kingdom of heaven." ("The Role of Faith in Our Story" by Pete McCormick- Moreau FYE Week Three)My faith is rooted in hope, but I believe it is more than that. I hope to make it into the kingdom of heaven in the end, but if I want to make it there, I must continue developing my faith and who I want to become. This allows hope to turn into an excitement for the Kingdom of Heaven. In week four, we discussed what it means to be and create life-long relationships. Going off to college was a serious concern of mine. I have a serious girlfriend from high school with whom I believe I have created a life-giving relationship. The idea of being away from her for such long periods made me nervous. This is something that I was going to have to find a solution to. Focusing on calling her daily and checking in has kept my priorities in line and allows me to continue to focus on what it means to be my best self. If I didn't make this a priority, I could have turned it into a toxic relationship. An example of how this could've turned into a toxic relationship is explained in this quote, "Sometimes the seemingly minor plan cancellations can lead to major disappointments in your friendship like if they bail on going with you to a social event where you won't know anyone else" ("5 Signs You're in a Toxic Friendship" by Olivia Taylor- Moreau FYE Week Four) If I were to not focus on our agreement of calling each other https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcZMeqWWOIs https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ everyday, it will lead to disappointment and eventually the downfall of our relationship. Instead, I work hard at this, and our relationship continues to grow. In week five, we discussed how our life stories shape our journeys. I found this to be something that I can relate to very easily. The majority of my stories have revolved around sports and cabin weekends. Sports have allowed me to develop skills that might not always be attainable by others. It has also led me into challenges that I may not have wanted to face. The quote, "God did not give us the spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind" ("2021 Laetare Medalist Address" by Carla Haris- Moreau FYE Week Five) I find this to be very important when it comes to sports. I tend to get nervous and uneasy before games. I need to work on giving my anxieties to God if I want to become my best self. If I sit around doing all the worrying, I take out God's role in my life, and God can do more in my life than I can. In week six, we discussed where we are from. I chose to write about my cabin because this is where the majority of my happiest memories were made. Cabin weekends are a place where my previous identity was created. This is where I spent most of my time with my family and growing my relationships with them. There are countless stories that I have learned from and have been allowed to make while at my cabin. I believe the best version of myself is on full display while I am there. I have encountered many different outdoor tasks and projects, and I believe this makes me unique. I have learned a lot from my father over the years, and I believe these qualities are ones that I will use for the rest of my life. With that being said, it is hard to continue to grow those while off at college, but I believe I use them in my daily life while here. In our last week, we discussed the challenges of a single story. I think in my case, this has to do with stereotypes. Being a football player here at Notre Dame comes with glory but also judgments. Something that I am going to do while here is trying to break some of those stereotypes. There are some negative stereotypes built around athletes and specifically football players. My goal is to create a version of myself where I am remembered as first and a football player second. I think the first thing this requires is making friends outside of football and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSwjn-SyB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSwjn-SyB4 building those relationships. One issue I have with stereotypes comes from a quote from that week, "it isn't nice to think we aren't very nice" ("How to Destroy Truth" by Chimamanda Ngozi- Moreau FYE Week Seven). We, as people, I believe are not as nice as we should be. I think part of this is that we judge people before we get to know them and off of stereotypes. Instead, if we give people the benefit of the doubt and get to know them, I think we as a society would be much nicer, allowing people to grow into who they want to be. When it comes to becoming who I want to be and how I want to be remembered, I must first remember my past. I need to focus on what qualities allowed me to succeed and which didn't. Then I need to take those positive qualities and allow them to grow in the present. Following those traits will allow me to become who I want to be and develop new characteristics. Finally, I need to enable the future to unfold and take new experiences as learning lessons and not judge them before I experience them. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/opinion/patriotism-misinformation.html?referringSource=articleShare