Anderson - Moreau Integration Two HGHM Anderson 1 Dr. Chan Moreau FYE 12/3/21 “Strength Rejoices in the Challenge”: Testing my Values in a New Environment Below are some of the things I have encountered during my journey here at the University of Notre Dame. 1) I have solidified my belief that community is essential. One must have good peers but also good mentors. I thought Palmer's article on community was very interesting (Moreau FYE experience week eleven). I had never heard the term community defined in such a way before. I thought he touched on several interesting ideas: the need for leadership yet the problem with leaders, the importance of patience, the merit of suffering, the realization that community cannot be a paradise, the dangers of having an aversion to weakness, and the idea that you cannot be intimate with everyone. I particularly found the idea that community is a gift as opposed to a human product interesting. We so often try to control the community or create programs that will enhance the community of an organization. I just thought this was an interesting point that relationships and human community are a gift that has been given to us as opposed to something we created and can thus control and redefine. There is a tendency to believe that college is the time to depart from rules and tradition and go your own way. While there is truth to the idea that you need to take charge of your life, I believe it is not right to rebel against tradition. In fact, I think experience, formation, advice, and HGHM Anderson 2 faith are all extremely necessary pillars to succeed in college and in life. They provide direction so that one can better avoid disaster and seek the good. Thus, I believe a strong community is one in which you can find both peers and mentors. I have found such a community at the Notre Dame de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. 1) I have been affirmed in my belief that true education cultivates the mind and heart. Education is more than schooling, it is the cultivation of another’s soul The final unit of Moreau FYE was my favorite unit we covered this year. I thought both of the texts were very enriching. I enjoyed learning more about Moreau’s life through “Hope - Holy Cross and Christian Education” by Fr. James B. King, C.S.C. (Moureau FYE Week Twelve). I loved his definition that education is the art of helping young people to completeness. Education is meant to be enriching and focused on the genuine good and fulfillment of the learner. I thought it was interesting when the article said that Moreau could have been a prominent theologian if he had devoted himself more to scholarship, but instead he devoted himself towards being a teacher and evangelizing through education. I found this interesting because it reveals that sometimes one's vocation is to choose something that is not as prestigious per se but equally valuable. The Church of course needs good theologians, but it also needs good teachers. This reinforces the fact that not everyone is called to the same mission and that many different vocations can be equally fulfilling. They are all necessary. This gives hope because we are each called to a different purpose but our combined vocations together can truly impact the world for the good. We only need to choose to use our gifts and talents as God intended. https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104241 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104241 HGHM Anderson 3 2) I have learned that reducing people to “victims” does not do justice to their humanity. We can learn from failure and we can overcome suffering. In his article on “Should Catholic Schools Teach Critical Race Theory,” Devron states, “it can guide school leaders to resist overly zealous efforts to expunge from syllabi novels such as To Kill A Mockingbird because they use offensive language, rather than understanding the higher value of the universal theme and moral lesson that this literature teaches. Such efforts to remove or censor this literature ignore and even insult the capacity of students to recognize the good, the true and the beautiful in cultures, identities and social backgrounds different from their own” (“Should Catholic Schools Teach Critical Race Theory?” by Christopher J. Devron, S.J., America Magazine- Moreau FYE Week Ten). I think this is an interesting point. It reminds me of the victimhood unit that we did earlier in the year which explored how reducing people to a single story - one of oppression, reduces their humanity, dignity, and depth. Humans have the capacity to overcome great evil and suffering. Hence, they also have the capacity and gift to recognize good and evil in specific contexts. That is part of the beauty of literature. You can witness the strengths and faults of characters, the good and bad parts of human nature, great suffering and great heroism all from the pages of a book. It is part of the gift of our mind to be able to sift through experiences and information and be able to filter the good from the bad. This ability to filtrate illuminates that one truly has internalized the truths about human nature and morality. It reveals a depth of the mind and heart. I have personally found literature to be the most beneficial subject in teaching me about myself, the world, and what goodness should look like. https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104215 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104215 HGHM Anderson 4 3) I have learned that perfection is not a standard one should live by. However, I believe one should still have standards. I strongly believe that our work is valuable not for what awards it can receive but what it does to our character. The unit on imposter syndrome illustrated the negative effects of unhealthy expectations and views of success. However, this leads one to ask what is a healthy view of expectations, accomplishments, and the individual? Julia Hogan offers her solution: “Instead of letting your life be defined by the grades you get or the promotions you earn, what if you focused on living a balanced life full of friends, family, work, and leisure?” ("Why Letting Go of Expectations is a Freeing Habit" by Julia Hogan, Grotto- Moreau FYE Week Nine). I think the key word here is “defined”. Grades or promotions are not bad goals. However, problems arise when they are the main or only thing by which you define your worth. Human beings are so much more than machines that accomplish laudable tasks. Our worth and dignity cannot be summed up by a number or a certificate. I think balance is important. I agree that we can’t live according to the expectation of perfection (which is often fueled by an achievement based culture) because we inevitably will fall short of this goal as we are not perfect. However, this does not mean I don't believe we should strive to achieve greatness or that quality work should be rewarded. I do indeed believe that there are expectations by which we should live. However, I also believe society has perverted these expectations. I think we should always strive for the highest goal, but a goal that feeds the soul. You should do well in your studies for the sake of learning and the enrichment you can receive, not for the perfect GPA. Your studies can still be fulfilling if you put effort into learning them, even if you don't receive a perfect grade. Similarly, a grade on a paper can on the surface indicate that you achieved a great accomplishment, when in reality you https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104200 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104200 HGHM Anderson 5 put little effort into that class. However, this class would not be as fulfilling because of this lack of effort and interest, even if you still “achieved” a high grade. Work is valuable. There are still standards for a good, fulfilling life. However, these standards should be rooted in something more fulfilling than the arbitrary trends of society. Things like virtue, religion, family, and morality as opposed to a slip of paper or an averaged number. 4) I have realized It is much easier to complain than it is to be hopeful or joyful. However, joy and hope give one more fulfillment. Palmer, in his article on community, talks about how people can always find something to complain about in any situation. He connects this to leadership:“It takes a deeply grounded leader—a leader with a source of identity independent of how popular he or she is with the group being led—to hold a space in which people can discover their resources while those same people resist, angrily accusing the leader of not earning his or her keep” (“Thirteen Ways of Looking at Community” by Parker J. Palmer, Center for Courage and Renewal - Moreau FYE Week Eleven). Palmer talked about how people often complain about leaders. He describes a situation where a teacher must teach children and is presented with the difficult situation of finding a balance between guiding and teaching the students their own knowledge and allowing time for the students to discover information themselves. He talked about how parents would complain either that their children weren't learning enough from the teacher or weren't being allowed to express themselves enough. This scenario reminded me of how easy it is to complain. We do it all the time. Regardless of the outcome of a situation or people's behavior we can always find something to critique or complain about. However, though it is easy to complain, it is much https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104233 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104233 HGHM Anderson 6 harder to do something about those complaints or honestly, just be positive. Hence, perhaps we should strive to produce real good and joy (which can also be found in embracing sacrifices) instead of just attacking and complaining about the world's shortcomings. One such example of this joy in the wake of suffering is the women in the video on Kintsugi (“Women Find Healing Through Kintsugi Workshop” by Grotto - Moreau FYE Week Ten). I thought this video was very interesting. I think it shows that art can have a definite impact on one's life. It can be a source of healing and a means for one to experience transcendence. I liked the concept of reconstructing broken poetry with gold to make something that was broken more beautiful than ever. I think this is a much healthier mentality than the idea that everything should always be perfect or that once something is broken it is irredeemable. She talked about how she wants people to know that their hearts are also breakable, but that this is a good thing because it shows that one loves. Furthermore, heartbreak allows for one to grow and expand as one heals. I think this is in line with the idea of redemptive suffering. Our pain is not the end. We can transform our broken, suffering lives into beautiful works of art through “gold” or the love and grace of God. This idea of hope, joy, suffering, and God’s grace is beautifly explored in C.S Lewis’ Screwtape Letters: “Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys” (“The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis - Moreau FYE Week Twelve). I love this quote. It is inspiring, moving, piercing, and beautiful. It reveals the true power and depth of hope. Hope is trust despite uncertainty and suffering -trust in God specifically. In Lewis‘s rendition, it is a virtue that causes the devils to fear. In real life, hope is https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104212 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/23692/modules/items/104246 HGHM Anderson 7 one of those things that allows humans to experience a supernatural and transcendent emotion. The ability to still trust in God despite all the suffering around you and furthermore, to use that suffering as sanctification and a way to increase in virtue and character, or as Lewis puts it, unite yourself to God, is incredibly reassuring and powerful. It is testament to the beauty of the good. Hope is often associated with optimism and positivity, but interestly enough hope occurs in the face of darkness. It exists because our world is fallen. It is a response to suffering that is so beautiful and powerful, it inspires goodness. HGHM Anderson 8