1. ‘Encountering Dissonance’ by Elizabeth Cox, Week 9 2. ‘Ecountering Brokeness’ by Pope Francis, Week 10 3. ‘Encountering Community’ by Pamer and Parker, Week 11 4. ‘Encountering Hope’ by Fthr James B King, Week 12 Moreau Integration What have I encountered and how will I respond? What are some of the most important questions I’ve asked this semester? Before arriving at Notre Dame, I set myself a series of goals that I wished to achieve throughout my time here. I set short term goals for the first semester, and long-term goals which included my first year and my full four years. Upon reflection on my first semester, I feel that I have achieved a lot of the goals that I set out to achieve, and I have also gained essential knowledge and insight which will allow me to set new goals for the semester ahead. One of these goals was that I wanted to re-engage with my spirituality, as this is something that was not a huge part of my life back home. I have always been curious about living a more religious life and how it may benefit me. I thought that there would be no better time nor place to attempt to reconnect with God as I transitioned to Notre Dame. I wanted to challenge myself to be more open- minded with my faith, and to try reconnecting with my faith journey. Through my motivation to become closer with God, I have begun to become involved with religious activities and posts on campus. Within my dorm I attend dorm masses every week and read at these masses, and I try to spend some time at the grotto every day to reflect and connect with myself. This gives me an opportunity to give back to my new home that has gratuitously welcomed me in. In Parker Palmer’s article from Week 11 3., he stated, ‘The fundamental aspect of community is giving back’. Through my spiritual journey, I have found a way to become a pillar in my new community which feels very rewarding. Furthermore, I have begun to go to bed twenty minutes earlier at night, to give myself time to reflect on the day that has just gone past through prayer, and I set mental goals and targets for the day that will follow. What I have come to realise about my faith is that even though I recognise that there may not be a God, the physical act of praying and being at one with myself and allowed me to grow immensely in my first few months here. Taking time out of my day to slow down and comprehend my thoughts has allowed me to find more solace in myself. I found a quote from Father James B King from Week 124. ‘Hope is trusting in the cross and God’s promise of the kingdom’ very interesting, as over these past few months through my trust in God and the cross, I have begun to be filled with more hope that each day will be better than the last. Ultimately, through my prayer and meditation, I have begun to have more faith in God, and more self- assuredness in myself. The ironic clarity that I have become more assured about these past few months is that I am still certain that I don’t know what I would like to do after university. As an incoming college student, I had a vague comprehension of what route I would take in my studies, and this feeling has still not changed after my first semester. I have a vague concept of what I would like to do after university, however it seems everyone around me knows exactly what they want to do and where they want to go. This has in turn enhanced my clarity that I don’t mind not knowing what I don’t want to do, as maybe no plan is the best plan. I thoroughly enjoy my classes and I am unbelievably happy to attend this fantastic university. My personal plan is to continue enjoying my classes and try to do the best that I can possibly do in each class. This way, I feel that my path will become clearer to me as I go deeper into my studies. One thing I have encountered here at Notre Dame is the sheer kindness of the people here on campus. This does not surprise me, as before attending Notre Dame I heard an awful lot about the strong, tight knit community, and how everyone is made to feel welcome. It reminds me of a quote 1. ‘Encountering Dissonance’ by Elizabeth Cox, Week 9 2. ‘Ecountering Brokeness’ by Pope Francis, Week 10 3. ‘Encountering Community’ by Pamer and Parker, Week 11 4. ‘Encountering Hope’ by Fthr James B King, Week 12 from Pope Francis from Week 10 2., ‘Show humility and kindness to those around you, it is the most important gift we have to give’. This holds very true, and it has been a huge source of comfort for me in my first few months. Although I am thousands of miles from home in Ireland, the ‘Fighting Irish’ community has made me feel right at home ‘under the dome’. My peers from Ireland have also been great in ensuring we all transition smoothly into this new life. We all act as a strong support system for each other, something that seems quite unique and special. The kindness and warmth that has been shown to me has only made me develop a gratuitous attitude, and a willingness to show the same warmth to others. The opportunity to give back to this amazing community is one that I plan to act on. One thing that took me by surprise was how intense the work would be. Due to covid and lockdowns, I graduated from my high school nearly two months early. This meant that I had a much longer summer and hence a long period of time away from work. When I began my studies here at Notre Dame, it was a reality check. In the beginning, I struggled with the sheer amount of work that I was being given, and I questioned whether I was even was capable of keeping up with the work here at Notre Dame. Everyone around me seemed to be dealing with the transition very well. This imposter syndrome I experienced was summarised pretty eloquently in this quote from Elizabeth Cox from Week 9 1., ‘People who are highly skilled or accomplished, tend to believe that others are more highly skilled than them, and they therefore do not deserve the same accolades or achievements’. This was exactly how I felt, however I realised that I needed to make a change if I wanted to succeed here at Notre Dame, and that I was accomplished enough to do so. I then began to become more strategic with the way I worked and set out a plan of how I would plan each day in order to be as productive as possible. I recognised the things that would prohibit me from being productive and found ways that I could combat them. Since working with this plan, I have begun to become more productive throughout my day, and grades in my classes have got a lot better. Through some reflection and strategising, I found an effective and efficient way to study and maximise my grades. This has in turn allowed me to be more comfortable day by day, as I have less stress and work on my shoulders. In conclusion, my time here at Notre Dame so far has been a beautiful whirlwind that I would not change for the world. Although there have been some tough times, I have already met some of the most fantastic people I have ever met, and I am unbelievably ecstatic to continue my four years here at this amazing university.