Integration Assignment Moreau




Learning to Love, Grow, and Connect with Others

Root Belief 1: I believe that I am responsible for sharing my experiences to grow and connect.

I think this belief comes from my own experiences with learning from others in order to grow,

change, and adapt. Not only does the sharing of experiences allow us to grow intellectually, spiritually,

and morally as we can learn from what others have endured through, it also allows us to connect and

deepen our relationships with our fellow neighbors. In "The Power of Vulnerability", Brené Brown

mentions that “Connection is why we're here. It gives purpose and meaning to our lives” ("The Power of

Vulnerability" by Brené Brown, TedxHouston - Moreau FYE Week One). I see this as especially true as

without relationships and connections with others, our lives would be much more empty. Thus, it is our

responsibility to create these relationships in order to create purpose and meaning in our lives as without

purpose or meaning, why is our life unique and valuable. As a result, we must share our experiences to

fulfill our responsibility to connect and create relationships. In the “2021 Laetare Medalist Address”,

Carla Harris stated that “Your authenticity is your distinct competitive advantage” (“2021 Laetare

Medalist Address” by Carla Harris - Moreau FYE Week Five). I would like to expand this quote and say

that our collective authenticity is our distinct advantage. If we all collectively are authentic and share our

vast differences and experiences, I can only see humans benefiting and growing in all possible aspects as

we learn through the eyes of others. In “Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says that

“Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can

also be used to empower and to humanize” (“Danger of a Single Story,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,

TED - Moreau FYE Week Seven). I find this as a further reason as to why we should all share our

experiences and stories. By sharing stories, we allow others to see different perspectives and ideas, and

increase the possibility of our stories empowering and humanizing others as they are all out there for

others to see.

I think this root belief has mostly been affirmed by those in my life, however there have been

times where I questioned it myself, especially when I was younger. I often enjoyed figuring things out on

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=UjSwjn-SyB4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSwjn-SyB4
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story


my own and did not always like to hear advice from others, which sometimes was beneficial but often led

to more struggle than was necessary. As a result, in the past, I also thought that others did not need to hear

my experiences as I figured out things on my own, so they could as well. However, this not only stunts

our growth as we cannot learn from others or allow others to learn from us, but also stunts our ability to

connect with others. In addition, there are some things that are impossible to learn about and implement

into our lives if we do not connect and grow as a community. As George Ella Lyon says in his  "Where

I'm From" article, “Remember, you are the expert on you. No one else sees the world as you do; no one

else has your material to draw on” ("Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon - Moreau FYE Week Six).

Thus, we have to be vulnerable and share our experiences in order for others to be able to see the world as

we do. In general, I think we can see this belief in action anywhere, but one example could be my first

couple weeks at Notre Dame. For the first few days and weeks, it was difficult to form connections with

people as I knew two hundred names, hometowns, and majors but not much about who people were.

Through sharing past experiences and creating new ones over the following weeks, I was able to connect

more with people, and in turn I was able to learn and grow as a person by learning from others'

backgrounds and experiences. However, I am still reserved at times and would like to continue to grow in

this belief to become truly open in my experiences and allow others to hear what I have experienced.

Root Belief 2: I believe that we are made to help and love others.  (Week 4, Week 2, Week 3)

This belief of mine comes from a similar idea as one I mentioned earlier under my first belief, and

that was Brené Brown’s idea of how connection gives meaning and purpose to our lives. To further push

the idea towards helping and loving others, I see no real benefit in having a connection with others and

not helping and loving, as then having no connection at all would probably be more beneficial. The whole

point of connecting with someone, in my opinion, is to understand, help, and eventually love. By helping

and loving others, I also believe that we can easily start building towards a plethora of healthy

relationships as in "Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Relationships”, healthy relationships are described as ones

where people “respect each other. They can talk honestly and freely to each other and share power and

control over decisions. They trust and support each other” ("Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Relationships” by The

http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54da632be4b0c3a7f3a8a90d/t/55689339e4b0d6fc6b6e2f28/1432916793921/Healthy+vs+Unhealthy.pdf


Red Flag Campaign - Moreau FYE Week Four). If people help and love each other, I think it is natural

that they will eventually respect, trust, and support each other. Love also relates to our faith and in fact, as

Professor David Fagerberg states in “Faith Brings Light to a Dark World”, “To love is to will the good of

another [and] God …  commands us to love our neighbor” (“Faith Brings Light to a Dark World” by

Professor David Fagerberg, Grotto - Moreau FYE Week Three). Thus, loving not only brings out the best

in us, but also helps others embody goodness. In addition, loving and helping others builds up our

relationships with not only our fellow neighbors but also God.

I think this root belief has not been challenged in the sense that I or others find it to be incorrect,

but more in the sense that it is sometimes difficult to follow at all times. As David Brooks says in “Should

You Live for your Resume or Your Eulogy?”, “most of us …  would say that the eulogy virtues are the

more important of the virtues. But at least in my case, are they the ones that I think about the most? And

the answer is no” — eulogy virtues being virtues such as loving, helping others, and being moral (“Should

You Live for your Resume or Your Eulogy?” by David Brooks, TED - Moreau FYE Week Two). I find

the fact that so many of us do not think about these kinds of virtues constantly implies the idea that they

are not important. However, as I stated before, I agree with Brooks that eulogy virtues are more important

than resume virtues, but they are unfortunately sometimes pushed to the side with the hectic nature of life.

In terms of how this belief influences my actions, I try to be as helping to others and as loving as possible.

I try not to judge someone based on anything until I have a concrete reason to and once I get to know

them. I try to find time to help others with schoolwork or anything else they may need, and usually would

be doing some form of community service, however I have not had the time to begin this again here at

Notre Dame. Thus, I would like to continue to try to find opportunities to help others, hopefully find the

time to meaningfully engage in community service, and to think more about eulogy virtues by not being

caught up in the stresses of life all the time.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54da632be4b0c3a7f3a8a90d/t/55689339e4b0d6fc6b6e2f28/1432916793921/Healthy+vs+Unhealthy.pdf
https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/belief/faith-brings-light-to-dark-world/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau
https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/belief/faith-brings-light-to-dark-world/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau
https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/24970/modules/items/104937
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM
https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/24970/modules/items/104937