Integration #4 Professor Chan Spring Integration My Mission Statement The fight for freedom is not free. I believe freedom is not having the ability to do what you want, but the ability to do the right thing. This is something that is rare in our society today. My goal is to fight for the freedom of not only those in our nation, but everyone. I believe that everyone has the right to be free- to act and think as they should and can. I want to “use (my) degrees and education to make an impact in the world and in people’s lives.” (Notre Dame Domer Dozen, Notre Dame, Moreau FYE Week Two). Several groups around the world are constantly oppressed- their rights stripped from them. However, our world has been so numb to other people’s problems. We have become so self-centered. We have forgotten that we are not the only people that suffer. Humanity has turned suffering into an excuse to be able to dismiss other’s pain and bring all the attention onto our own. I want to remind the world of the real reasons behind suffering- redemption and growth. Without failure, suffering, pain, disappointment, and mistakes, we can never grow. I think one of the biggest things that need to change in order to promote the freedom of all is our perspective. “When I asked what she thinks the world should value, she answered ‘honesty, loyalty, selflessness, etc’. I realized then that these values in individual people are much more important than worldly values.” (Conversation Activity with my mom, Moreau Week Five). For others to experience love, affection, and care is one of my hopes for the future. Loyalty is one of the rarest characteristics in the world today, but I aim to change that. I strive to be loyal to my closest family, loved ones, friends, and myself. I want to be someone confident in https://domerdozen.nd.edu/ https://domerdozen.nd.edu/ themselves, in my ability to achieve the change that I am working towards. In order to do this, I know that I must cultivate hope and an excitement for the future- an openness and an optimism. “Like them we are burdened by the same struggles and beset by the same weaknesses; like them we are made new by the same Lord’s love; like them we hope for a world where justice and love prevail.” (Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, By the Congregation of Holy Cross, Week 12, Moreau FYE). I want to cultivate my compassion, empathy, and sympathy. I think that people are so harsh to each other because they are harsh on themselves. I want to change this and be kind to myself before anyone else so that I can give love to others once I know what it is to receive and accept love. To accept love from myself, my family, my friends, but most importantly, from God Himself. “....to begin thanking God and being more positive about the things that we had already, to be able to do things more gladly.” (5 Minutes, Grotto Network, Moreau FYE Week 6). One of the reasons why I joined Army ROTC was to be able to make a definitive change in our nation’s purpose to pursue freedom. I feel that I am able to relate to others that have the same mission, the same ‘why’- to fight for each other’s freedom. I believe surrounding yourself with like-minded minds is a way to continue to live our one’s mission. Although we may have the same ‘why’, we definitely do not have the same ‘how’. We are each different in the ways that we lead, follow, fail, and grow. This year in ROTC, I learned that nothing is “... a one-step process.” (Navigating Your Career Journey, Meruelo Center for Career Development, Moreau FYE Week Four). Everything takes time, patience, and persistence. However, it is also important to surround yourself with those that have a different mission and various ‘hows’. “There seems to be a lot of talk about isolating ourselves into ideological values. The worry seems to be in surrounding ourselves with people who agree with us, we are https://holycrosscongregation.org/holy-cross-resources/constitutions/2-mission/ https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ losing the sense of how someone might reasonably disagree with us.” (How to Avoid an Echo Chamber, by ThinkND, Moreau FYE Week 11). There is growth to be had by being with those that you do not agree with, or differ from in ideology. This is a significance place of growth that the world lacks- how to talk and treat people that disagree with you. Another thing that I have learned while being part of the batatillion is that, as leaders, we are also followers. There are times where I don’t know what to do, but the people that I am leading have ideas on how to complete the mission or have had experience with this specific problem. Because of this, I also learned that “Even though I had landed on their doorstep with plans to be “their helper,” they accompanied me, and during those first two years and the many intervening ones, I think I have learned – and am still learning– to accompany them as well.” (Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together , Steve Reifenberg, Moreau FYE Week 9). Even when we think that we are in charge, we are all in this together- we are each vital to the success of a mission. One way that I have learned to recenter myself is to reflect on everything that has been challenging me lately and how I’ve dealt with it- either good or bad. I also fight the internal battle of believing that “..if I take time off, I’ll be that much more hurried the rest of the time.” (Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives, Pico Iyer, Moreau FYE Week One). This is not true. This reflection is “... a means of appreciating the present and focusing on the future.” (Meet the nun who wants you to remember that you will die, Ruth Grahm, Moreau FYE Week Three). Through these reflections, I am able to notice things that I would not have if I didn’t take time to reflect. I am able to realize what consistently bothers me and how I react to things that trouble me. I am also able to recognize that I do have a purpose in life- I have a goal that I am aiming towards. This is especially helpful when I feel extremely unmotivated or that everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40288/modules/items/146064 https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html that I am doing is useless, that I am going nowhere. Through these reflections and my conversations with my closest friends and family that “.. I could not convince myself that God loved me. “You can ask Him to show you, though. And you can pay attention to the relationships where you know you’re loved.”’ (Growing up Gay and Catholic, Jacob Walsh, Moreau FYE Week 10). Through my conversations with my friends, and my faith, I am able to continue to pursue my goal of freedom- for everyone to be able to pursue the good. “Our sphere has widened, and we find ourselves, quite unexpectedly, in a new, expansive location, in a place of endless acceptance and infinite love. We’ve wandered into God’s own ‘jurisdiction’.” (Tattoos on the Heart, Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., Moreau FYE Week 7). https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/community/reflective-narrative-about-being-gay-and-catholic/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40288/files/524007/download?download_frd=1 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40288/files/524007/download?download_frd=1