Moreau Integration


A Journey of Beliefs

Root Belief #1: I believe that I grow by keeping my mind open.
This belief has been cultivated through much self-exploration. When I first got to Notre Dame I
had a difficult time making friends. I didn’t have many people who were my own age and I felt
some freshmen were a little immature. This made me start closing myself off to plans and trying
to meet new people. I tried to focus on the good and ignore all the negative things about myself
because it felt good. Once I decided to open up and accept the emotions I didn’t enjoy, that was
when I started to make friends and grow. “You can't say, Here's the bad stuff. Here's
vulnerability, here's grief, here's shame, here's fear, here's disappointment. I don't want to feel
these.” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One). This video
really spoke to me because this was similar to the self-reflection that I went through about myself
about letting myself be vulnerable and be myself. Another reason I believe this is because of my
experiences playing competitive golf. There was a period where I stagnated in my Sophomore
year of high school and I was playing well but I wasn’t really improving. This was a difficult
time for me because it made me question my belief that I needed to keep an open mind to grow
and improve. No matter what I would do, I tried new golf clubs, a different approach to the golf
swing. I even tried to change the way I approach the game but I couldn’t seem to improve. I kept
an open mind, looked at everything but nothing helped. Finally, it was by seeing where the
fundamental problem was with my game (my mental game) that allowed me to break through the
barrier and reach the next level. I think it is best characterized by this quote from our video in our
second week of the course. “You go into yourself, you find the sin which you've committed over
and again through your life, your signature sin out of which the others emerge, and you fight that
sin and you wrestle with that sin, and out of that wrestling, that suffering, then a depth of
character is constructed” (“Should you live for your resume … or your eulogy ” by David
Brooks - Moreau FYE Week Two).

Root Belief #2: I believe that my home shaped who I am.
I grew up in Singapore, I moved there when I was 2 years old and I lived there until I was 20. I
served 2 years in the Singapore Military, which taught me a lot about who I am as a person. I
think this relates best to the letter written by Father Sorin to Father Basil Moreau. The sense of
purpose I felt while serving my country was similar to the way in the letter the Brother went up
to the altar and tried to fulfill his purpose to his dying breath (Letter to Fr. Basil Moreau ” by Fr
Sorin - Moreau FYE Week Five). This belief has been challenged multiple times throughout my

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o56woQDq3QrRkziT8eYrvYly5CQaP2Vb/view


life. In the Military, I felt as though I didn’t fit in sometimes because I went to an international
school rather than a local school. So sometimes they acted like I wasn’t Singaporean. However,
when I came here I found I really identified with my home and the experience that I had. It made
me realize that the person I am at Notre Dame, the little inside jokes I have with my friends
about the way I pronounce “Blueberry” reminds me that my home really shaped who I am. I
think I characterized this best in my poem inspired by George Ella Lyon: “I am from the red dot,
Where size isn’t a restriction, I am from the city, From hustle and bustle” ( Where I’m From
Poem by George Ella Lyon (quote from ’s poem) - Moreau FYE Week Six). I chose
this quote specifically because I think the fact I used to live in the city is part of the reason why I
can enjoy the beauty of Notre Dame’s campus. It gives me time to slow down a little and just
think about how nice it is to be here.

Root Belief #3. I believe that I pursue truth by looking at different perspectives
I think this belief was cultivated during my time in high school along with the way my parents
raised me. I used to disagree with some of the religious traditions that my family would follow,
not being able to understand what was the reason behind it. My family encouraged me to
research different faiths to try and understand what values our Hindu religion was trying to teach.
This is why I am an agnostic now. The quote that I think characterizes this best is “I came to find
that the concept of loyalty, for example, has many degrees of understanding in the world--and
that people act according to their understanding of things” (Student Reflections on Faith by
Mariana Class of 23’ - Moreau FYE Week Three). I found that by seeing many perspectives of
religious beliefs I could have my own definition of the truth of what God and faith are. I think
that my experience of going to my first mass at Notre Dame helped to confirm this belief. I took
it as a learning experience and was able to see many of the same values taught in Hinduism that
my parents follow in the Sermons given by Fr Gerry. This belief was challenged in high school.
There was an incident of misconduct between a male friend of mine and a female where from my
perspective the female was clearly at fault. At this point, my belief was challenged because of
my emotions. I refused to think about the other side of the story and I think that was a mistake. I
do understand where it comes from though. In the reading for our 7th week in Moreau, I
understood why this belief was challenged by David Brooks’ description of Donald Trump: “He
gets away with his lies because he tells stories of dispossession that feel true to many of them.”
(How to destroy truth by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week Seven). Now whenever I listen to
an argument, political debate, or even see news of war. I think about both perspectives before
trying to conclude who is right or wrong and what is true.

http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html
http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YVemqUBaAs5DNBPYm806TyQZr3F0xElP/view
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/opinion/patriotism-misinformation.html


Root Belief #4. I believe that forging life-giving relationships is key to happiness
I am an extroverted person. I naturally derive all my energy from the people around me. I have
always been like this and I really enjoy it. I had an experience with a toxic friendship in high
school which confirmed this belief. The reading (5 Signs You are In a Toxic Friendship by Olivia
Taylor - Moreau FYE Week Four) that we did in week 4 was especially interesting to me because
when I read about characteristics of toxic relationships I realized just how toxic the friendship
was. I found this to be true about that past friendship: “Rest assured, you will eventually be
dragged into a dramatic situation with this friend and they will definitely talk about you behind
your back.” I really value my friends and that is why I think loyalty and honesty are important
when being a good friend. These characteristics help me to form life-giving relationships rather
than toxic ones. There have been times when I have had a falling out with my friends and that the
relationships are not causing me happiness, but these are isolated events and I think that as a
whole I am happier when I am with my friends and I have good relationships that can last
distance, time without talking or small disagreements. This is exactly why I always do whatever
I can to help my friends when they need it or cheer them up when they are feeling down. I spent
two hours coloring with a friend a few weeks ago to help him get over some stress. I know how
happy it makes me so I try my best to do the same for them.



https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/