Mercado 1 FA21-FYS-10101-107 Nhat Nguyen 15 October 2021 Time Cultivates and Nourishes the Soul David Kekich once said, “Cherish time. Your most valuable resource. You can never make up the time you lose. The most important choices you’ll ever make are how you use your time.” A root belief that I hold is that time is the most precious thing we have at our disposal. Throughout these past seven weeks, I have found my other root beliefs relating to that statement in distinct ways. In the first week of Moreau, we discussed the importance of vulnerability and how the lack thereof contributes to lessened experiences throughout our life. A root belief I had prior to this module was that we are made to be vulnerable because it improves our understandings in a way that allows us to fully appreciate and enjoy the events in our lives whether they are good or bad. I firmly think this because I understand I have limited myself to certain things because I have not always allowed myself to be fully susceptible to people and events in my life which has caused me to miss out on certain events in life like romantic endeavors. Becoming vulnerable, like everything else, takes time especially after having been exposed to factors that make one less likely to be open. With the discussions from class and meeting new people from different backgrounds, I found myself being the most vulnerable I have ever been in years. I genuinely took the Ted Talk to heart and wanted to do my absolute best in executing everything that was presented to us from Browne; I particularly loved when Browne said, “One cannot selectively Mercado 2 numb the negative feelings such as grief and shame because you’d also be numbing true joy, gratitude, and happiness.” After this module, I wanted to be more susceptible to these emotions so that I can be “deeply seen, love whole-heartedly, and believe that I am enough.” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One) During the second week, we began to search for more self-knowledge via surveys and a ted talk from David Brooks that focused on the importance of balancing ourselves with success and emotions. He really made me think about how society values the measurable successes way more than the ability to feel compassion and empathy because of how reward driven the community has become. The belief that tied into this module was that people in our community should continue to focus on helping one another rather than becoming like other places and only worrying about oneself. As I have made my way through the first half of the semester, I continued to stay in touch with friends in other universities and colleges who’ve had a very different experience than me. I would talk about how helpful and understanding everyone is here, but my friend in Penn said that her environment was more competitive than collaborative. She described the people to be more worried about their personal victories rather than aiding others to reach their highest potential. I knew at that moment that I didn’t want Notre Dame to ever lose its cooperative atmosphere, which is why I believe that this, like my community back in Texas, should always be able to help one another without sabotaging the other person. The balance between our 2 Adams, the successful, hardworking version, and the compassionate, human version, in a way that is beneficial to them and others so we do not become “mindless machines without emotional sonorousness.” (“Should You Live for your Resume or your Eulogy?” by David Brooks – Moreau FYE Week Two) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM Mercado 3 Week three we moved on to searching for a framework that allowed us to begin viewing the world in a way that correlates with our faith. I believe that I grow in all aspects by allowing my spiritual relation with God develop into an ever-flourishing connection. The reason why I believe this is because I have come to feel as though my faith in Him has allowed me to be more empathetic, optimistic, and mindful of my actions when it pertains to others and myself; I have been able to take the teachings from my parents and those in my religion to form my reasons for the things that I do. It has taken me years to get to the point in my faith where I believe that I can continue to further delve into the aspects of religion that help me become a better person. The student reflections we read were especially eye-opening and interesting because of how all their journeys differed from one another. I especially loved Leo’s comment where he stated, “faith serves as a stabilizer and a constant in a life that may otherwise be disorienting or overwhelming. Faith gives me a focal point in my life that motivates, inspires, and directs me as I try to better myself and advance my career.” I have always felt that believing in my faith has given me the ability to feel grounded in place even when things around me were cascading down. Believing in anything, no matter whether it is religious or not, is an amazing thing to have in life because it inspires us to move forward and improve regardless of circumstances. The trips to the grotto and the retreats that I’ve been a part of have already been major influences in my spiritual life as a student here on campus. As I continue to live my life here in Notre Dame, I realize that “faith wasn’t always so major in my life,” but that I have chosen a place where the religious aspect is so big that I know I will emerge from here with an even deeper connection to the one up above. (“Student Reflections on Faith” curated by Campus Ministry – Moreau FYE Week 3) The fourth week we focused on the aspect of life that concerns forming relationships with people that are healthy and beneficial to our lives. I believe that I forge life-giving relationships https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YVemqUBaAs5DNBPYm806TyQZr3F0xElP/view Mercado 4 through having honesty and trustworthiness serve as a foundation with which I have every current connection stand on; without those core fundamentals in my friendships, I am not sure whether I would be able to fully connect and believe others who don’t seem to be genuine, caring individuals. As we have all had our fair share and experiences with people throughout our lives, we have all had a run-in with some people who have just not been healthy for us, yet we continued to have a bond with them until eventually we didn’t. The articles from this week were especially captivating because it talked about how we tend to overlook red flags simply because we want to continue to believe that people are not what they seem, even despite constant manipulations or harmful things happening. Although I have been here at Notre Dame for a mere 7 weeks, I have already met a couple of people whom I realized were not ideal friends to have around just because they would only talk to me for a gateway into homework aid or other friends I’ve made. As I reflected on my past experiences, I was able to keep them at arm’s length and slowly burn the bridges between us so that there was no risk of being used or taken advantage of. It has been a slow process, but the encounters I’ve had before, and those I will inevitably have during my time here, will further serve to improve my abilities in acknowledging and listening to the red flags instead of always brushing them off as unimportant. Olivia’s statement, “our red flags start going off when we start to notice our friend is taking more than giving, but sometimes we don’t want to admit it to ourselves,” perfectly sums up the main takeaway from this module; however, we must be able to work on being able to distinguish those who are good for us and those who are not. (“5 Signs You’re in a Toxic Friendship” by Olivia T. Taylor, Grotto – Moreau FYE Week 4) During our fifth week, we began to consider how our stories have formed our journey and experiences throughout our lives, especially with the implication of time looming over our heads https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ Mercado 5 at every turn. I believe that I am responsible for allowing myself to grow with every event I’ve faced and making it work in my favor one way or the other; even if the encounter itself was negative, I must remind myself that it taught me something regardless. As we undergraduates begin to really live the Notre Dame lifestyle, many of us will begin to question our capabilities or if the major we chose is going to work out for us in the end. It is crucial for us to understand that, in the end, we have not wasted time in our endeavors and that idea will show once we fully grasp that all we do will have a purpose in the grand scheme of things. What we do now is not a waste of time, but merely an investment in our future selves in the hope that we will understand the reason for why we did it in the first place. I’ve already had doubts and moments where I felt like my efforts were wasted, but I just keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason and that I can always learn something from the choices and actions I make. I have witnessed multiple students dropping courses and switching their majors and eventually they began to thrive and see that the time they spent in the beginning weeks were not fruitless because they discovered that something else would be better for them. Carla Harris summarized the meaning of this module best in her speech when she proclaimed, “we have all learned how precious time is, and that it is the most important asset that you have. While we can all get more money, houses, cars, and things, we can never get more time; therefore, we should be extremely intentional with our time and spend it in a way that we get the largest return on our time.” (“2021 Laetare Medalist Address” by Carla Harris – Moreau FYE Week 5) The sixth week we just focused on our roots and initial journey to what shaped us as people. The purpose of this week was to reflect on our experiences and other factors that contributed to how we grew up and formed our aspirations. After having read a sample poem, it was up to me to create a personal poetic piece that covers those origins of who I am now. I https://youtu.be/UjSwjn-SyB4 https://youtu.be/UjSwjn-SyB4 Mercado 6 summed up my origins as coming from a place of immense love and support because my parents have always instilled me with that strong compassion and curiosity throughout every venture of interest I had. Their constant care and encouraging words really made me have a firm belief that my purpose in life is to experiment and figure out what I love and what I do not so that I am never negating myself from an experience that I desire to try. They have always been with me through thick and thin, and I will never allow myself to be blocked from doing what I love or trying new things simply because of what others believe I can or cannot do. Thanks to “un amor que no se puede quebrar sobre la distancia porque es infinita y eterna.” (“I Am from Love” by – Moreau FYE Week 6) Finally, during our seventh week in Moreau, we touched base on the importance of identifying perspectives so that we could work toward pursuing the truth in every situation. Prior to this module, I firmly held on to the belief that a story is not 2-dimensional and that there will always be another perspective that must be analyzed before construing a conclusion about it. In our societies, people find it so easy to generalize and form assumptions on people and situations with only the provision of limited information and a lack of research into these given details. To prevent such behavior and comments, we must work together as a society to continue providing more sides of the same story to show that there is not only one main story; we cannot keep placing one person or situation above an entire group of people because not everyone does not act the same regardless of where they’re from. As Chimamanda said, “I've always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.” Without taking the time to look at and properly analyze all the https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/25086/assignments/31977/submissions/35231?download=290585 Mercado 7 different perspectives and viewpoints involved in something, it is impossible for us to come to an accurately complete idea of what took place. Thus, to pursue the truth we must remember that there is ALWAYS more than one side to a story. We cannot continue to be victim to the “single stories” that are fed to us in an attempt to provide only certain views about specific groups of people or events that took place; we must continue to look at the other dimensions involved so we can properly view a “complete” version of the story. (“The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi – Moreau FYE Week 7) Conclusively, all these smaller beliefs have a connection to my big belief regarding time and its importance in our lives because of how priceless the resource is. Everything we’ve discussed throughout our modules are things that take time to do; it takes time to be vulnerable, create a balance between work and emotions, fulfill a religious relationship, form genuine connections, learn from past experiences, reflect on our roots, and pursue the full, complete truth. One cannot do these things overnight or all at once, it is something that requires immense focus and selectivity to further improve ourselves in a way that makes us holistically improved and complete. Thus, we must continue to value and use our time wisely so that throughout our lives we continue to grow and discover ourselves in a way that benefits us and others. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story