Moreau 15th October 2021 What do I believe? Table of Contents I believe that being vulnerable can help everyone to overcome their problems......................... 2 I believe that it is commendable to live for your eulogy, but this does not go along with our society ................................................................................................................................... 2 I believe that morality must be an essential factor when making decision................................ 3 I believe that making real friends will become harder once I will be in the working environment .......................................................................................................................... 3 I believe that implicit bias is not always a bad thing ................................................................ 4 I believe that being vulnerable can help everyone to overcome their problems First of all, what does it mean to be vulnerable (in class discussion, Moreau FYE Week One)? Vulnerability refers to allowing people to see you for you truly are. However, being vulnerable also means accepting yourself, with your strength and weaknesses. Therefore, being vulnerable means allowing yourself to not be perfect, it means to understand that you, as everyone, have problems. Hence, I believe that vulnerability can help everyone to overcome these problems, as the first step to solve an issue, is identifying the issue. Being vulnerable will also help you to connect to other people, who can be a big resource when in need. Therefore, this is why I believe vulnerability is a commendable virtue, not only to better accept yourself, but also to overcome problems that may come up during your life. I believe that it is commendable to live for your eulogy, but this does not go along with our society Our society is structured in a way that, since the age of 16, people tend to give everything they have to their academic/working life, instead of really focusing on their personal growth. This is what it means to live for your resume (In class discussion, Moreau FYE Week 2). I personally believe that this is quite a big issue, as it increases the level of stress and, possibly, depression. Everything must be as efficient as possible; therefore, people end up chasing task after task without taking time to reflect on themselves and on what really matters. Living for your Eulogy would mean cultivating those values that make you a better person, cultivating relationships with others, interests and developing curiosity. Fortunately, not everyone lives for their resume, and I have encountered many people here at Notre Dame who are the perfect example of this. The reason why I say it is commendable to live for your Eulogy is that it will allow a deeper understanding of yourself, ultimately leading to a strong positive impact on those who are around you, which I believe it is much more important than just a resume. I believe that morality must be an essential factor when making decision Because of the structure of our society (see paragraph 2), morals are often forgotten by a lot of people in their daily life. This is because our society focuses more on business than people, and often the most profitable road is the less moral. However, I believe that having a framework of morals (In class discussion, Moreau FYE Week 3) is essential not only in a business environment, where it can prevent massive problems like exploitation of labor force, but also on a quotidian basis. This is because having morals will help every individual to “take the right path” when faced with difficult choices. This is also a matter of freedom. Having morals will help everyone to have freedom, without falling into the trap of subtracting other people’s freedom for our own. Therefore, if everyone followed some sort of morals (this includes faith), the society would be much better off as this would create a happy environment for everyone to live in. I believe that making real friends will become harder once I will be in the working environment “Finding quality friendships is not easy” (5 signs you are in a toxic relationship by Olivia T. Taylor, Moreau FYE Week 4). I decided to start this paragraph with a quote. It might seem a https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ pretty simple concept, but if I properly think about it, it is not easy to understand. During my whole life I was always surrounded by a lot of friends. And yes, I am using the word friends as, despite being very picky, I could always count on each one of them. The reason why I chose this quote is that it is very scary to me. This is because even though I have (or I believe to have) a very healthy mental health, this is the effect of the support I get from friends and loved ones. The fact that, in the next few years, I might end up alone looks more like a nightmare than a real possibility, but it is in fact a very concrete concept. Therefore, the only thing that gives me hope is that I believe that if I treat the people around me with respect and I care for them, I might have some sort of return in the future. In Italian, there is a common phrase that goes “ognuno raccoglie i frutti di quel che semina” which can be translated in “The harvest you reap reveals the seeds that you planted”. I believe that implicit bias is not always a bad thing To understand my belief, it is important to understand what implicit bias is and why it is considered a bad thing. Implicit bias is a “tendency for stereotype-confirming thoughts to pass spontaneously through our mind” (How to think about implicit bias by Keith Payne, Laura Niemi and John M. Doris, Moreau FYE Week 7). The reason why implicit bias is often considered to be bad is because it is based on stereotypes, and as in our society there are big issues based on stereotypes (e.g., Racism or Homophobia), implicit bias ends up being seen as a very bad thing (by transitivity). However, I believe that implicit bias actually helps individuals to make the right judgments, as long as they are aware of it happening. This is because having implicit bias by itself is not a bad thing. Human beings do not always agree with what their first impression is, and therefore they must not feel constrained by it. Having implicit bias and realizing to have it https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-think-about-implicit-bias/ can, in fact, help the individuals in recognizing something wrong and fix it. Therefore, implicit bias can have a positive effect instead of a negative one, hence leading to the conclusion that implicit bias is not always a bad thing. I believe that being vulnerable can help everyone to overcome their problems I believe that it is commendable to live for your eulogy, but this does not go along with our society I believe that morality must be an essential factor when making decision I believe that making real friends will become harder once I will be in the working environment I believe that implicit bias is not always a bad thing