Integration Moreau First Year Experience 15 October 2021 “I Still Got a Lot to Learn I’ll Admit It” My title for this week’s integration refers to lyrics from a song by Luke Christopher called “Lot to Learn”. I found them to be fitting, as even though this assignment is about what we’ve learned and what we believe, I recognize that there is still a lot in life that I don’t yet understand or haven’t experienced. To me, Root Beliefs serve as mini mission statements, giving us guidelines for not only what we believe, but also for how we will choose to live our lives going forward. Having gone to a Catholic high school, I’ve always appreciated how my theology classes gave us the opportunity to take a step back and look at the big picture. This is also the same thing I have enjoyed about the Moreau First Year Experience so far. I love being able to talk about these bigger things in life, especially being able to do so with my classmates. And although we have only been here for a little under two months, my experiences interacting with my peers in and out of the classroom as well as the content we have seen in the modules has definitely impacted my Root Beliefs. I believe that in order to understand others we first have to be able to understand ourselves. In our first module, Dr. Brown talked about the importance of being able to acknowledge our own insecurities and worries, but not letting them control our lives(“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One). To me, this comes back to understanding ourselves. We all want to be able to help others in their struggles in life, but how can we do that if we aren’t first able to help ourselves? We have to be able to examine our own lives and understand our own problems, and in doing so we are practicing how to be better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be equipped for helping others in similar situations. Even in our short time here, there have been moments where I was more able to help others because I recognized what they were going through as something that I’ve experienced. I believe that God has given all of us the gifts we need to live out his plan for us. In our second module, we were asked the question of whether or not we should be living life for our resumes or our eulogies(“Should You Live for your Resume or Your Eulogy” by David Brooks- Moreau FYE Week Two). In my mind, the answer to this is clear. Eulogies capture what our purpose was in life, resumes capture what our job was. Ideally, the two will go together, where our job also allows us to live out our purpose, but that is why we need to be able to let God’s gifts guide us in the direction of his plan. In meeting so many new people since coming here, it is interesting to see what people notice about you, and to some extent what they perceive you as being good at. Although the thoughts of others shouldn’t be our guide to what we do, I think it is important to pay attention to those remarks about “giving good advice” or “being well-spoken”, or things like that. Those comments come back to the gifts God has given us that will help us throughout our lives. I believe that searching is a necessary part of growing closer to God. Throughout all of our early modules, but especially in Weeks 3 and 4, I picked up on the importance of searching. In our course material it became clear to me that it’s not just finding what we are looking for that matters, but the actual act of searching has value in it as well. Whether that be searching for healthy and happy friendships(“Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Relationships” by The Red Flag Campaign- Moreau FYE Week Four), or trying to find and have faith(“The Role of Faith in Our Story” by Fr. Pete McCormick, C.S.C.- Moreau FYE Week Three), the journey we go on in searching allows us to learn a lot about ourselves and the world around us, and can be just as fruitful as actually discovering what we are looking for. Throughout the early process of meeting friends here, it definitely was stressful at times, and when I finally felt a level of security in my friendships it was relieving, but during the time of figuring out those relationships I was also able to understand more of who I am, and what kinds of people I interact well with. Similarly, in the ongoing process of trying to find and keep faith in my life as a framework, there definitely are times where I struggle in looking for it, but I think those moments lead to even greater reflection and make it all the more worth it when I do feel as though I have found what I am looking for. I believe that we all have stories worth telling. In our Week 6 module, we all shared poems about where we’re from, and essentially what makes us who we are(“Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon- Moreau FYE Week Six). This was one of my favorite assignments we had throughout the first two months, as it allowed me to learn a lot about my classmates. I’ve always enjoyed learning about people, whether that be through biographies, movies, podcasts, etc., but in doing this module I saw that it’s not just the public figures of the world who have interesting stories and lives to talk about- we all do. Hearing my classmates share their poems gave me perspective on how these seemingly new people to me have lived whole lives prior to coming to school here, and that they all have valuable and different experiences that I can learn from. I believe that the work we do here matters. In Week 7, we read and saw material on what for many of us(myself included), is a difficult topic to talk about. Acknowledging and learning about our personal and national transgressions towards other groups of people isn’t easy, but it is so important. We read about how it’s possible to believe we are a great nation while still working to better understand one another and heal our 400 year old wounds(“How to Destroy Truth” by David Brooks- Moreau FYE Week Seven), and I come from a similar line of thinking where I agree that it is important that we have these difficult conversations and work to be the great country that I believe we can be. This may seem like a lofty aspiration, but when we look at our content from Week 5, we see that this is exactly what we have been called to do here from the very beginning(“Fr. Sorin Letter to Bl. Basil Moreau” by Fr. Sorin- Moreau FYE Week Five). If we are to be “one of the most powerful means of doing good in this country”, it starts with being able to talk about the difficult things, and understanding that the work we do here has a purpose that is greater than ourselves. Overall, I am grateful for what I have been able to learn and experience in my time so far. Although many of the biggest lessons we get often come outside of the classroom, I appreciate having a space to learn and grow in my understanding of the world around me along with my peers. In writing this it is clear to me that there’s been many lessons and teachable moments here already, but I know that there are many more to come, and that “I Still Got a Lot to Learn”.