Huller 1 Theo Helm Moreau FYE 15 October 2021 What Do I Believe? I believe that I am searching for an expansion of character. I believe that my personal growth stems from mistakes. I believe that I pursue truth through keeping an open mind. And I believe that change, while uncomfortable, is necessary to form a fully developed sense of self. The first and last root belief very much go hand in hand. Coming into college, I felt very anxious about what I was to expect. I had lived in the same house for nearly 18 years, had the same friend group since elementary school, and always found comfort in the safety of my home, my family, and my friends (“Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon – Moreau FYE Week 6). On one hand, I was excited about being more independent and living six hours away from home, but on the other hand, I felt like such a daunting task loomed ahead of me, waiting for me to essentially create myself in an entirely new location and environment. I had an opportunity to focus on developing myself in a new place, and, while seemingly difficult, I knew that making that change would prove to positively impact my development of character and moral standing overall. In high school, I was perfect on paper: captain of the lacrosse team, Spanish Club, Math team, robotics team coach, Gold Award. That doesn’t set me apart at Notre Dame; I’m not special because of what’s on my resume. Everyone volunteered. Everyone was the captain of Huller 2 their sports team. Not to say those things don’t matter, but I realized I needed to focus more on developing myself as a person rather than adding on to my laundry list of extracurriculars (David Brooks: Should you live for your résumé... or your eulogy- Moreau FYE Week 2). Here, because of the fact that I am in a new environment, no one has set expectations for who I will be or how I will act. I have the ability to focus on redefining myself in ways that I couldn’t focus on developing back in my hometown. For instance, in our character trait test (VIA Character Strengths Survey- Moreau FYE Week 2), self-discipline was my highest trait and love was one of my lowest. Back home, I focused so much on defining what was morally right and morally wrong for myself that I lived a very strict, self-controlled life. At Notre Dame, I can focus on developing the character traits on which I had lower scores like love and empathy because no one has that knowledge of who I was back home. In addition, Notre Dame reminded me of the importance of faith in conjunction with other aspects of life. At home, I had always kept faith in its own little box in my brain and I would be reminded of it for a brief hour every Sunday during church. Here, though, faith is ever present and all around me, as it should be. As pointed out in “Faith Brings Light to a Dark World,” faith is the method of belief in which community is created. In order to create a meaningful community and fully engage meaningfully with other people, faith is a necessity (“Faith Brings Light to a Dark World” by David Fagerberg – Moreau FYE Week 3). This is further expanded upon in “Two Notre Dames: Your Holy Cross Education,” when it discusses the importance of the intersection between faith and reason. The integration of faith can be an extremely valuable asset in education; however, it is necessary that each part does not overpower the other (Two Notre Dames: Your Holy Cross Education by Kevin Grove – Moreau FYE Week 5). Huller 3 My second root belief, I believe that my personal growth stems from making mistakes, is also an aspect of myself that I am working to better during my time at the university. This belief is a lot easier said than done, because no one wants to make mistakes. However, as discussed in Brené Brown’s TED talk, vulnerability in mistakes is extremely important in the development of character (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown – Moreau FYE Week 1). If mistakes are never made, there is never a driving force pushing someone to become a better person; mistakes ultimately highlight the need for change. The final core belief is that I pursue truth by keeping an open mind. I whole-heartedly believe that open-mindedness is the single most important character trait someone can have. As discussed in the TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” reducing someone to one possible character trait or version of themselves does a complete disservice to their whole personality (“Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Moreau FYE Week 7). Additionally, this issue is very prevalent in our world, especially in the political arena. The inability to be openminded when hearing other’s opinions is the root of a number of problems in the country. If we took a step back, in politics specifically, and made an effort to look at issues from the opposition’s point of view, it would become so much easier to generate productive discourse with effective compromise. However, there are nuances that apply when discussing open mindedness because, as always, each idea has limitations. A good example of this is from our week four discussion on relationships. At some point, it is necessary to realize that the open- mindedness and giving someone the benefit of the doubt must ultimately come to an end (“Healthy vs Unhealthy Relationships” by the Red Flag Campaign – Moreau FYE Week 4). With that being said, in the majority of conflicts and discussions, open-mindedness is a necessary component in effective discussion. Huller 4 Works Cited Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, director. Tedtalks: Chimamanda Adichie--the Danger of a Single Story. The Danger of a Single Story, July 2009, https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021. Fagerberg, David. “Faith Brings Light to a Dark World.” Grotto Network, 29 Jan. 2020, https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/belief/faith-brings-light-to-dark- world/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau. Grove, Kevin, director. Two Notre Dames: A Holy Cross Education. Panopto, https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=859bc1a8-0d0f- 4eb4-a1c1-d0a45c429187. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021. Lyon, George Ella. “Where I'm From.” Where I'm from, a Poem by George Ella Lyon, Writer and Teacher, http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html. “Tedtalks: Brene Brown--the Power of Vulnerability.” TED, 2010. TEDtalksDirector, director. David Brooks: Should You Live for Your Résumé... or Your Eulogy? YouTube, YouTube, 14 Apr. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM. Accessed 5 Oct. 2021. “The via Character Strengths Survey.” Personality Test, Personality Assessment: VIA Survey | VIA Institute, https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register?registerPageType=popup. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/belief/faith-brings-light-to-dark-world/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/belief/faith-brings-light-to-dark-world/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=859bc1a8-0d0f-4eb4-a1c1-d0a45c429187 https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=859bc1a8-0d0f-4eb4-a1c1-d0a45c429187 http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register?registerPageType=popup Huller 5