Integration One -- Root Beliefs Moreau FYE - Integration One 1 I Believe I Am Here To Be A Light; Love in the Little Things with Great Love I believe that I grow through that which challenges me to expand my comfort zone. I have adopted Dr. Brown’s quote from the very first week of my college experience, “... ‘Lean into the discomfort of the work,’ and I’m like, knock discomfort upside the head and move it over.” (“The Power of Vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week One) Not to say that I have all ‘A’s right now, but rather that the classes that have challenged me the most are the ones that I have come to love most because of how they push me to think abstractly or to continue to higher levels of learning, and that some of the most terrifying parts of college so far have produced the most fruitful encounters. From classes that challenge my perceptions of understanding and how we come to understand, to understanding more about the people around me and how to interact with those around me, I feel that throughout the past eight weeks, I do not feel that I am a changed person, but I feel that my approach to relationships has shifted. It is incredibly difficult to be vulnerable with strangers, or with those who we want to latch on to so quickly, and being in an environment with such high levels of knowledge and confidence, it is so easy to shell-up, or to take on a different persona to fit in with so many others around me. The two weeks of school I felt so overwhelmed with trying to complete schoolwork, make time for being friends, trying to go out to make new friends, find people who were in my major, find ways to cultivate my faith, while all trying to just breath. When I came out of those two weeks exhausted, I began to find a routine, and I began to raise my hand more to ask questions, in classes, but I also began to raise questions to myself to remind myself what was most important to me. Revisiting our Week 2 discussion, I was reminded of the characteristics in which I needed to spend more energy, not weaknesses, but strengths to improve, one of which was bravery. Before coming to Notre Dame, I thought I was a relatively brave person, someone who took risks, and promoted taking risks. But after considering the idea that I was really focused on just building a resume rather than cultivating relationships, taking risks for the sake of growing rather than just to add to a resume, I have a greater sense of freedom. The amount of people that I just say “hi” to now has led to some of the most interesting relationships I have formed while on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&feature=youtu.be Moreau FYE - Integration One 2 campus, some of the weirdest encounters at 3AM on library quad dancing to Taylor Swift, and to some of the greatest academic experiences that have challenged me to think about art and how we encounter the world around in such abstract ways. Notre Dame has challenged me to expand my comfort zone to include so many more relationship-building skills, to listen to those around me to understand them, and to explore who I am and how my story interacts with those of others, and to trust more deeply in myself, because as Laetare-winner Harris said, “There is only one you .. trust the power in you.” (Notre Dame Commencement 2021: Laetare Medalist Address by Carla Harris - Moreau FYE Week 5). I believe that I am meant to love and to be loved. When first coming to Notre Dame, there was so much I was excited for, and still so much I was scared of. Especially coming into quick relationships, finding faith amidst the chaos of such a massive transition in life, I was so nervous that I would fall back into patterns where I would give so much of myself to others that I would not save any to continue to grow as a person. I believe that what I have encountered is quite the contrary; I have found so much love, love in taking midnight walks with my roommate when we’ve both had crazy days, love in the invitations to dinner or lunch, love in the rarest forms of attention when someone is listening to you, really listening and responding honestly rather than half-there, love in the “in between moments” that are so small but so impactful. Thinking about our Week 4 and 5 discussions, the way that we form relationships with one another is often in faith or in love (which I think go hand in hand). The way in which I love others, through the little things of asking someone how their day was, or bigger things like trying to take care of someone while they were drunk I think reflects how I was taught to love within the context of faith and family, my story, as we discussed in weeks 5-7. It is harder to come to understand that I am meant to be loved, but in reflecting that God’s path is the right one for me, despite challenges, despite all that I have encountered thus far, I am reminded that He plays such a large role in my life, that He sacrificed so much for me because He loves me, and I deserve to be loved. I believe that I am here to be a light. I want to be clear that this does not mean that I have to always be a guiding force, or something that is always shining, but rather a force that can be there for people, as long as they remember how to turn it on, for light cannot function without https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSwjn-SyB4 Moreau FYE - Integration One 3 darkness. These past few weeks have been a huge adjustment period, recognizing how my story and my background influences the way that I interact with peers and professors, and yet after these crazy two months, I feel the most me than I ever have. Revisiting the Week 3 Grotto article, “Faith invites us to live in the light,” and I like to believe that I am someone who can be there to cultivate relationships in the light with the Holy Spirit, faith, hope, and love in the center (Faith Brings Light to a Dark World by David Fagerberg -- Moreau FYE Week 3). I am here to be myself, the greatest, best version of who I am, even if I feel challenged, or discouraged, or if I am celebrating with those around me, and to be who I am is to be that kindness, that love, and a light to interact with those around me. . 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://grottonetwork.com/authors/david-fagerberg