Integration 1 Determination Above All Else Root Belief 1: I believe that my hunger for knowledge is insatiable Knowledge is a central part of my life. Throughout my years, the search for new fun facts, scientific beliefs, and even meanings behind art has entranced me. I am fascinated by learning, and my interests show this as well. My hobbies include fishing and working out, and I spend many hours a week studying new techniques or my own technique in order to always improve. I can never be satisfied with the knowledge I already possess, and thus I intend on utilizing my time as wisely as I can. Carla Harris’s quote, “We can never get more time,” truly resonated with me in my own life (“2021 Laetare Medalist Address” by Carla Harris - Moreau FYE Week Five). In my early life, much of my time was spent doing nothing. I always would sit around, waiting for something to be told to me, without trying to learn things myself. As I matured, I slowly realized seeking knowledge is the only way to feed this hunger for knowledge, and with this newfound realization I slowly began to read more and more. Once I had access to the internet, my free time became enveloped by the growth of my own knowledge on anything. I include that knowledge is not necessarily academic. I consider the perspectives of others as knowledge too. In my time at Notre Dame, I have been shown the importance of seeking the perspectives of others not only through conversations in classes, such as the Moreau FYE, but also through a Ted Talk from Adichie (“The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Moreau FYE Week Seven). She mentions the “danger of a single story” not only in her title of the talk, but also how it affected her experiences as a writer coming to America and the implicit bias sent against her due to the minimal knowledge of Africa that Americans learn. Many people in my life, at Notre Dame as well as in my life before college, have come from a variety of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjSwjn-SyB4 https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story#t-629136 backgrounds and experiences. Learning these experiences and their beliefs is just as invaluable a knowledge as book knowledge to me, and thus I seek it as often as I can. Thus, knowledge is something I am always “hungry” for. Root Belief 2: I believe that my mistakes fuel my personal growth Since the dawn of Connor, I have always been a perfectionist. Mistakes were never simply mistakes, they were blemishes to my character that I felt were personal faults. I miss a goal in soccer? I must be terrible at athletics. I lose a point on a quiz? I must be stupid. These thoughts invaded my consciousness for the longest time. However, as I matured, I came to realize that perfection, although it requires a lack of blemishes, can only be attained through the knowledge of said blemishes. Experience is the best way to learn, which is how this became a core belief of mine. Fr.Pete’s analogy of the knot best demonstrated this to me. He mentions how “every knot is unique” in reference to how every mistake or hiccup in your life is going to be a unique experience, and I take this to mean that every knot is a new learning experience (“The Role of Faith in Our Story” - Fr. Pete McCormick, Moreau FYE Week Three). A core scientific principle is that growth occurs only through stimulation, and I believe that the stimulation for personal growth and betterment is through mistakes now. A quote that also resonates with the idea of growing through mistakes was found in David Brooks’ Ted Talk. He mentions that “out of that wrestling, that suffering, then a depth of character is constructed,” (“Should you live for your resume … or your eulogy?” - David Brooks, Moreau FYE Week Two). This quote meant a lot to me, because personally I feel that the start of college has included a large amount of suffering in classes that I am not used to. Everyone says college is where you mature and self-realize your potential, and I am starting to believe that it is because of the mistakes and suffering that you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcZMeqWWOIs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcZMeqWWOIs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM endure while following your dreams in college. Overall, both quotes demonstrate the idea of suffering and mistakes stimulating growth. A third example of this was found in the text on toxic friendships (“Five Signs You’re in a Toxic Friendship” - Olivia Taylor, Moreau FYE Week Four). It mentioned that one sign was that “they don’t really listen to you”, which is a sign that I often ignore, giving others the benefit of the doubt . This has always been a mistake, and the main lesson I learn every time is that I should not be friends with others who parasitize the relationship to treat me like a “wall” of sorts that they can throw their frustrations at. I love hearing anything and everything about someone, but relationships must go both ways, which has taken me a long time to learn. Especially because when it used to happen, I had doubts about my own mistakes, thinking they were not valid or good enough. Over time, and even in my new college friendships, I have learned that a true friend will make every problem seem valid. Mistakes truly fuel my growth. Root Belief 3: I believe in self-confidence being the source of my success The quality of being shy was something attributed to me from a very young age. Although I don’t particularly believe I was born shy, I definitely believe that my own lack of self realization made confidence difficult for the majority of my life. Everyone in middle school had some “calling” it seemed (later I would come to realize that this was not the case), and I believed that my lack of one was a problem. However, I eventually realized that simply diving into conversations, interests, and other ideas lead to my discovering of friendships, relationships, subjects of interest, and more. In my poem, I referenced how I am from “ever-fluctuating interests and curiosity”, which I believe is very true to my character (“Where I’m From” - Connor McCloskey, Moreau Week Six). While I enjoy consistency, I do not enjoy being tied to https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E3g01ZyUsOKfWN3UVPxlsZK94MYp4t1Gm7FhDbfgbvI/edit something I do not enjoy. I would much rather explore interests and decide on one after than decide immediately on something, only to change it to a new long-term interest, only to change it again, and again, and again until I have wasted so much time changing interests that I no longer have time to dive deep into one. This includes my new friendships at Notre Dame as well as my subjects of interest. I never want to restrict myself in my life, and I believe that self-confidence in one’s abilities allows them to know that they can do the changes that I discussed above. This same self-confidence is not only used to reinforce exploration in my life, but to also reassure myself in times of weakness. Brené Brown said it best when she said that “The people who have a strong sense of love and belonging, believe that they are worthy of love and belonging,” (“The Power of Vulnerability” - Brené Brown, Moreau FYE Week One). I have always thought that believing in oneself promotes self-success, because if you don’t believe that you can do something, how will you? Self-confidence breeds success in not only my life, but it is a fundamental root of all success. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&list=PLmiPsabET-W_hjesjTZaITh2s1WbM-Kd0&index=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0&list=PLmiPsabET-W_hjesjTZaITh2s1WbM-Kd0&index=3