Integration Two 




Maria Finan

Moreau First Year Experience

December 3rd, 2021

Learning Experiences

I have encountered many good and bad experiences throughout my life, but one thing that

I like to take from everything is that every experience that you have is a learning opportunity.

Whether you learn your mistakes, or learn what you did right in order to get somewhere, there is

always room for improvement. One’s response is always the most important thing, and just one

wrong decision can move you in the wrong direction.

One thing that I have encountered and experienced in my life is the expectations of

society. No matter where you are from, where you live, or what you do, society will always

expect you to act one way or another. As Julia Hogan said in her article, she says, “The common

thread in all of these examples is that these individuals believe they must be perfect and that they

must live up to the expectations of others” (“Why Letting Go of Expectation is a Freeing Habit”

by Julia Hogan - Moreau FYE Week Nine). I think society lays huge expectations on us. When I

first came here, I felt that most people were smarter than me and I am definitely someone who

holds myself to higher standards than anyone else. Even if it’s just a simple game of Mario Kart

or Monopoly, I want to win, as I may be a little bit over competitive. But, I had to let go in a way

of this, in comparison to everyone else here. Yes, I may not be the smartest person bookwise, or

streetwise, but I can develop and learn overtime to become the smartest. I just need to work

harder and take my time, because it will come eventually. I can’t expect to be the best at

everything, and society isn’t either, I just have to be the best at whatever I do.

https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/health-and-wellness/letting-go-of-expectations/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau


I have encountered people tearing relationships apart just because of a simple

disagreement. In America today, the ends have never been more polar than one another, as it

seems everyone thinks there is a right or wrong way to do something, and never anything in the

middle. As Father John asks, “Can citizens of the United States learn to express their convictions

in more skillful, more respectful ways?” ("Wesley Theological Seminary 2012 Commencement

Address" by Fr. John Jenkins - Moreau FYE Week Ten). In society today, we always just bury

ourselves so deep into arguments sometimes that the result of them is unrepairable. Alongside

this, we assume that we are always right. I am not sure whether this is a pride thing within

society, but nobody likes to own up to their mistakes, and in order to improve ourselves I think

that this is essential to our development. And this is something that I need to work on as well,

whether it is a sports game or in the classroom, it takes a lot for someone to own up to a mistake,

especially in a team environment. My club soccer coach at home made me realize the truth

behind that when we make mistakes all we can do is be accountable for them, and learn from

them going forward and forget it ever happened.

I have encountered many communities that just have built naturally over time, that I am

blessed to have and be a part of. In his article, Parker J Palmer says, “This simple fact has critical

implications: community is not a goal to be achieved but a gift to be received” (“Thirteen Ways

of Looking at Community” by Parker J Palmer - Moreau FYE Week Eleven). Especially in

America today, people expect people on opposite ends of the spectrum, politically, economically,

whatever it may be, to get along just like that. Yes, we do need to come together as a community,

but that cannot be forced to happen, it needs to occur naturally. For me, the biggest example of

this was my club soccer team. I joined a team where I knew nobody, economically I was much

better off than the majority of my teammates, and I was one of the only white kids in the

https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/wesley-theological-seminary-commencement/
https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/wesley-theological-seminary-commencement/
http://couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/13-ways-of-looking-at-community/
http://couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/13-ways-of-looking-at-community/


program, most kids being hispanic. Yes, in the beginning it was frustrating, most of them being

on the team and relating in ways I couldn’t, but over time it formed a family environment. It took

time for that to happen, which included getting rid of toxic players, but it’s okay for something

like that to take time, because it does, and it really is special and a gift like Parker said.

I have encountered things that challenge my faith, education and physical ability, but

those struggles are what make me complete. In the booklet relating to Christian education, Father

James says “Education is the art of helping young people to completeness.  For the Christian, this

means that education is helping a young person to be more like Christ, the model for all

Christians” (“Hope - Holy Cross and Christian Education” by Fr. James B. King - Moreau FYE

Week Twelve). I came from a high school that was episcopalian, and I think that it was a great

education following Christian faith. I was challenged academically, but also as being a good

person in this world. All these encounters and challenges in my life are what build me into the

man I am today, and I think that becoming a good person is an encounter you should have at

every second of your life. Whether you’re on the sports field or in the classroom, there is always

a way to be better.

Overall what is one thing that I have encountered the most in my life? Question. There is

a question whether I am capable of doing something, a question about where my life is headed,

and the only way I will finally be able to answer that question one day is learning through my

experiences every single day. The ups and downs of life are what make life worth living, and

there are always ways to make a bad situation into something that can be useful for your life.

https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/28298/files/186731?module_item_id=103503