Moving Forward with Courage and Hope 

The excitement of my new identity of a college student and encountering everything in 

a new setting in a different country gradually diminishes as time goes on and as things 

become more and more routine, which also means that I have more time to sit down 

and reflect upon my past semester.  

 

In high school, I used to be a student with excellent academic performance without 

having to put extremely serious efforts into studying. I know that students here at Notre 

Dame are at least as smart as me, so it is no longer that easy to keep an academic record 

as good as the one I had in high school. Academic-wise, I set expectations that are 

appropriate for my ability and the new context, rather than pressure myself that I have 

to be a straight A student here as well. “Expectations are the bars we set for ourselves. 

When we meet (or surpass) them, we feel like we are worthy. If we don’t meet those 

expectations, we feel like the exact opposite — that we aren’t good enough.” (“Why 

Letting Go of Expectations is a Freeing Habit” by Julia Hogan – Moreau FYE Week 

Nine)1 Living up to high expectations can be extremely hard. However, expectations 

are flexible, and I can change the expectations I set for myself when I feel like the 

previous ones are unrealistic or do not fit the current condition. When I do not meet the 

expectations I set, I will not panic but reevaluate the expectations and my performances. 

If I find that the expectations are unrealistically high for me to achieve, then I will lower 

my expectations; if it is because I am putting my efforts in a wrong direction, I will then 

 
1 grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/health-and-wellness/letting-go-of-

expectations/?utm_source=fall_2021&utm_medium=class&utm_id=moreau 



make adjustments to my plan and my actions. Expectations do not equate pressure: 

when I set proper expectations, they will make my goals clear and at the same time do 

not get myself overwhelmed.  

 

Academics is definitely not the only part of college life, though; interaction with the 

ND people has been a great experience so far. I especially appreciate the sense of 

community Notre Dame possesses, and how warm the people here are. For example, at 

Thanksgiving, a sociology professor prepared a feastful Thanksgiving dinner at Baumer 

Hall and invited a few, mainly international, students staying on campus during the 

break. This is my first time celebrating an American Thanksgiving, and having an 

American Thanksgiving dinner including grilled Turkey and pumpkin pie in the cozy 

common space at Baumer and chatting with students and the professor was so 

rewarding. I felt so moved by how warm and caring the ND community can be. 

“Community begins not externally but in the recesses of the human heart. Long before 

community can be manifest in outward relationships, it must be present in the 

individual as ‘a capacity for connectedness.’” (“Thirteen Ways of Looking at 

Community” by Parker J. Palmer – Moreau FYE Week Eleven) 2  I also feel the 

connectedness through the unified color of green during Game Days, the Christmas 

decoration at my residence hall, the generous advice I receive from my peer mentor at 

clubs, etc. Among the ND people, there is such connectedness, and it is the 

connectedness that makes the community so closely bonded, special, and meaningful.  

 
2 couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/13-ways-of-looking-at-community/ 



 

Sometimes, however, I miss my life in high school. But as I think about it, it is not 

exactly my high school that I miss; I realize that what I miss is a life with few things to 

worry about, a life well protected and cared by my family, and the convenience and 

familiarity of living in the city in which I grew up and am so used to. At that time, 

schoolwork is all I have to worry about; now, as a college student studying abroad, I 

have more to worry about, as I start to think about my future paths from the perspective 

of an independent adult. When I come here on my own to college, I have to manage all 

my business on my own and try to adapt to an entirely new environment. However, as 

I give up something, I also gain new things such as friendship with new people, 

acquiring new knowledge, and new perspectives I learn from conversing with people 

with diverse backgrounds here at Notre Dame. “Whenever we have to shed old ways 

of thinking, viewing, or perceiving the world around us and ourselves, a conversion of 

both heart and mind must take place.” (“Hope – Holy Cross and Christian Education” 

by Fr. James B. King – Moreau FYE Week Twelve)3 One of the great things about 

college is the chance to meet people and have experiences that are not the same, and 

this is what makes life exciting and worthy of expectation. I learn to cherish every 

encounter for the uniqueness, the different perspective and ideas it makes possible. 

Meeting new people gives me chances to establish friendship, exchange perspectives, 

and creates new memories.  

 

 
3 canvas.nd.edu/courses/23733/files/192471?module_item_id=109281 



My journey here at ND is challenging, but at the meantime highly fulfilling and 

rewarding. A simple, carefree life exists only in kindergarten; now I am a college 

student and a young adult, and even though the life is much less carefree, the conversion 

of heart and mind I acquire from interaction with the people in every unique relationship 

is an indispensable part of forming a complete, capable, and well-rounded person.  

 

As I grow up, my experiences, no matter good or bad, enable me to grow more mature 

and be closer to my way of discovering my true self and realizing my goals. I appreciate 

not only the good ones for the pleasant memories, but also the bad ones that taught me 

important lessons of life and pushed me to grow. “The things they’ve experienced — 

the good, the bad, the ugly — it has made them this beautiful, dynamic, interesting 

person they are today.” (“Women Find Healing Through Kintsugi Workshop” – Moreau 

FYE Week Ten)4  I am grateful to all experiences that shape me to be the person 

standing here today, and I look forward to my future journey on which I embark with 

courage and hope.  

 
4 grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/heal/find-healing-through-kintsugi-art/