Moreau FYE
Prioritizing What Matters
As a maturing young adult and student at the University of Notre Dame, I have recently encountered many new experiences that have changed and shaped the way that I view the world. Throughout my first year of studies, I have learned to equate success with something much less tangible than grades or class rank. I now label success in academics as pushing myself to do my best work, exploring things that I am passionate about, and learning from the failures that I encounter. I have also found that feeling successful does not always come from an academic standpoint. Creating deep, meaningful connections with those around me, as well as allowing others to help expand my understanding of the world, have been integral to my success at Notre Dame. Because I have only spent about 9 months in this new community, I must accept that the changes I have seen in myself so far will not be the only ones to come about throughout my time here. However, I know that the transformation that I have experienced will allow me to be more open to any future obstacles, opportunities, and changes that I will encounter. I will prioritize working to be the best version of myself by keeping in mind my new vision of success and my intention to continue to be open to change (Mission Statement - Moreau FYE Week 13). 
During my time as a high school student, I was very focused on my future. So much so, in fact, that I often failed to appreciate the opportunities I had to make connections with others and explore my passions. Instead, I focused on getting good grades and boosting my resume in order to ensure my future success in college. While I am proud of the work I put into my studies in high school, I have since learned that “the idea of going nowhere is as universal as the law of gravity; that’s why wise souls from every tradition have spoken of it” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week 1). By bringing more of my attention to the present, I have been able to be much more introspective and really discern what I want my life to look like. Even my family members have noticed this change in my focus to things that I am truly curious about. When I talked to my father about this process, he said, “I have seen your passion for sustainability grow a lot recently and I am proud of how you have implemented it into your life and career goals” (Interview with Patrick Wolf by  - Moreau FYE Week 5). This time of discernment has allowed me to understand that the “commonly held belief in our society that a major equals a certain career path” is simply not true (“Navigating Your Career Journey” - Moreau FYE Week 4). I am grateful for the opportunity that Notre Dame has given me to explore possible career paths that remain true to my passions, skills, and values.  I want to continue to adapt my future plans to fit any new developments in my interests as I progress in my studies. 
Being at Notre Dame certainly has not been a completely easy experience, and I have found that “when hardships or unexpected things happen to us, we often focus on the things that we do not have” (“5 Minutes” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week 6). However, I believe that I have taken any failures or downfalls that I have faced and truly learned from them. I have made it a priority to appreciate the gift of education and understand that what is required of me is not perfection but genuine effort. The wide range of life experiences that is present in the student body of Notre Dame has also introduced me to new ways of dealing with hardships. My roommate’s experiences and beliefs, for example, align greatly with the idea that “‘remembering death keeps us awake, focused, and ready for whatever might happen — both the excruciatingly difficult and the breathtakingly beautiful’” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week 3). She has helped me understand how to endure difficult processes as well as help others do the same. I want to continue to grow in this skill in order to create more meaningful connections with those around me. 
The people that I interact with on a daily basis at Notre Dame have been truly welcoming and caring, and I am grateful for the community I have found here. I have learned that being vulnerable is important and that “allowing folks into my jurisdiction requires that I dismantle what I have set up to keep them out” (Tattoos on the Heart by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J - Moreau FYE Week 7). While it is often difficult to be open with new people, the rewards are tremendous, and this practice is something that I hope to become better at throughout college and beyond. Another way to become closer with others that I have been working on is accompaniment, which is “about sticking with a task until it's deemed completed, not by the accompagnateur but by the person being accompanied” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week 9). I have experienced accompaniment from many of my close friends at Notre Dame, and I plan to prioritize doing so for others in the future. Ultimately, I want to continue to work on making strong connections with those around me in order to establish strong community ties as well as expand my view of the world.
On a broad level, I have learned through my time in Moreau as well as other courses during my first year of studies that my experiences constitute a very limited understanding of the world. One of my goals for the next three years I will spend on campus is to extract myself from any echo chambers or filter bubbles that I am currently in. This “obviously [isn’t] easy to do but [is] well worth the effort for both [myself] and [my] potential connection to the truth” (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by ThinkND - Moreau FYE Week 11). I have pushed myself to challenge my own thinking throughout my courses and other experiences in college so far, and I will continue to do so in the future. True change cannot be made unless people from all backgrounds “...talk across differences and create a trust, create a mutual understanding” (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week 2). This is something that is extremely important to me in my current studies and beyond. 
While I currently believe that my future career will be centered around making change for our natural environment, I want to dedicate as much time outside of that work to fight against “ networks of privilege, prejudice and power so commonplace that often neither oppressors nor victims are aware of them” (“Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross” by Congregation of the Holy Cross - Moreau FYE Week 12). I learned about the social, economic, and political inequalities that plague our society in a Gender Studies course this year, and it taught me that change in these issues will not come unless people work together to combat them. My experiences at Notre Dame have led me to discover that it is important to attempt to “understand the racial realities of people of color through authentic interaction rather than through the media or unequal relationships” (“Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo - Moreau FYE Week 10). I hope to be able to aid in the work being done to dismantle oppressions and inequalities in our society throughout my time at Notre Dame and in the future. 
I have set standards for myself to continue to grow and challenge myself both academically and in my personal life. While these goals may change or take time to achieve, I am ultimately focused on becoming the best version of myself through my learning at Notre Dame. The changes I have already seen in myself during my first year of studies are tremendous, but I want to continue this trend of introspection and adaptation. It is my mission to take advantage of the many opportunities that I have been given in order to continue to grow as a person and take action for the betterment of others.