Professor Kelly
Moreau FYE
29 November 2021
How to Make it Worthwhile
The great Lou Holtz, former head coach of Notre Dame football, once said, “Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity”. For me, this quote is a great reminder of the struggles that we all have to go through in order to get what we want. When moving into college, everyone goes through a period of change in their lives, and change can be hard. It requires us to step outside of our comfort zone, whether that be living with kids you’ve never met, eating food from a dining hall, more personal freedom, or the multitude of other things that are involved. So, in order to make college worthwhile, you must overcome adversity, and I feel like Moreau FYE has helped me deal with that adversity and equip me with the tools to respond to it effectively.
When most people got their Gateway decision, they were either elated or upset. When I got my Gateway decision, I was confused. While I had always thought about going to Notre Dame, I was not expecting to get accepted, so I opened the decision on my phone while in the car, thinking I would be opening a rejection letter. At first, it looked like I was right, as the opening paragraph of the decision letter stated that the school “Couldn’t offer me a spot in their 2021 Freshman class”. However, when Gateway was brought up in the second paragraph, I was more confused than I was excited or angry, so I texted my parents, “I got rejected, but it was a weird rejection”. Obviously, it turned out not to be a rejection, but the feeling of “I don’t belong at ND” was an immediate thought of mine since learning about Gateway. It’s hard not to feel a sense of imposter syndrome in a situation like this, you’re at a University as prestigious as Notre Dame, but you also are simultaneously being told that you aren’t quite qualified to be there at the same time. However, when we talked about imposter syndrome in Week 9 of this course, my mind went back to that decision letter and the days that followed. As mentioned in the Ted Talk we watched that week, a lot of people have imposter syndrome, but not many people like to share the doubts that are stuck in their mind (“What is Imposter Syndrome” by Elizabeth Cox - Moreau FYE Week Nine). However, I think that as a class, we have done a good job being vulnerable with one another and helping each other ease the feelings of imposter syndrome that we have in our heads. This is in large part due to the leadership within our community, which is something that we touched on in Week 11 of the course this year. While our class does not have one specific figurehead of leadership (among the students), we all take up a leadership role - sometimes without even noticing. By participating in class, whether that be sharing your thoughts with the person next to you, or presenting your Conversations that Matter project, you are taking a role of leadership within the community. As mentioned in the Courage Renewal article of week 11, “[Communities] requires more leadership, not less, than bureaucracies” (“Thirteen ways of Looking at Community” By Parker J. Palmer - Moreau FYE Week Eleven). While there may not be one specific person in our community with as much leadership as there would be in a Bureaucracy, there is certainly more leadership in the collective, and I think that’s helped so much in us, as a group, feeling a greater sense of belonging. By being vulnerable with each other, by leaving our comfort zones, and by being leaders in our own unique and individual ways, we are able to help each other overcome imposter syndrome and feel better about taking on all the challenges of college. The idea of being vulnerable with others, while also being a leader, is a balance that is important to find. As I continue on my road at Notre Dame and after I graduate, I want to strive to perfect this combination within myself, so that I can experience more communities like the one in our class. In order to do this, I need to make sure that I am willing to reach out to people and be outgoing, but more importantly, and more challenging, is letting people reach out to me, and make time for problems others face, not just myself.
	When approaching challenges in your life, it is important to approach them in the best way possible. While there is often no specific right way to approach a certain situation you encounter in your life, there are certainly a few things that you can do to approach it better. For example, my decision to accept the Gateway offer was not a decision that came easy. As aforementioned, the first perspective I looked at Gateway from was the perspective of it being a rejection. Had I been stubborn, and refused to look at Gateway through a new perspective, I would have never accepted the offer. However, because I had an open mind, I reached out to others, and took my own time to learn more about the program. By viewing things from multiple perspectives, I was able to better understand Gateway, and thankfully ended up accepting the offer. While we talked a lot about perspectives in Week 7 of this course, I was reminded of a similar idea during Week 10 as well. In one of our assigned articles, we read about how Critical Race Theory could be analyzed through a Catholic lense (“Should Catholic Schools Teach Critical Race Theory” By Christopher J. Devon - Moreau FYE Week Ten). While this topic might be one that many people try to downplay or avoid, looking at systemic racism through religion may open the eyes of people and lead them to care more deeply about the issues that this country faces. While the end result might be the same as someone who analyzed the situation through, for example, a legal sense, it was the perspective of religion that will have made the difference for others.  These new ideas can help fulfill some people’s personal struggles, and give them a whole new way to look at the world. Moving forward, I want to start analyzing more issues through religion. Despite being a confirmed Catholic, my high school years were largely without religion. While I am confident in the way I view things, I think by stepping outside my comfort zone and into a more faith-oriented view, I will gain additional perspectives that will only enhance my knowledge of what’s around me, and what is important to my life. If we are not vulnerable, and unwilling to change our mind or perspective on what we think we already know, we will never be able to find solutions to our problems. One of my favorite quotes all semester came from our Week 12 reading, where the text reads, “The contemplation of new ideas and needs beyond our comfort zones requires a sacrificial willingness to put at risk everything that we already know” (“Hope - A Holy Cross and Christian Education” By Fr. James B. King - Moreau FYE Week 12). I believe that by putting at risk all of our preconceived notions, we are best able to come to greater conclusions that are beyond what we previously believed. If we are too stubborn to hold on to what we already know, then maybe we won’t search for new lenses to view a topic on, and in turn, miss out on some really valuable discoveries.`By looking at issues through religion as I continue my journey through Notre Dame, I hope to find these valuable discoveries that will enhance my academic experience and world view.
	Overall, I think that these last 4 weeks in Moreau have allowed me to come up with some brilliant new ideas, and helped me reflect on some past experiences as well. When I first arrived on campus, I was worried about how I would fit in at both Holy Cross and at Notre Dame. I wanted to be able to enjoy my first year as much as I could, while also setting myself up for an enjoyable next three years across the street. At first, the schools and experiences seemed so black and white, however I have begun to notice that you can make the most of both experiences at once by sticking to some of the principles we have talked about in class. Have faith in yourself, be a leader, seek understanding through different windows, and take risks. Sticking to these four pillars makes it much easier to achieve something worthwhile, and overcome all the adversity in your way.