Week 8 - Integration One Sanya Jain 1 It is never the e(ND)ing, but just the beginning! A question I often wonder is what are root beliefs? Root beliefs are the core faith we have that drives our life decisions. These core beliefs can be determined in the past and altered by our situations in the present or future. Personally, my root beliefs shape the person I am today and a lot of the credit goes to the University of Notre Dame, the place I now call home. Entering the gates of this university helped me understand the nuances of my personality, delve deeper into understanding my choices and transform me into the person I am today. I believe that I grow by recognizing and understanding my strengths. Coming to a place far away from home was challenging and the first time I stepped out of my comfort zone. Unaware of the strength of this community I was coming to, I was nervous and scared. However, since I have come to the university of Notre Dame there hasn’t been a moment I have felt that I don’t belong here. I believe that finding a place to belong is the stepping stone to understanding the kind of environment one finds comforting. The feeling of belonging and having people I could go back to at the end of the day to rant made me feel less lost in a new country. However, one important quality I learnt through the process of adjusting to this new environment was putting my guard down and being vulnerable. Initially it may seem like vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and one’s struggle for worthiness, but it is also the birthplace of joy, creativity and relationships. Personally, the lack of vulnerability I showed was simply a defense mechanism which prevented me from situations I believed were shameful, scary or hurtful. This was only until I got to Notre Dame where I realised the importance of this quality. It made me realise the importance of vulnerability in fostering new relationships as it allowed honest conversations to flow which helped build trust. Vulnerability allowed me to follow my heart Sanya Jain 2 without overthinking the consequences, helping me come up with new ideas and solutions during group meetings. Lastly, the feeling of being vulnerable, even though it is scary, lets me feel free. It lets me feel free from the judgements of others as I know that in that moment I am my most authentic self. I was able to understand how to convert my fear to my strength which helped me grow and will continue to help me in my journey ahead. (“The power of vulnerability” by Brené Brown - Moreau FYE Week 1 ) Self-knowledge is the act of recognizing these strengths. For example, I was able to distinguish between my eulogy virtues and resume virtues. In the constant haste to achieve my career goals and dreams, I often focused on building my hard and soft skills that would help me in the corporate world. For example, at the university of Notre Dame, the first thing I did was research clubs and activities that would boost my resume like SIBC. Instead, the thing I learnt over time was that more than developing these skills (which are important), it was time I focused on the virtues that would help people remember me, get to know me and love me for the person I am. Coming to a place far away from home, made it important for me to build relationships around me so that I would feel less lonely. This was the reason why I began exploring beyond my resume virtues so that I could show my true personality to develop friendships around me. Understanding my eulogy virtues helped me understand important strengths such as kindness, humbleness and honesty which helped me grow as a person and as a friend too. (“Should you live your Resume or Your Eulogy” by David Brooks - Moreau FYE Week 2) Lastly, another strength that I was able to recognise is my most important strength - sticking to my roots. Similar to the experience that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie had, I also faced slight racism. Many people have asked me how I have learnt to speak english so well and whether I studied abroad. However, the reality is that English is my first language back at home. Even https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLWTeApqIM Sanya Jain 3 though not intentional, there is a presence of implicit biases which sometimes does feel weird. The fact that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie didn’t let the stereotypes people held about Africans affect her but instead grew more fonder and embraced African culture is something remarkable. Such incidents may have demotivated me (especially when someone at a party asks how I have heard “American” music), it taught me to grow and embrace my culture more. It allowed me to reflect on my learnings and maintain my cultural roots. This was evidence of growth as it allowed me to look beyond these stereotypes, find my strengths and discover how important my roots were. (“Danger of a single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Moreau FYE Week 7) I believe that the community that surrounds me shapes me. An important part of my upbringing is the place I am from. I am from the city of dreams - Mumbai. This place and people from here have shaped me into who I am. Staying for two months in a forgein country made me understand the influence of Indian culture and this city, helping me realise the strength of the influences I was surrounded with. Through the “Where I am” poem which I had written, I was able to explore and reflect on these influences. I am from the City of Dreams, where the fast-paced megacity never fails to surprise me. I am from the city that never sleeps! I am from the chaos that echoes through the city, while the waves splash on the coastline. (Mumbai, is often referred to as the city of dreams since it is the financial capital of India. Living in Mumbai taught me how to adjust to the fast paced life and always try to keep up. The beauty of this city is that it is filled with different types of people - different races, incomes, and origins, yet the strong culture brings everyone together. This is why this city has grown on me and never fails to surprise me as everyday I learn something new. ) https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story Sanya Jain 4 I am from the boiling summer heat and the humid climate, that has now become my comfort. I am from the bustling streets where street vendors attempt to sell their products, while teaching me the importance of respect. (One of the most famous parts of Mumbai is the street shopping. The bustling streets are always crowded and packed while everyone is trying to get the product they desire. Even with so much rush, I learnt the quality of respect from the people I have been surrounded by. There is never a time that these street vendors are looked down upon because they often provide essentials to us. Regardless of the income status, everyone shops their groceries from these vendors and it was nice to see the gratitude that each and every individual had ) I am from the city where there is inequality allowing me to understand different walks of life. (A fun fact is that Mumbai is the place where the richest man in India stays and also the place where the biggest slum in Asia is present. This is evidence of the inequality that exists. This disparity has given me first hand experience into learning from people from these different walks of lives. Learning from my house help who has farms back home taught me the hardworking nature of every person even though they weren’t receiving much income. Having conversations with my watchman every morning for school gave me insights into how hard he worked so that he could feed his family. Having conversations with businessmen taught me how they are attempting to dominate the market place and what goes through their minds. From the poorest people whose main aim is to feed their family to the richest who want to get richer - one thing remained the same which was the hardworking nature as each person worked their hardest to achieve their goals. ) I am from my friends who have taught me the importance of loving with compassion. Sanya Jain 5 (My friends taught me the quality of love and compassion. The feeling of being away from them has made me understand their influence in my life. They form a major part of the community I am surrounded by and have shaped me by teaching me the quality to love, to care and to be happy for each other.) I am from my family who allowed me to grow into the person I am today. (My upbringing has always been a key influencer. My family (the community I was first introduced to when I was born) helps me grow into the person I am today by teaching me virtues like honesty and loving selflessly) I am from God, the one who gave me life and a meaning that is motivating me to do my best every day. (I do believe there is a supernatural force (almighty) which has created us. I also believe that he created us for a purpose and keeping this in mind I am motivated to try to do my best everyday. My family has always had a strong faith in God which they passed down to me. From praying everyday with my grandma to waiting till my festivals come to enjoy with my family, my beliefs in God have just grown over time giving me purpose in life. ) I am from my home made of love and dreams and not from a house made of walls and beams. (“Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon - Moreau FYE Week 6 ) I recently questioned myself asking does the community really shape the person I am today. The community back home definitely shaped me, but now that I am at the University of Notre Dame can this community shape me today. The University of Notre Dame has a vision to shape the mind and hearts of the students. With the catholic community, I was not sure if this same belief would hold true as I grew up in a Hindu environment. However, coming to University of Notre http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html Sanya Jain 6 Dame did make my root belief stronger as this community has started to influence and shape the person I am today. The letter written by Edward Sorin to father general moreau – the founder of the holy cross congregation gave me an insight into how this community that is shaping me was discovered and nurtured through all the struggles. Despite all its struggles the community has been able to foster an environment where the heart and mind is being developed. Through my interactions with people I have been able to align myself with them, learn and grow more values that the Notre Dame community promotes. In my opinion the core values promoted at Notre dame are excellence, respect, integrity, teamwork and accountability. Through every aspect, in particular the Moreau Classes, I have learnt each of these through discussions I have had with my peers. It allowed me to understand them and their situations better which gave me a deeper insight into the vast diversity of people who each had their own characteristics. This learning from others has shaped me today as I have developed the capability to understand and respect others which has helped me be part of this new community, thereby shaping my personality (which align with the Notre Dame core values). (“Fr. Sorin Letter to Bl. Basil Moreau, December 5, 1842 (pages 1-6)” - Moreau FYE Week 5 ) I believe that I am searching for a framework. All my life I have been searching for a framework but have not been able to do so. I often wonder how people find a framework for life because life is so complicated and unpredictable. The answer I came up with eventually was life doesn’t have a framework and there is no particular rule book to follow life. It was during the Moreau Class where we discussed faith as a framework to life where I wondered if that was true for me. Faith and belief is something that definitely shapes the person I am today. After that classroom discussion I realised something. Faith is one of the qualities that adds a certain type of https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o56woQDq3QrRkziT8eYrvYly5CQaP2Vb/view Sanya Jain 7 framework in one’s life, even though it may not be the framework in itself. Every individual has a different set of beliefs and story of faith. Reading the student’s voices on how everyone’s faith was fostered in the “Student’s reflections on Faith at Notre Dame” article, I was able to reflect on the same questions that everyone answered in context to myself. For me faith is important because it gives me a foundation upon which I live my life and make decisions. Faith matters because it has the ability to hold my family together as we all have similar beliefs. Lastly, faith matters because it makes me feel closer to the divine power that is present in our universe. I am still not sure if faith has formed a framework for me, but I am on the path of discovering if it has. (“Student Reflection on Faith at Notre Dame” - Moreau FYE Week 3 ) I also think that relationships are a part of this framework. There are two kinds of relationships - good ones and bad ones. The toxic relationships are often a part of life’s framework, even if they shouldn’t be in an ideal situation. Coming here to the University of Notre Dame made me interact with all sorts of people. I have had many friendships in my life, but coming here made me ponder if I would find any real friendships. I have had friends who don’t listen to me, bail on me and use me to get good grades. Coming here I wanted to eliminate this toxic element and tried my best to make healthy relationships. I am glad I made friends eventually who talk positive things, listen to me, stay with me, are genuine and want just love and respect for me. (“5 signs you’re in a toxic friendship” by Olivia T Taylor - Moreau FYE Week 4) While these two elements make part of the framework, I am still trying to find elements that fit in so I have a framework with which I can live life and make the right decisions and choices. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YVemqUBaAs5DNBPYm806TyQZr3F0xElP/view https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ https://grottonetwork.com/navigate-life/relationships/signs-of-toxic-friendships/ Sanya Jain 8 This is just the beginning of discovering myself, my root beliefs and how they are changing with time. It is never the ending as there is always belief in everything one does.