Integration Two Tran 1 Nhat Nguyen Moreau First Year Experience 3 December 2021 Encountering New Directions The second half of the semester has brought about many new experiences as I have settled into college life. These new experiences spark periods of reflection as they coincide with the weekly Moreau First Year Experience prompts. Learning how to respond and grow from these experiences the first time around will help me when I encounter these same experiences in the future. Week 9’s topic of “encountering dissonance” strongly resonated with me because of how the emotions discussed were all emotions that I have experienced during my first semester of college. During the first month of college, I felt like I was not connecting with anyone except with one of my roommates. It was hard for me to understand why my conversations with other students in my classes felt superficial. During the weekends, I would see students on campus going to parties in large groups and friends from back home posting on social media about so many things happening during their weekends; I could not help but think “What am I doing wrong?” However, as I settled into the semester, I became more comfortable with myself and eventually found three other girls with whom I am very close. Upon reflection, I realize that all college freshmen have at one point or another felt a feeling of loneliness and questioned what they were doing wrong. “Understand that your loneliness is not failure, and that you are far from being alone in this feeling” (“Advice from a Formerly Lonely College Student” by Emery Bergmann - Moreau FYE Week Nine) said by Emery Bergmann sums up this emotion. Week 9 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/well/family/advice-from-a-formerly-lonely-college-student.html Tran 2 also touches on imposter syndrome. This feeling of unworthiness has appeared when I would sit in my Principles of Microeconomics class. I found that it took me longer to grasp a concept, so I would be unable to answer questions in class, but many students could answer questions right after being taught a concept. I would often question how I was in the same class as those students. It took me a while before I could accept that my mind just takes longer to learn economics. Beyond graded homework, I would do extra practice problems and attend office hours to ensure that I fully understood a topic. As the end of the semester is nearing, I can say that having difficulties with economics might have been life’s way of teaching me to ask for help. “Encountering brokenness” in Week 10 provided greater clarity for what needs to happen when things must change. Humans are naturally self-interested beings. We do things that are in our best interest and benefit ourselves. Naturally, we do not automatically think about how our actions will affect others. Because of this natural inclination, we must correct our ways about how we approach something that needs to change in our lives, society, and the world. Father Jenkins’ statement that “Both sides call for change, but each believes it’s the other side that must change” (“Wesley Theological Seminary 2012 Commencement Address” by Father Jenkins - Moreau FYE Week Ten) clearly outlines that people never think that their actions are wrong. For real and long-lasting change to occur, both parties must assess not only the actions of the other party but also their own actions. This broad topic can apply on a smaller scale like my own life. When I disagree with one of my roommates, I must take a step back to assess my own actions to see if I have caused any harm or hostility. After I have examined my own actions, I must also give my roommate the benefit of the doubt before speaking with her. By approaching a situation this way, effective and long-lasting change will take place. https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/wesley-theological-seminary-commencement/ Tran 3 Week 11’s emphasis on community and society is highly based on how much today’s world relies on technology, social media, and online outlets for information and news. On social media especially, it is so easy for young people to only see one side or a biased perspective on an issue. When we keep clicking or viewing a certain perspective on an issue, the algorithm for an app or media outlet will continue to feed us the same perspective. This promotes narrow mindedness in many young people, and narrow mindedness pushes us away from different ways of thinking, different people, and ultimately having a community. Parker J. Palmer states “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). When we do not have a “capacity for connectedness,” we internally do not want to connect with a different group of people for some reason. These reasons are often prejudices or stereotypes that occur because of social media and technology. I have caught myself stereotyping people, and when I catch myself in the act, I try to immediately correct my thoughts. When all is said and done, I am no different than the people around me because we are all humans, and many of my prenotions have been planted in my thoughts through society. Society does not know much about the truth of people, so I cannot let myself always believe what I see on social media, the news, and what I hear around me. Week 12’s topic of hope addresses a very real human emotion that helps us understand and survive difficult times. Hope helps us believe that bad times will not go on forever and also helps us look forward to something in the future. For many Catholics, we hope that the way we are living our lives will lead us to salvation in Heaven with God. A way to fulfill this hope is to live how Jesus lived. Father James B. King says, “Striving for completeness means spending one’s life as a citizen of this world imitating the person of Christ as the gateway to citizenship in http://couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/13-ways-of-looking-at-community/ Tran 4 heaven” (“Hope - Holy Cross and Christian Education” by Father James B. King - Moreau FYE Week Twelve). Living as Jesus did will not only bring us closer to salvation but also bring us to completeness. Sometimes when I get frustrated, I think to myself “What am I even doing?” During these times, it is helpful for me to take a step back and realize that I am not living for myself but for God. Simply changing my thoughts to center around the previous statement helps give me motivation. Living and experiencing life gives me greater meaning and purpose when I tell myself that what I am doing is for God. New experiences have helped me to develop a broader mindset about society and myself. I am not alone in my feelings of loneliness as a college freshman. Myself and other freshmen are all starting from a clean slate, possibly knowing no one, so it is expected that we may feel alone in our feelings. I have to take initiatives when I know that I am lacking in some part of my academics. Similar to my economics class, if in the future I am struggling with a class, I must use the resources available to me to help me succeed. For lasting change to take place, I must consider my actions and the actions of the other party to come to an agreeable outcome. With today’s society being so dominated by social media, I must stay true to what I believe in and not quickly agree with the biased news I may see online. Finally, I must have hope that what I am doing in the present will in the future guide me towards salvation in Heaven. https://campusministry.nd.edu/assets/105621/