DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Intg 2: Prompt 1

Prompt 1

The Complexity of Crafting Identity

Since coming to Notre Dame, I have become more engaged with people of all different ethnicities and cultures, including my own. While I came from a high school with a similar demographic in terms of ethnicity, there was very little variety in where people came from location wise. The clear majority of the students lived in the South, which has a very distinct culture in and of itself. Here at Notre Dame, there are people from a much larger variety of locations. In fact, over half the students at Notre Dame are from the Midwest or East Coast. This change in demographic makes a profound impact on the culture here at Notre Dame. For example, Cavanaugh Hall, my residence hall, implemented a new signature event a couple of years ago: Cav Cornhole. When I learned of this event, I was confused, as I no clue what cornhole was or how it was played. Because of was from the South, I did not know of this classic Midwest game. I am sure I will have many similar experiences over the next three and a half years as I begin to integrate my Southern culture with that of the Midwest.

 

"Cav Cornhole" from Cavanaugh Hall Facebook Page

 

One of the most significant cultural experiences I have had thus far at Notre Dame was the Latino Freshman Retreat. While my father is of Mexican heritage, he never emphasized the typical aspects of Latino culture. I did not grow up listening to Spanish music or eating Mexican candies; I cannot even speak Spanish. Thus, when the opportunity arose to go on the Latino Freshman Retreat, LFR, I decided it would be my chance to connect more deeply with my Hispanic roots while making new friends. Even before LFR began, I felt slightly out of place. We had an orientation event the Tuesday before the retreat, and at the end, we walked to the Grotto and sang; only, we sang in Spanish. Obviously, I was uncomfortable singing in a language whose intonations and pronunciations I did not know. Despite is minor hiccup, I was still excited for the retreat. During the retreat, the feeling of being different did not leave me; it got stronger. While others laughed with joy when a large box of Mexican candies and snacks arrived, everything to me was unfamiliar except for the box of chips. On the last night of retreat, while others sang gleefully to Spanish songs all night long, I felt left out, as I did not know a single song that was played that night. The disparity between myself and the others on the retreat was most pronounced when we arrived back to campus Sunday, just in time for Spanish mass as a group. Knowing practically no Spanish, I spent 60 minutes being perpetually confused on when to sing, stand, or speak. Through LFR, I realized that while I identify as being Hispanic, I have not incorporated the traditional aspects of Hispanic culture into my own; instead, I have incorporated aspects of the Chavez family culture instead. I did gain new friends during LFR, including a small “familia” who meets up once a month, who have been helping me learn more about traditional Hispanic culture to see what I may to add to enrich my identity.

 

"Team Possible LFR Familia" by Official LFR Photographer

 

The differences between various cultures on campus and across the country became rather evident this year due to the Presidential Election. Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign stirred up controversy and contention between different cultures, especially due to his foul use of language in regards to women, Hispanics, African-Americans, and the LGBTQ+ community. Cultural communities began blaming one another for the hardships said communities had faced and continue to face today. Hillary supporters labelled Trump supporters racists, misogynists, and homophobes. While these labels may be true for some of the Trump supporters, I cannot in good conscience say that all Trump supporters are racists, misogynists, and homophobes, even if their votes for Donald Trump empowered those who are. Instead, paraphrasing from Dr. Allan G. Johnson’s article “Privilege, Power, and Difference” from week 11, even if you are not actively a racist, if you stand by and do nothing but help perpetuate a racist system or culture, you are part of the problem. I believe this idea was at the crux of the problem between people during this election, including between students on campus. The discussions generated during this election season have helped me identify which issues I care most about and begin to form my political identity, separate from that which I would just parrot from my parents.

 

For me, the intersection of cultures I view other places resonates because on a basic level, I too am an intersection of cultures. My dad is Hispanic and my mom is Caucasian, thus since birth I have been a mixture of cultural identities. When I am around Hispanics, I am lighter than most; when I am around Caucasians, I am darker than most. I never fit in a single cultural box. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie mentioned in her Week 12 TED Talk video “The Danger of a Single Story,” a person or group of people cannot and should not be defined by a single idea. For me, this has never been an issue to due to intersection of cultures since birth. The hard part for me is finding a balance between cultures; my experiences at Notre Dame are helping me investigate further within myself to discover my identity.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Intg 2: Prompt 2

Prompt 2

The Trinity of Health

Using the various materials we have discussed over the span of this semester, I have generated my personal definition of holistic well-being. In my opinion, holistic well-being refers the health of the mind, the body, and the spirit. The health of the mind is connected to making sure one is psychologically sound and fit. The health of the body is rather self-explanatory. The health of the spirit relates to one’s connection to religion, or whatever high power one believes in, and the growth of that connection. In regards to my new lifestyle at Notre Dame, all three of these aspects of health are essential to ensuring I remain a productive and happy student.

 

While it has not been too difficult, while at Notre Dame I have kept track of my mental health over the course of the semester to ensure I do not become too overwhelmed or stressed. Mental health is crucial to being a successful student, but more importantly, it is crucial to being a joyful person in daily life. As mentioned by Alison Ledgerwood in her TED Talk video “Getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck),” I sometimes get in the habit of viewing events or experiences in a solely negative light and must actively work to reframe them into something less negative or even positive. For example, instead of focusing on the fact that I had an exam and paper due the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I instead focused on the fact I would get to see my family that Tuesday. In addition, I have begun to use the resources offered by the McDonald Center for Student Well-Being. The Monday after Thanksgiving, a couple of friends and I reserved the Breakroom in McWell to hang and and film a Youtube video for my roommate Lisa's channel. It was a great well to relieve stress and maintain a mental health balance.

 

 "Filming Lisa's Youtube Video" by Lisa von Werder

 

The next part of holistic well-being is maintaining a healthy body. Health of the body is complex and related to a variety of factors such as hygienic habits, sleep habits, eating habits, and exercise habits. While not overtly important, hygienic habits, for me, such as showering frequently and maintaining a face cleansing routine help ensure that I do not collect germs from others and get sick. My sleep habits are also intimately related to whether I get sick. As Professor Jessica Payne illustrates on her website and videos from Week 9 entitled “Your Brain on Sleep,” one cannot catch up on missed sleep on weeknights by sleeping extra late on weekends. Thus, I have a time during the week that I aim to be in bed by to ensure I get an adequate minimum amount of sleep. In addition, while my eating and exercise habits tend to not affect whether I get sick, if I eat healthier and exercise more, I tend to have more energy. This extra energy ensures that I have a balance between energy expended on school and energy expended having fun with friends.

 

The final part of a holistic well-being is ensuring one has a healthy spirit. While some people are not religious, in my context, having a healthy spirit relates to having a good relationship with God. To maintain this relationship with God, I attend Sunday mass in Cavanaugh, where I surround myself with my Cav sisters who also want to strengthen their relationship with God. I also have discussion about my faith with my friends inside and outside the dorm to see if anyone has new ideas about how to engage with God. While I have not met with my in-dorm Priest, Father Bob, it is nice to have him in Cavanaugh if I even feel the desire to have a one-on-one conversation with him in relation to my faith.

 

Going forward into the next semester and then my next three years at Notre Dame, maintaining my holistic well-being will be essential, especially as the classes get tougher and more rigorous as I get older. I intend to keep up with my basic steps to health, perhaps adding some along the way. Overall, as I long as watch my three basic health aspects (body, mind, and spirit), I know I will be able to thrive and succeed at Notre Dame.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Intg 2: Prompt 3

Prompt 3

The Eternal Struggle

In my opinion, cultivating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle was the most difficult goal for me this semester. I also anticipate it will be the hardest goal for me in general during my time here at Notre Dame. In high school, I was never particularly athletic; I did not play any sports and I exercised during PE only. Thus, once I arrived at Notre Dame, which has no structured PE requirement, I knew it would be a struggle to motivate myself to continue to work and remain healthy. Through my senior year PE independent study, I learned that I tend to exercise the most when I have a set class that I attend weekly. Therefore, once on campus I signed up for a Pilates class and began to attend drop in yoga once a week.

 

The other aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating healthy, is also a struggle for me. While I generally eat a balanced meal in the dining hall, I tend to gravitate towards desserts more frequently than I should. In addition, I always somehow end up with lots of sweets in my quad, whether by my own doing or one of my quad-mates. In addition, because I do not enjoy coffee or tea, I tend to get my caffeine from soda, which is honestly rather terrible for me considering the amount of sugar in a single serving of soda.  To counteract these bad habits this semester, I have tried to limit myself to one soda/caffeinated beverage a day maximum and to limit the amount of times a week I eat dessert in the dining hall. In addition, I have bought healthier snacks from the Huddle Mart, such as string cheese and honey roasted peanuts, instead of snacks such as chocolate covered raisins or Nutella.

 

"Healthy vs Unhealthy" by Cristina Chavez

 

As I move into the second semester, I intend to keep working towards my goal of cultivating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I am going to sign up for another exercise class once Spring semester sign-ups open; if I find a class that seems particularly fun, I may sign up for more than one class. I also intend to motivate myself through my roommate. Lisa and I have decided to hold each other accountable for working out, meaning we will either work out together or will both each other to go work out separately depending on our schedules. I also intend to limit my dessert intake further by not buying any sweets from the Huddle Mart, no matter how tempting the candy wall may be. By exercising more frequently and eating healthier, I hope to have more energy and to be in a better mood in general. I also believe working out may help combat any weather-related sluggishness that may occur due to the change of weather (from sunny to permacloud). Finally, I believe that the course material related to sleep will be the most helpful for me next semester, when I have an 8:20 class, and in the future overall, as I believe naps will be the key to my success. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.