NDNU Hallmark Portfolio

Hallmark 1: My 30 Day Gratitude Journal

Hallmark 1 states, "We proclaim our lives even more than by our words that God is good."
I chose to use my 30-day gratitude journal to represent this Hallmark. By writing down three things I am grateful for each night. I take a moment each night to acknowledge the day God has allowed me to live. Sometimes we go through life without realizing how great life is and how good God can be. By taking a few minutes out of a busy schedule in order to write three things I am thankful for, I acknowledge how lucky I am to live my life. Because of this gratitude journal, I realized how much I take the little things in life for granted.
Writing down what I was grateful for throughout a span of 30 days really helped me realize how I always fail to acknowledge the amazing day I lived. Because of the journal I was able to have a better appreciation of the day, I am able to live as well as better appreciate God and all the wonderful things he has allowed me to do.

Hallmark 2: Dia de Los Muertos Mass

Hallmark 2 states, "We honor the dignity and sacredness of each person."

Growing up I attended a Spanish mass every Sunday. It wasn't until I moved to the school that I began attending mass in English. For some reason, going to mass in English wasn't the same to me as going to mass in Spanish. On November 6, 2016, I attended mass at school and it wasn't until the mass began that I realized it was in Spanish. The fact that mass was in Spanish helped me feel like I was back home. 

Notre Dame de Namur's Dia de Los Muertos Mass was an event filled with diversity. The altar was decorated with a colorful Mexican theme and next to the altar stood a mariachi trio. The mass was both in English and Spanish and it a sense that brought everyone together. Although it was a Mexican holiday being celebrated, everyone of different ethnicities acknowledged the celebration and had a great time. The beliefs being celebrated that night brought everyone together with a mariachi band and sweet Mexican treats.

Hallmark 3: Latinos Unidos

Hallmark 3 states, "We educated for and act on behalf of justice and peace in the world."

At NDNU it feels hard sometimes to find a place where to belong. Hoping I would find my place, I attended a Latinos Unidos meeting in the beginning of the school year. Everyone I met that night was warm and welcoming which is something most people in Notre Dame aren't. What stood out to me from the meeting was how they were discussing different social injustices. As a group, we began to brainstorm activities we could do in order to bring awareness to these social injustices. 

By focussing on social injustices, Latinos Unidos falls under Hallmark 3. The students in this club take matters into their own hands as they spread awareness. The clubs acknowledges that actions speak much louder than words. Latinos Unidos promotes social justice as well as peace. 

Hallmark 4: Call to Action Day

Hallmark 5 states: "We commit ourselves to community service."

On October 11, 2016, our Freshman Seminar class took a bus to Treasure Island. While in Treasure Island, we helped fourth and fifth graders as they headed to the classrooms to learn about buoyancy. This was a great experience because I think both the kids and myself learned something new that day.  I was a little disappointed because I was not able to go out onto the bay to sail with the kids. Although I was disappointed that did not ruin my community service experience. Helping the kids and seeing them get excited when succeeding was enough motivation for me to give the kids my 100% devotion. 

Call to actions fits under this Hallmark because rather than by learning inside a closed classroom, we were able to go out and help others learn. The NDNU students helped children make foil boats and try to get them to float. We also helped them learn about buoyancy by testing out how many marbles were able to fit in the boat without actually sinking the boat.

Hallmark 5: Halloween in the Tenderloin

Hallmark 5 states: "We embrace the gift of diversity."

While at Notre Dame, I tend to stay in my room on the weekends and shut myself out from the rest of the world. After seeing fliers throughout the school for Halloween in the Tenderloin, I decided to dedicate a day from my week to volunteering at the event.  Not being from around here, I had no clue what the Tenderloin was. As we were in the bus approaching the area, I understood how beaten and broken down the Tenderloin looked. 

Halloween at the Tenderloin was a great experience which I hope to continue to volunteer for each year. I was able to see how diverse the community in the Tenderloin was. Everyone seemed so different from each other, yet they were all interacting with one another. Halloween in the Tenderloin is a great example of diversity and how diverse groups can come together as one.

Hallmark 6: Fleece Week

Hallmark 6 states: "We create community among those with whom we work and with those we serve."

Notre Dame de Namur welcomed all freshman this 2016 semester by having them move in a week before classes started. Throughout the week of "welcome", also known as the Golden Fleece week the RA's planned different events for the freshman to get to know each other.  This week of welcome consisted of bowling, mixers, and a trip to SF to attend the Giants game.  

The Golden Fleece week is categorized under Hallmark 7 because Fleece week was a time in which NDNU gave students the opportunity to form a bond with those around them. Welcome week was a time in which students came together to form a community by getting to know one another. 

Hallmark 7: Exams

Hallmark 7 states: "We develop holistic learning communities which educate for life."

When I began the semester, I was completely freaking out because in my first week at the school all I ever heard about being a biology major were negative comments. I began to doubt myself as I started  questioning whether or not I would be able to succeed in studying biology. I thought very low of myself and what I believed I was capable of. 

I chose to have my first general biology exam represent Hallmark 7 because it is a perfect example of how NDNU implements "academically excellent educational experiences". As I said before, I thought very low of myself when it came to my ability to learn. My biology professor one day saw me bringing myself down and asked me to go visit her during her office hours. When I showed up she let me know I was doing extremely well in the class and that she had noticed I was being hard on myself. She offered to help me with anything I might be struggling with. The fact that my professor saw me having a hard time made me remember why I chose to attend this school. NDNU offers me such an amazing education opportunity by have professors who care and offer one on one help.

Sadness with a side of Joy

Before watching the Inside Out together as a class, I had watched the movie in theaters with my family but had never thought about the deeper meaning behind it. When watching the movie this past Friday night I was able to pick up on the small scenes which I use to not pay much attention to. Everything occurring in the movie seemed to have a purpose and a deeper meaning to it. The first time I watched the movie, I watched it in Spanish so I was not able to fully grasp the movies meaning as a whole. This time everything seemed to make sense and it was all pretty eye opening. Joy was controlling and wanted everything to go her way. This can be seen throughout individuals on the daily when we try to "fake it till we make it". As human beings, we tell ourselves we must be happy and fail to acknowledge that not everything is sunshine and rainbows. We must experience anger, disgust, fear, and even sadness in order to fully acknowledge and appreciate joy. These other emotions which were practically being oppressed by Joy while they were what gave Joy meaning and significance. It's like the saying goes, "you can't have a rainbow without a little rain", you can't have joy without anger, fear, disgust, and sadness. The movie specifically pointed out how sadness is the most crucial emotion that leads to joy. One must acknowledge sadness in order to accept it and move on to become happier. An example that stood out the most was when Bing Bong's rocket was thrown out and he was upset because he would no longer be able to take Riley to the moon. As Bing Bong became nostalgic Joy pressured him to forget his sadness and tried to get him to fake happiness. Sadness sat by him and acknowledged his hurt and while at first, it seemed to make things worse, it actually helped Bing Bong move on. This scene led to a realization in which being sad isn't always a bad thing. By acknowledging your sadness and letting it all out you are able to accept it and move on while if you hold the sadness in you tend to be more upset about it in the long run.
One of the scenes that made me cry throughout the film was when Riley returns home and confesses the truth to her parents. I fully related to Riley and was able to understand what was happening to her and therefore I was able to understand the deeper meaning of this scene. When Riley is sad and begins to cry her parents acknowledge her sadness and relate to her. They hug her and suddenly Riley sighs in relief and she finally has a sense of joy once again. Joy was an effect of sadness all along.

The Rush of Freshman Conference Presentations

The Freshman Research Conference consisted of three groups of representatives for the three different pods. The different pods gave overviews of topics they were learning in class. I believe some of the presentations were extremely and unnecessarily long. The first five minutes of the presentations I was genuinely interested. The second five minutes I was interested but slowly losing interest. After more than ten minutes, the presenters had completely lost me. I especially lost interest when the slides looked like pages of a book with so much writing on them. I couldn't really concentrate on the presentations because I was freaking out because I had to present in front of half the freshman class. If you ask me to perform a ballet routine in front of 1,000 people I will do it without hesitation. If you ask me to play a volleyball match with 200 people watching I'll do it willingly. If you ask me to speak in front of about 50 students I will break out in an anxiety attack and just freak out. I've never been much of a public speaker so whenever I have to speak in front of crowds I overthink it and grow anxious. The feeling after presenting,however, is probably the same feeling I get after riding a rollercoaster. My blood is rushing, my hands are shaking, and I feel better than ever.

A Party for You is Not a Party for Me

Throughout high school my friends always attended any party being thrown. They would later tell me about how fun they were and how I needed to go. Parties were never my thing because I always felt so antisocial around so many people who were extremely social. One day I decided to step out of my comfort zone and attend a party with my friends. When we arrived I instantly felt uncomfortable. My friends went off to have a good time while I constantly hid behind my boyfriend, whom I used as a shield to protect me from the party people. Attending a party was never really my definition of fun. Lying in bed, reading a good book was always something I found fun. Sure others look at reading a book as something that is the opposite of fun but this never mattered to me because my definition of fun was always completely different from theirs. To me reading a book is bliss. By reading a book I enter a whole new world and become an entirely different person.  When I read I have fun with the characters and that's all that matters to me.

A Day on Treasure Island

The experience the children had in Treasure Island was one that was honestly not life changing. I failed to see the meaningfulness behind taking children and teaching them about boats and taking them sailing. However, Treasure Island does offer kids the opportunity to set out and sail, which is something that might not have been available to them if not for the program. Treasure island gives children the experience of trying new things beyond their comfort zone, which helps them grow as individuals. I do believe the children had positive experiences while at Treasure Island because they were able to learn in a more hands-on manner.  For example, the students tested out what makes a boat buoyant by creating a boat out of aluminum themselves and testing the idea out. This was a great way to teach children because it shows them that there are more ways to learn than rather just by  reading and memorizing material. The students were also able to go out and sail, which was something most of them had not done before.  By doing this, the kids were learning that sometimes trying new things isn't a bad thing. This opens up the kids and allows them to not be afraid to do things they've never done before. Although call to action day seemed like a bust for us, the kids did get something out of it, even if it wasn't obvious to them.

30 Days of Gratitude

1. I got a job
2. I went home for the weekend
3. Bella (my bestfriend) came to hang out with me
4. Went to dinner with my dad
5. Jamie (my roommate) and I had a movie night
6. Jaren said he missed me
7. I did well on my math quiz
8. My favorite music played on the radio
9. I went swimming
10. Bella facetimed me
11. My mom called me
12. I studied efficiently
13. Jacob (my friend) was concerned about my well being 
14. MAC did my makeup for free
15. I got Boba milk tea
16. I hung out with my mom and her friends
17. I felt stress-free
18. Jamie and I had a dance party in our room
19. Jacob and Mark (my friends) joined our karaoke session
20. Professor Monica helped me with Biology
21. I had a good time at work
22. I went to Berkley and had a great time
23. I saw Andrew, Bella. and Annabel
24. I played volleyball
25. I felt confident when taking my Biology quiz
26. I got to talk to Silvie (my 4-year-old sister)
27. I made new friends at NDNU
28. My parents planned to pick me up on the weekend
29. Jaren called me
30. I was healthy 

On Friday, September 23, I took the CAL train and the BART to Berkley where I met up with my best friends Bella, Annabel, and Andrew. The day seemed so perfect, from the moment I stepped off the train in Berkely to the final moments there. We arrived in downtown Berkley an hour earlier than expected and the entire train ride was calm and quiet. Everything seemed to click that day as I was heading closer to meeting up with the people who I missed. Seeing my friends only made the day even more perfect because I realized how important their friendship was to my happiness.

Would You Like a Side of Kindness With That?

I normally consider myself a kind person, but as I worked at the gate of the NDNU soccer game last week I promised myself I would work harder to be an even kinder person. Almost every single adult entering to watch the game gave up a few minutes of their day to have a small conversation with me. It was nice meeting and talking to everyone who came out for it helped me pass the time. By being kind and outgoing I became more approachable. Parents from the visiting team continuously told me I was a great representative for the school which was a pretty great compliment that put me in a better mood for the rest of the day. Towards the end of my shift, a boy from the visiting team approached me and started a conversation.  We exchanged social media information and I continued on working. I also met the cutest little girl who explained to me why money was so awesome; when buying $2 worth of candy and paying with ONE five dollar bill she got THREE bills back. Upon returning to my dorm after my shift, a friend from the soccer team asked if I was working the gate at the game to which I replied yes. He let me know that his parents had met me and they said I was a very kind and sweet girl. I was surprised by this because I had only talked to his parents for about one or two minutes. I realized how important a first impression is because it plays a large role in how people view you. I learned that me being kind not only affected me but it also affected those around me. Being kind took nothing out of me, yet it gave me so much. I met so many great families from all around who helped me have a better work experience all by allowing me to be kind to them, and them being kind to me in return.