Rita - Barhouche

Rita

Barhouche

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2027

Sahel Alma, Lebanon

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Every time I see or hear a quote that inspires me, I write it on a post-it and hang it on my door in
my room. One of my favorite ones has to be “God makes use of everything to give us a win.”
(“Homily for Mark 8-27-35” by Fr. Joe Corpora, C.S.C. – Moreau FYE Week Ten). I think I repeat
this quote to myself at least once a day because it gives me perspective. Fall semester was not easy
for me. I had to pack 17 years of my life in three suitcases and leave my home country, Lebanon,
and it’s safe to say that the 24-hour trip did not help. I had days when even my one direction playlist
could not cheer me up – that says a lot. Days when I felt like an alien who is not welcomed in the
place she has been fantasizing about forever. This is the life of an international student in the states,
just a bunch of highs and lows (with an occasional existential crisis).

As I look back at my Fall semester, I could not be prouder of myself. I would smile after every
phone call with my parents not because I don’t miss them, but because I know I have made it to
the place I never thought I would. This might sound dramatic, but for someone who grew up in
such a niche community so far away from Western culture, this is huge. I chose a major in which
I will be the most challenged – aerospace engineering – because I value my dreams. I chose to be
more than just another girl confined to her country’s borders and its limitations, and I chose to do
it for me.

Sometimes, I need to remind myself to take things easy. I’m so glad I put effort in every Moreau
assignment and really connected with the modules. Every week served as a way for me to reflect
on the time when I had been the saddest, the happiest, and everything in between. As I grew up in
a community where vulnerability is seen as a weakness, I always resorted to my journal as therapy.

Moreau almost felt like a journal or a digital memoir of my journey as I enjoyed sharing bits and
pieces of it.

From joining clubs like Rocketry and Ultimate Frisbee, cheering on the Fighting Irish as loud as
possible in Football games, embracing dorm life as I cherish the people who heal my soul after a
long day, and challenging myself in my courses and research endeavors, I have already made so
many memories. Now, I can only hope that the next four years teach me how to grow on an
academic, professional, social, and spiritual level. Yes, I choose to have hope, because without that
I have nothing. I still have my candle from our first trip to the grotto during Welcome Weekend. I
remember I went back to my room, full of hope, and I decided that I will only light my candle at
the grotto when I feel like all hope is lost, to remind myself to hold on to it and overcome the
obstacles.

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