29 April 2022
A Statement to Guide My Life
I aspire to live a life prioritizing family. I want to always recognize the admiration and appreciation I have for them and not allow myself to ever forget this. I want to live a life with professional success, but not consumed by it. It is important to me to accomplish great things, but it must not come at the sacrifice of my well-being. Recognizing the importance of a strong support system, I will push myself to prioritize forming and maintaining quality relationships not just among family, but also with friends. Through college, the friends I have made have been influential in allowing me to succeed and this is something that I want to carry on throughout my entire life. Looking at the bigger picture, I want to give back to not only the community I came from, but also the one I will call home later in life. Forming deep connections with those around you develops a greater sense of home and community that can be powerful in overcoming any adversity (“Writing My Own Mission Statement” by  - Moreau FYE Week Thirteen). 
I believe that in pursuing a life well-lived, a mission statement can be a powerful tool that allows us to remain focused on the most important aspects for you individually. Everybody will naturally have different priorities and therefore a different mission statement. When developing my mission statement, I took both a retrospective and prospective approach. I analyzed what historically in my life gave me satisfaction and happiness, then analyzed not only how to maintain these, but also how to grow them, very similar to how the “Pause for Reflection Activity” (“Pause for Reflection Activity” - by the McDonald Center for Wellbeing - Moreau FYE Week One) had us analyze our first semester of college. While reflecting and recognizing what was important to me personally, it was helpful to remember that our time here on Earth is limited, and as a result, we should dedicate our time to what we are truly passionate about. I learned this technique from the week three materials when we were reminded, as grim as it sounds, “Remember your death” (“Meet the nun who wants you to remember that you will die” by Ruth Graham, NY Times - Moreau FYE Week Three). However, as important as it is to reflect on your personal life, there is also value in analyzing how other inspirational figures have lived theirs. For example, Fr. Hesburgh. These influential figures can serve as role models and show us examples of what it truly means to live a life well-lived (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two).
After a thorough reflection, I believe I was able to craft a mission statement that contained the most valuable aspects of life, at least for me personally. The first thing mentioned in my mission statement, intentionally, is the importance of family and maintaining strong connections with them. However, this is not supposed to be an exclusive statement for everyone else. Rather, I want to also build strong connections throughout my community. This idea was reflected by Pope Francis when he said, “we all need each other, none of us is an island, an autonomous and independent” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by His Holiness Pope Francis, TED Conference - Moreau FYE Week Seven). This idea is something that although not specifically stated in my mission statement, I believe is integral to living a life well-lived. 
Another aspect of my mission statement touched on my career discernment process and finding the balance between becoming successful, but not letting my professional aspirations dominate all our other aspects of my life. One tool that was helpful in narrowing down which careers would compliment me was the conversation discernment activity (“Week Five Discernment Conversation Activity” by Moreau FYE - Moreau FYE Week Five). In this conversation, I was able to obtain an outside perspective on my strengths, weaknesses, and behavior, and use this information to thoroughly assess a career path which would fit my unique profile. This is further reinforced by text the Career Center released. “He contended that career satisfaction/success depends in part on how well a person can identify and implement his/her career self-concept, which is comprised of your values, interests, personality, and skills'' (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). This concept was integral in allowing me to develop a mission that offered a path of success for me.
	The third main point that my mission statement contains is making sure to give back to not only the communities I come from, but also recognize that there are others who are in need of help as well. “They did not see their caring for me as a grand gesture of generosity; they simply did, in the moment, what needed to be done” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week Nine). While I have been at Notre Dame, I have realized that there are nearly an infinite number of worthy causes. For example, “Our goal will be to provide Notre Dame lawyers for every community in this country to stand vigilant against violations of civil and human rights, wherever those threats might arise” (“I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something” by Marcus Cole - Moreau FYE Week Twelve). Missions such as these have inspired me to challenge myself to alway work on becoming a more inclusive and generous human being. “We welcome all people, regardless of color, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social or economic class, and nationality” (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame” by The Universoty of Notre Dame - Moreau FYE Week Ten). Holding these values will help ensure that the core foundations of my mission statement are built upon moral and sound motivations. 
	As I have set goals for myself through this mission statement, it gives me the opportunity to reflect on how I have changed. Looking at my first integration, I used to stress the importance of giving back less (“Integration 3” by  - Moreau FYE Week Eight). In order to achieve these goals, however, I have to work harder and adopt new methods. One tool that I have picked up is meditation. I have started to use apps such as Headspace after I was informed of them through the “Ways to Practice Mindfulness Activity” (“Ways to Practice Mindfulness Activity” by McDonald Center for Student Well-Being - Moreau FYE Week Six). Meditation has allowed me to reflect on and analyze many deep aspects of my life that I previously hadn’t. This has had many overflowing benefits. For instance, my relationships. One aspect of my life that I truly believe I now have the ability to objectively step back and analyze is my friendships. In highschool, I was friends with people I had grown up with, but here at Notre Dame I have been able to have a greater control over the friendships and relationships I make. I can surround myself with people of varying backgrounds and perspectives to ensure that I become a more well informed, whole person. The benefits of this was preached in the “How to Avoid an Echochamber Video” (by Dr. Paul Blaschko, ThinkND - Moreau FYE Week Eleven). 
Overall, through the course of the year, I have greatly expanded my knowledge through various methods, such as self reflection, and my mission statement reflects my future aspirations and where I will attempt to grow. This will undoubtedly aid me in my journey to live a life well-lived.