Week 8-Integration 3


Jill McEntee
The Life I Lived

When I think about the last chapter of my life, I would like to be remembered as someone
who had regrets. I recently listened to a podcast that described the importance of having regrets
throughout your life. I was surprised at first to hear this, however quickly I gained an
understanding about what the TED speaker was describing. People that have regrets during their
lifetime are normal, and our regrets show us what matters most. Therefore, our regrets illustrate
how we want to live the rest of our lives. So many people make mistakes and hold to them for so
long, however that is what shaped the rest of their lives. I would also like to be remembered as
someone whose achievements are not mentioned. I do not care about what I did or how I could
be described, but rather how I made people feel.

I would define a life well-lived as a life full of people that teach me something different
every day. I want to look up 10 years from now and see that I am not in the same place as I was
today. An observable sign that I lived a life well-lived is that I am not making the same mistakes
at eighty that I am making at eighteen.

I would first like to talk in my Eulogy about my ambition and adventurous attitude
towards helping people. Moreover, Kiersten Dehaven’s Domer Dozen speech was very insightful
and eye-opening. It was very interesting to learn about her path to Ethiopia and what she does for
women entrepreneurs there. In my future I would like to have an international influence just as
Kiersten Dehaven does. I have always had an interest in traveling abroad and working
internationally especially under a women centered organization. Kiersten’s path seems
untraditional and full of passion for faith and her community. I was extremely inspired by her
dedication and commitment. In my future I would like to work world-wide with people who each
contribute different amazing qualities to our job. Therefore, In my eulogy I would like to start by
talking about my dreams and aspirations through helping others.(“Domer Dozen”, by Kiersten
Dehaven - Moreau FYE Week Two)

Moreover, at eighteen I think discovering myself can be found in how family and friends
perceive us. A lot of issues are important to me on a societal level because I am interested in
society and people. One of my own qualities that I have learned over the course of my life is that
I live each day excited to talk to people with all different perspectives. I know that every day I
can learn from new people and experiences. However, my friend Ella articulated to me that
although I can be spontaneous and adventurous, I am sometimes impulsive in my decisions.
Overall I really enjoyed this opportunity to talk to Ella (Conversation with my friend Ella
Moreau FYE Week Five).

Moreover, as the career center stated, “The only way to know more about yourself is to
test the waters - just get out and experience life! “This quotation resonates with me because I
find myself constantly preoccupied with the thought of a perfect future or a five year plan. I have
always been one to love testing the waters and trying all different new classes and things. In the
career center article it talks about exploration and many other important ways of trying new
careers. However, something that also stood out to me was the paragraph speaking about doing a

https://domerdozen.nd.edu/


job that you love. In my life I would like to choose a job that I love that does not feel like work
every day. (“Navigating your Career Journey” by Career Center- Moreau FYE Week Four)

Ultimately, In “A Grotto Story,” Dr. Lim was truly an inspiration. I can not imagine how
his accident impacted his life and turned it upside down. It was inspirational to learn about the
progress that Dr. Lim had made. He referred to many of the negative conversations that he had
within himself towards his life and dreams .He also discussed how he complained a lot during
this time because it felt like his world was over. However he realized over time that he had many
gifts and a life under God worth living. Thus. In the Grotto video it was very clear that Mr. Lim
had begun to appreciate not just the little details of life, but his relationship with God. More
specifically, the 5 minutes every day that he must recline his chair he used to pray and establish a
strong relationship with God.  (“A Grotto Story” by Mr. Lim - Moreau FYE Week Six). In my
life, although it is cliche I would like to actually take time to appreciate the little moments.

Similarly, I would like to accomplish appreciating the little things in life by slowing
down. From the Lyer article I learned the science behind slowing down and taking a break every
day. Although this proves to be crucially important for our work and stress levels, it also seems a
bit unrealistic for a stressed college student. Although it may be unrealistic to put away an hour
of time to do nothing, I am going to try to put away 5 minutes each day away from the
stimulation of my phone and computer. (“Why We Need to Slow Down our Lives” by Pico Lyer-
Moreau FYE Week One). In my life I would like to slow down and take time for the people
around me. In my life my focus is not on the success or achievements, it is on the relationships
we make and the paths that they take to create these relationships.

This part of the integration is the hardest part for me to grasp: acceptance that life will
end. Sister Aletheia wrote, “My life is going to end, and I have a limited amount of time. “We
naturally tend to think of our lives as kind of continuing and continuing.” This quote resonated
with me because I think death is a fear that we all have. We spend so much time thinking about
the future when in reality we don’t know what that future looks like. The overused phrase of,
'you only live once, '' this embodies Sister Thereas’s perspective. We all act like life is continuing
and continuing and continuing when in reality that is not the perspective we should have. That
mindset makes it possible for us to procrastinate our dreams and fears and face reality. We keep
pushing away opportunities to help people and achieve our goals because we think that we will
always have tomorrow. (“Meet the Nun who wants you to remember that you will die” “by Sister
Aletheia - Moreau FYE Week Three). In my life, I would like to focus less about a 10 year plan
and more like a 10 day or week plan. Instead of acting like I have an infinite amount of time to
live out my dreams, I want to make them possible tomorrow.

Ultimately, all that matters in my life are relationships. Pope Francis’ Ted Talks talk
about the importance of our relationships, I believe that is at the core of my dreams and
aspirations.  (“Why the only future Worth Building includes everyone” by Pope Francis - Moreau
FYE Week Seven) In the end I would like to be remembered by how I made people feel. In my
lifetime I would have liked to have impacted 10 lives for the better.

https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/
https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/
https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html
https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript