Nhat Nguyen Moreau First Year Experience 10102 4 February 2022 Eulogy of a Force for Good in the World Throughout the last few weeks in Moreau, we’ve focused intently on the “life well- lived.” Each successive week has built off the last, helping me formulate and reflect more deeply on what my goals are in my time on earth. Like everybody, I have aspirations for my life, both specific and non-specific. I can tell you things like I want to graduate from Notre Dame with a degree in finance, I hope to maintain good grades in doing so, I desire a fulfilling job after college, I want to find a wife I love and have an awesome family, and so forth. But above all else, I must consider why I have developed these dreams. Sure, almost everybody wants to be successful and happy in life, but what is the underlying principle that holds these goals together. All too often, people think of their life as a series of boxes to check. Graduation, check. High- paying job, check. Wife and kids, check. These are all appropriate items to wish for, but they don’t answer the “why” behind themselves. Ultimately, the driving force behind the aspirations for my life is that I want to be a force for good in our world, as Fr. Sorin once famously quoted, and I hope that conviction is reflected in my eulogy. The first step in determining whether my eulogy can match this conviction comes from the first week of the year, in which we discussed self-reflection. I was particularly drawn to Pico Iyer’s article about slowing down and taking time to look back and see how far we’ve come (“Why we Need to Slow Down our Lives” by Pico Iyer – Moreau FYE Week 1). Even I fall into the temptation of checking the boxes of life, without considering why I really want them or why https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ they’re important. At the end of my life, when my eulogy is being read, it won’t matter how much money I made or how successful I was. What people will remember me for is how I used my God-given abilities to positively impact others. I’m pursuing a job in the financial services industry, which often comes with the connotation of being greedy and exploitative. However, I hope I’m able to make a considerable amount of money with the ultimate intention of giving it away. I have no desire for a yacht, a second home, or a Rolex watch. In line with my desire to be a force for good in the world, I hope others will see this in my as I write the last chapter of my life. In determining what I define as a life well-lived, the ultimate criteria for my eulogy, I can look to heroes of mine for inspiration. I hope my eulogy can reflect that I fit as much into my time on this earth as possible, similar to what we saw in Fr. Hesburgh in the movie from the second week (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley – Moreau FYS Week 2). Two of the qualities I admired most about Fr. Hesburgh were his inability to stay silent on critical issues and his commitment to doing as much good with his role as possible. He was often an associate to presidents, social justice advocates, and religious leaders alike, demonstrating his willingness to support the causes he saw as just. I too hope my eulogy portrays a disposition towards change, but for it to do so, I must act when opportunities present themselves. I don’t particularly desire a career in politics, but I do believe I should be vocal about the changes I want to see made in my country. One cause that’s important to me is repealing Roe v. Wade, because I believe all individuals, big or small, have the right to life. I have already decided that next year I will attend the March for Life, and this is only the beginning of the work I can do. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw we we’re reading about Michael Himes’s three questions about vocational discernment in Moreau, because, earlier in the year, I had also https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ explored them in my theology class (“Three Key Questions” by Michael Himes – Moreau FYE Week 3). One particular item he makes note of in his book is the distinction between joy and happiness. He believes joy is the conviction that what one is doing is beneficial for another person, even if what one is doing doesn’t bring them happiness or pleasure. Joy doesn’t expect to be rewarded for anything because it is an expression of pure self-gift. On the other hand, happiness can vary widely depending on a number of factors, such as if one is given anything in exchange for what they’re doing. Happiness can be fleeting, but joy is the continual disposition of this conviction. I won’t be the one who writes my eulogy, but I can help shape it by demonstrating in my life that I pursued what I knew what was right, regardless of how it impacted me. One of the best parts about life is that no one can write your story for you because ultimately, you’re the author. A quote that meant a lot to me this semester reads: “The only way to know more about yourself is to test the waters - just get out and experience life” (Meruelo Family Center for Career Services – Moreau FYE Week 4). Although as of this moment I have a desire to pursue a career in finance, I have considered all sorts of options, including engineering, the military, and even the Jesuits. My eulogy can describe my role in any number of capacities, but what matters more to me is that I gave everything a fair chance. I can’t be afraid of failure, for if I am, I won’t experience all that life has to offer. The occupation in my eulogy doesn’t matter… what does is how I used that occupation to be a force for good in the world. In this discernment about my vocational calling, I cannot rely merely on my own intellect. I must use the God-given abilities, talents, and blessing of others to make a sound decision and to pursue something that I know is beneficial for others. Along with family, friends, and mentors, one potential source is academic resources at my school. In the fifth week of class, https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/39639/files/472889?module_item_id=146789 https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0AGRyH4SWX0bz38 https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0AGRyH4SWX0bz38 I had the opportunity to interview my brother about what he saw were my strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth (“Discernment Conversation Activity” – Moreau FYE Week 5). Everyone has their own unique skillset, ordained on them by God before time, and I believe an effective and just use of these skills is critical to a life well-lived. The theme my brother talked on most was that he saw everything I have done throughout my life thus far has been aimed towards a higher purpose, above my self-interest. This made me proud to hear, because it indicated that I was well on my way to becoming a force for good in the world, as Fr. Sorin prompted me to do. I won’t be the one to deliver the eulogy at my funeral, but if others see these traits in me then I wholeheartedly believe I am on my way to fulfill my calling. As strong as this conviction is in my heart, I know the road to a well-lived life isn’t always easy. In fact, the road is filled with bumps, bruises, and scratches all along the way. Oftentimes, we look outward for these obstacles. Many times, though, they come from within. All too often I fall into the trap of being too critical of myself in ways I can’t control. In Tasha Eurich’s TED talk, I learned that this introspection can be incredibly useful in analyzing our days, but it can also be harmful if we only focus on the negative (“The Right Way to Introspection (Yes, There’s a Wrong Way)” by Tasha Eurich – Moreau FYE Week 6). One of the resources offered by the McDonald Center was five-minute meditations, and since discovering them, I have tried to do them a number of times a week. They have assisted me in becoming more mindful, relaxed, and confident regarding the effectiveness of my days in pursuing my aspiration to be a force for good in the world. I believe this introspection is vastly important because it recenters me around what’s truly valuable in life, constructing the chapters in my life bit by bit. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ Our ultimate and shared calling as Catholics is to love one another as Christ has loved us. What holds us back from attaining this objective is the barriers we set up around our jurisdictions, our circles of whom we should love and care about (Tattoos on the Heart by Fr. Greg Boyle – Moreau FYE Week 7). Fr. Boyle’s work in this book and in real life are incredible, as he aims to break down any barrier we might have from loving even the lowliest among us. He lives and works amongst many reformed gang members, and despite their heinous actions in the past, he sees nothing but Christ in them. My life is in part defined by others’ perceptions of me. Whoever may be giving my eulogy will have witnessed my love, or lack thereof, for my neighbors. I hope and truly do believe that the love I show for my family, friends, fellow Highlanders, and all those whom I come across will continue to be built upon and that I will be regarded as a force for good after I’ve departed from this earth. Throughout this paper, I intentionally strayed from deliberating the verbiage of what I hope my eulogy will deliver. I never mentioned what specifically I will do, who I will meet, and what I will make of my life, because when I’m gone, those things won’t be what I was remembered for. What I will be remembered for is the overall theme and motive behind each of those instances. I define my theme as answering Fr. Sorin’s calling for each one of us, including Notre Dame herself, to be a force for good in the world. I cannot dictate how others will view my life, but I can manage the things within my jurisdiction. Above all else, nothing is stopping me from loving others as Christ has loved me. I believe I have and will continue down this path, and in doing so, I hope the thesis of this paper is the same as in my eulogy: is and was a force for good in the world. https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/39639/files/523844?module_item_id=167972