Capstone Integration 

Restated Mission Statement 
My mission is to create happiness in the world. The world can be such a cruel and harsh place and I want to bring joy to others.

I will seek to continue growing and changing because growth and change are necessary in life.

I hope to live life to the fullest and make the most of every moment because nothing should be taken for granted.

I aspire to always act with purpose. My actions should be for a reason and I think acting with purpose is one key to finding happiness and value. I will go through my life making sure my actions have meaning behind them.

I want to be a positive influence for the people around me. Whether it be my family, friends, or peers, I want to be a role model and a person that others look up to.

I aspire to continue building meaningful relationships in my life. Life can get lonely and I want to be there for others and others to be there for me. I also want to share my life with others and others to share their lives with me. I want people to celebrate the highs with me as well as support me through the lows, and I want to do the same for others.

I value the life I have been given, but hope to continue to better myself. I want to be a force for good in the world and give back to my community. I want to face life with courage and purpose and live life to the fullest. I just want to be happy

How my mission statement will animate my life for the next three years

	Three years sounds like a long time, but in reality, it is not. My time here at Notre Dame will be done before I know it and I want to make the most of it. I hope to grow a lot, find my passions, become the best version of myself that I can.
	One of the biggest things I want to continue to practice over the next three years is mindfulness. This will allow me to fulfill the goals and standards I have set for myself in my mission statement. Practicing mindful techniques such as meditation, practicing gratitude, taking a deep breath when you get overwhelmed, going on walks, and so many more can help clear your mind and calm you down (“Mindfulness Menu” by the McDonald Center for Student Well-being - Moreau FYE Week 6). These activities can also help you drown out the outside noise so you can center yourself from within. You cannot be your best self when you are always stressed or anxious. Pico Lyer says that “stress is contagious, studies have found. If only the poor, overburdened mother could ask her husband — or her mother or a friend — to look after her kids for thirty minutes a day, I’m sure she’d have much more freshness and delight to share with her children when she came back, and with her business.” (“Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives” by Pico Iyer- Moreau FYE Week 1). I want to keep this in mind with me through the rest of college because I need to take care of myself if I want to cultivate meaningful relationships with others. I truly value the relationships in my life and everyone around me knows how important they are to me. (“Discernment Conversation Activity- Moreau FYE Week 5). Having relationships with others is extremely important. In a recent speech, Pope Francis claimed that  “none of us is an island, an autonomous and independent “I,” separated from the other, and we can only build the future by standing together, including everyone” (“Why the Only Future Worth Building Includes Everyone” by Pope Francis- Moreau FYE Week 7). I, as well as everyone else, need others in their lives to support them, so they in turn can support others. I want to help build a community here at Notre Dame where we all support each other and work to create a better environment. I want to help make Notre Dame more inclusive by first starting with myself.  I am not perfect and I know I have a lot to work on, but I want to help make everyone feel like they have a place here at Notre Dame by helping to break prejudice social structures (“Growing up Gay and Catholic” by Jacob Walsh- Moreau FYE Week 10). I think that Notre Dame needs to look at things from different perspectives and work to become a more inclusive place, and I want to help do so. Notre Dame has so many resources so I hope to use them to create meaningful change that makes everyone’s lives better. (“I am George Flyod. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something. By Marcus Cole- Moreau FYE Week 12).
	I want to take these next three years to find what I am interested in. If I want to create happiness in the world, I need to find what drives me. I cannot create happiness if I am not happy myself. Notre Dame gives me the opportunity to explore many different classes and I want to take advantage of that opportunity to find my passions (“Navigating your Career Journey” by the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development- Moreau FYP Week 4). I want to find true joy here at Notre Dame because “happiness changes from moment to moment, day to day. Joy, on the other hand, is much deeper and much more central, it comes from within, and it’s a genuine rightness of how one lives one’s life” (“Three Key Questions” by Fr. Michael Himes- Moreau FYE Week 3). Finding what brings me joy in life will help me create happiness in the world and act with purpose. I am inspired by former Notre Dame President Fr. Hesburgh and how he led a life of purpose. Fr. Hesburgh was involved in so many different organizations and communities besides just being president because he followed his passions and wanted to make a difference (“Hesburgh” produced by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley- Moreau FYE Week 2). I aspire to live a life like Fr. Hesburgh and hope that in my remaining three years at Notre Dame I can get on the track to do so.
	I want to continue growing and changing within the next three years. College is all about learning and evolving to become a better version of yourself and I think that my experiences at Notre Dame will allow me to do so. I don’t want to get stuck in an echo chamber. I want to hear all viewpoints and be open to hearing every side. Getting tunnel vision and stuck in your ways and beliefs prevents growth and isolates you from others (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blaschko- Moreau FYE Week 11). I think participating in service projects can help me see the world from different perspectives. I want to do my part to help the community, but I want to be careful with how I go about it. Professor Steve Reifenberg makes a great point that “solidarity with the poor means not to try to be the voice of the voiceless… This is NOT the goal. The goal should be that those who have no voice today will have a voice and will be heard” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Steve Reifenberg- Moreau FYE Week 9). I think this is important to keep in mind as I serve others.
	It will not always be easy to live out my mission. I will face struggles in my time at Notre Dame, but I will persevere. College, as well as life, is about growing and there is never growth without challenges. I want to leave Notre Dame as a better person than when I started, and I want to help make the university a better place than when I started as well.