Capstone Integration.pdf Shari Ho 4/28/22 Capstone Integration As this is the final assignment of the semester, I will be sharing my final idea of what I believe a life well-lived is and I will be separating my paper into four steps on how to achieve it: 1) Understanding myself and my own goals for me 2) understanding my goals for others 3) understanding what role God plays in my life 4) actually choosing a path. Like I said in my Integration #3, “There are many components in living a life well-lived, and also many different perspectives of what is considered to be a life well-lived.” (“Integration #3” by Shari Ho - Moreau FYE Week Eight) With this, I will be condensing what I believe on how to live a life well-lived into four steps below. The first step to live a life well-lived is to understand myself. I need to truly know my goals, aspirations, and what I want to do with the one life I am promised, and this urgency to discovering these things about myself comes from Sister Alethia’s philosophy that allowed her to see her life more clearly. Ruth Graham, the author of an article talking about Sister Alethia’s philosophy, said “the concept is to intentionally think about your own death every day, as a means of appreciating the present and focusing on the future.” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three) Even though it sounds a bit morbid, this mindset is essential in realizing the truth of what every single person’s lives will look like. Eventually, I will die, and technically, I am only assured of having one life, which is this one. This is why it is so important to think about my own desires and wishes of what I want in life, as living a life well-lived isn’t only living for others, but also living for myself. Understanding myself requires self meditation almost or self reflection. Pico Iyer explained why this is necessary perfectly in his article, Why we need to slow down our lives, by saying “It’s easy to feel as if we’re standing two inches away from a huge canvas that’s noisy and crowded and changing with every microsecond. It’s only by stepping farther back and standing still that we can begin to see what that canvas (which is our life) really means, and to take in the larger picture.” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One) Especially in college, I feel like my life has been going at lighting speed with six classes to juggle, summer planning, job hunting, doctor appointment scheduling, and everything else on my plate all at once. With all of this, it is hard to remember the reason for doing all of these and the bigger picture, and at many times in the year, I did not see the point in doing all of these things. However, when I took a breath and really took a second to think about my life and why I am doing these 15 page essays or studying for 10 hours for an exam. Looking at the bigger picture allows me to contemplate on what really matters to me and what I want to do with my life. Another way to understand myself is to remember that failure is okay and that I shouldn't be discouraged if I make a mistake. Father Hesburgh said in a film made about him, “It’s impossible to have a complete and honest human story if one doesn’t speak of human failings as well as human successes.” (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two) Living a life well-live does not mean living a perfect life because that is just unrealistic. Everyone makes mistakes and living a life well-lived means learning and overcoming them and not giving up if things get hard. This is why when thinking of how I should live a life well lived, I shouldn't look past my imperfections because those are what allow me to grow and learn. The last way I can understand myself is to ask others. In Week Five, we did an activity that asked us to interview a close friend or smiley member and to basically ask them what they thought of us (“Discerning a Life Well-Lived Discernment Conversation Activity” by Moreau - Moreau FYE Week Five). This was a great way to understand myself better, as it is true that some people know us more than we know ourselves. Others can pick up on our mannerisms and unintentional gestures and attitudes that we, ourselves, can’t pick up. I went to my dad for this assignment and he gave me great insight on who I am as a person and confirmed what I thought about myself. This confirmation is also helpful because it allows me to be more confident in myself and to conduct my life more confidently. The second step to live a life well-lived is to understand how I want to help others. Even though it isn’t necessary to do so, I was blessed with the privilege to attend a great university, which will allow me to have the power to help others like Dean Marcus Cole. Dean Marcus Cole said in his article, “While my education and position do not grant me immunity from racial violence, they do place me in a position to do something about it.” (“Dean G. Marcus Cole: 'I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something.'” by Dean G. Marcus Cole - Moreau FYE Week Twelve) Dean Marcus Cole realizes that he is blessed with the opportunity to make a change with his education and he wants to use it for others, which is the exact reason why I included this as the second step of living a life well-lived. And with this, I need to think on exactly how I want to serve others and how I want to use my education for good. Another reason why I want to help others is because I value relationships with others and I believe that the simple act of meeting new people and others meeting me will bring happiness to both parties. Pope Francis said in a TED Talk, “First and foremost, I would love it if this meeting could help to remind us that we all need each other, 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 Seven) Pope Francis also recognizes the importance of relationships and that we need to work together in order to create a better world. Another thing to remember when finding how I want to help others is to remember what said in his article, which is “solidarity with the poor means not to try to be theSteve Reifenberg voice of the voiceless,” he said at the workshop. “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 Nine) Helping others does not mean we should talk for them, but we should help them be able to talk and be heard for themselves. The third step is for me to think about how I want God to play a role in my life. I have always had doubts about God, but orienting my beliefs and values about God with how I want to live a life well lived will give it direction and more meaning. However, as I said above, I do have my doubts about God. For example, what happened to Kim Jihoon in Week Six’s course material. Jihoon had many goals and aspirations for life like becoming a sushi chef and traveling the world. However, he got into a serious snowboarding accident that left him paralyzed and losing most mobility other than his arms and neck. (“5 Minutes” by Grotto - Moreau FYE Week Six) Tragedies like these happen every day to people who only did good, and I always wonder if God loves us and if He existed, how could He let this happen. Another example is Jacob Walsh’s story, where he grew up as both gay and Catholic. He said in his article, “It convinced me that the Church’s teachings around marriage and sexuality were true. But I didn’t know how they could be true for me.” (“Growing Up Gay and Catholic ” by Jacob Walsh - Moreau FYE Week Ten) Why does the Church preach such inhumane teachings when they claim that God loves everyone. Things like these make me confused about my religion. However, over the years, I realized that even though I am hesitant about God Himself, I do strongly believe in his moral teachings, and if I use this to direct how I want to live my life will help me achieve a life well lived. The last step is to actually choose what life I want to live. First, when finding all the possible career/life paths, it is important not to be in an echo chamber. Paul Blaschko described the echo chamber as, “Echo chamber: a social structure for which relevant voices have been actively discredited”. (“Big Questions 2, Part 4: How to Avoid an Echo Chamber ” by Paul Blaschko - Moreau FYE Week Eleven) What I mean when I use the term echo chamber is that I shouldn’t be only exposed to one area of career paths. I should do the research and ask my family members about what they do for a living and learn about as many career/life paths I can take. In doing this, it shows me all of the options and I can choose which one best fits my goals and desires for myself and for others. Luckily, the career center gave us tips on how to find the best career while considering all aspects. Dr. Donald Super created a theory about career decision making, and with this, he said, “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 - Moreau First Year Experience Course” by Meruelo Family Center For Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four) I need to consider my values, interests, personality, and skills to choose the best career path. In my mission statement, I stated that “For now until the day I die, I will live my life for my family, my friends, my neighbors, and myself.” (“Week 13 - Writing a Personal Mission Statement” by Shari Ho - Moreau FYE Week Thirteen) These four steps will help me accomplish this and help me live by my mission statement.