Nicholas Dolphin Feb. 24, 2022 Moreau Integration 3 ’s Life Well Lived , growing up in the small town of Dubuque, Iowa, lived a very full life. A member of the Wahlert Catholic High School Class of 2021, Nick met his future wife at that school. After high school, he spent four years at his dream college of Notre Dame. He had the goal of attending this school ever since his father and grandfather took him to his first Notre Dame football game in first grade. Both of those men would be proud to know that he would be a season ticket holder for 40 years after graduation. Once undergrad was completed, Nick went to Carver Medical School to get his M.D. degree. Following this, he completed residency in downtown Chicago before settling down as a cardiothoracic surgeon in his hometown. I would say that his education and career were his greatest accomplishments, but that claim would overlook the most fulfilling part of his life. Nick left behind three kids and 12 grandkids, and family was undoubtedly the most important part of his life. Besides chasing all of his children around, Nick also enjoyed swimming, lifting, and watching his favorite teams– Notre Dame, the Chicago Bears,and the Milwaukee Bucks. What he enjoyed most, however, were his naps. He held some incredible sleeping powers, being able to take a three hour nap at 4:00 P.M. and still be ready for bed by 9:00. While Nick had an impressive work ethic, nothing could come in between him and his sleep. If you were the one that got in the way of a good nap, look out, because you would hear about it for the next week. While kind-hearted, everyone knows Nick had rough edges, which could be attributed primarily to his savage sarcasm. Once you got to know him, however, his caring nature was easy to see. Nick dedicated his work life to helping others, but it didn’t stop there. Ever handy with the tools passed down to him by his Grandpa Callahan, he would travel to each of his children’s houses to fix anything from doorknobs to cars. Grandkids would crowd around him and watch with awe, while he would pass down life lessons to them. Whenever a job was taking longer than expected, his favorite saying was, “Anything worth doing takes time and effort.” While Nick is gone, he has left a lasting impression on this world, not only through his family but also in his numerous donations to the hospitals around Dubuque. It is impossible to sum up a life filled with numerous accomplishments, but he has left a lasting impact on each and every one of us here today. With that, I thank Nick for everything that he has done for us, and I wish him the best nap of his life. Looking at my ideal life, I found that the topics discussed in Moreau during the first half of the semester were a core part of how I wanted my life to be. While I include some topics in my daily life now, there's always room for growth and improvement. I specifically mention my love of naps in the Eulogy. I am known for this even now, where instead of going out with friends, I will sleep almost 12 hours a night. This directly relates to the Week 1 topic of slowing down our lives (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). Napping is one way that I take time for myself. While it may seem like being lazy for some, this relaxing time helps me to compartmentalize what I need to do in the next half of the day. It also relieves stress and anxiety for a short amount of time, and that is something that I sorely need most days. Also, it is a quiet time for me to self-reflect on what I have already accomplished during the day. My brain usually is always looking towards the future, but it is nice to acknowledge everything that I have already accomplished so I feel less overwhelmed. One way to judge having a life well-lived is through accomplishments. One of the biggest accomplishments of my life so far has been getting into Notre Dame. With this being said, I still have other major goals in mind, such as going to medical school and becoming a practicing doctor. While these goals are important, I must not forget about the day-to-day business that I need to take care of. I was reminded of this when I watched (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two). Father Hesburgh, even when working on projects as big as the Civil Rights Movement, still allowed time for students to come into his office and talk to him. Likewise, as I continue with life, I can’t forget to attend to the small things, such as time with my children, as this is what truly makes a positive legacy. In my eulogy, I heavily discuss my education and profession. This alludes to Father Himes’ second key question, “Are you good at your profession” (“Three Key Questions' ' by Father Micheal Himes - Moreau FYE Week Three). In my time here at Notre Dame, I have noticed that I am not great at writing, and I am absolutely terrible at Calculus, but biology courses come fairly easy to me. In this way, my career is directly related to something that I am good at, and this is why I mentioned becoming a doctor in my eulogy. During the fourth week of the Moreau class, the topic of classes shifted to career talks. Currently, it is my goal to become a doctor. With this, I am under a lot of stress in my classes. The Meruelo Family Center for Career Development helped me understand that not everything is do or die as an undergrad (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week 4). Completing this activity helped me to realize that I still have time to change my mind about my career. So while right now I see myself becoming a doctor, I still have plenty of time to rewrite my eulogy so it fits exactly what I want in life. The fifth week of Moreau brought to my attention that I thrive off of competition. I redid the conversation with my mother, but did not write down the answers to turn back in. In short, the one thing that stuck out to me was when she said I was most, “In the zone”. She said I was locked in during competition, whether it be for swimming or school (“Discernment Activity” by Lisa Dolphin - Moreau Week Five). Not only was this competition aspect alluded to when talking about school in my eulogy, it also came out in the form of watching sports. As I get older, I hope to continue to feed my need for competition by staying in tune to many different sports teams. Week six of Moreau reminded me that there are going to be tough barriers in my life. Luckily I have not yet encountered any life altering obstacles (“Obstacles to a Life Well-Lived” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week 6). Dr. Kim in the “5 Minutes” Grotto video has encountered massive obstacles in his life when he lost mobility in his legs. This video showed me that no matter how difficult the obstacle is in life, there is always a lesson to be learned from it. This is why I included the quote, “Anything worth doing takes time and effort.” Life is messy, and I will not always be able to stay on my perfectly planned out path. By being prepared to dedicate time and effort to these obstacles, I will be able to overcome whatever is thrown my way. The most important thing in my life has been my relationships with others. Friends and family have gotten me through hard times. They were the focal point of my eulogy, just like how I strive for my relationships to be the focal point of my life. I truly believe that judging a life well-lived off of relationships is extremely accurate (“Tattoos on the Heart” by Father Greg Boyle - Moreau FYE Week Seven). Father Boyle did not judge the gangs that he worked with on past actions, but on how they formed new relationships with him and others. This practice changed many of the gang members for the better. In the same way, I hope to have a positive impact on all whom I have a relationship with. While this is what I hope my eulogy will look like at the moment, there is still plenty of time for it to change and be added onto. And I hope plenty gets added to it because while this is a great life, there is still so much more that I want to experience. I know, however, that whatever I go on to do in life, as long as I keep the core value of relationships close to heart, I will have a life well-lived.