Ehioze Aidaghese Professor Ryan Retartha Moreau First Year Experience April, 26, 2022 Capstone Integration In evaluating my pursuit to find a life well lived I ran into expected dead ends, filled with questions of self doubt and assurance. “Why don’t I have it all found out?” “Why haven;t I found my niche yet?” “Am I going to be comfortable with my career & life post graduation?” These questions all are towards healthy character discernment. They stem from the mouth of a person who’s concerned about their future and wants the best for themselves. Qualities that you can only amass through the programs of deep self reflection, critical thinking, and long term planning that the Moreau First Year Experience curriculum refines and revitalizes for all ND students. The first part of taking advantage of these resources is first understanding the advice and what's being spoken to you. From what point of view are these notions of thought? Do they fall in line with the beliefs I currently hold? Are they realistically achievable? In the midst of asking yourself all those questions, at least in my personal groundings I’ve found myself becoming trapped in a maze of self comparison and competition. These things arise although from the outside looking in I’m at a promising point with no flaws in mind. Little did I know that that was the first blunder, stopping me from getting to where I need to be. There are objects of aid that are overlooked when first embarking on the journey of planning your life. In the words of Pico Lyer “The amount of data humanity will collect while youre reading The Art of Stillness is five times greater than the amount that exists in the entire library of Congress.” These thoughts are further highlighted by “Researchers in the new field of interruption science have found that it takes an average of twenty-five minutes to recover from a phone call. Yet such interruptions come every eleven minutes– which means we’re never caught up with our lives.” (“Why we need to slow down our lives'' by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One) You see there’s no rush to compete or compare your progress with your fellow peer, as they have their own plights and distractions in the way of getting them to where they want to be. The teaching from this week opened my eyes to this reality, once again reminding me that no one is perfect. The first part is the realization that you’re not in competition with anyone but yourself. The “Me vs Me” construct is very real. One column of inspiration that fosters my belief of what makes a life well loved, is the work of Ms. Tia Paulette at the Notre Dame Law School. Ms. Paulette remained resilient in achieving her goals of exonerating innocent individuals from the justice system. She garnered her idea within the walls of Notre Dame and stood by it. In the ND Alumni Association page there was the quote “ By reviving the school’s dormant club – at the time affiliated with the separate Innocence Project – as a second year student in 2016, Paulette laid the foundation for Notre Dame’s Exoneration Justice Clinic, which provides law students real-world experience representing wrongfully convicted clients.” (“Domer Dozen '' by ND Alumni Association - Moreau FYE Week Two) Not only did Ms. Paulette engineered a way of achieving her goal, but she lifted her fellow mates to attain the same values and results she invested her time in. It's this inclusion, this use of teamwork as opposed to being a competitor. Once I too realized that my fellow mates are indeed not ideals of where I could be, but ones that I should arrange a team with and uplift as a unit, the question of what would give me satisfaction in the midst of it arose. Fr. Michale Himes provided a look on how to solve these problems that one may encounter through his “Three Key Questions.” The three questions arranged a belief that you hold for yourself and hone in on what truly matters and drives you toward it. The first question is: What gives you joy? Followed by What is the source of your Joy? The second question is: Is this vocation/ this role/ this profession. This way of life that you are considering something you are good at? Then the last question being Does anybody need you to do it? (“Three Key Questions'' by Fr. Michael Himes - Moreau FYE Week Three) These questions did a wonderful job of weeding out beliefs that I held previously for the wrong reasons. Although they may have had beneficial outcomes for others and me, the roots that they are founded upon aren’t quite truthful enough for me to successfully pursue them. Once I attained a belief that was “foolproof” which was the creation of a business, startup or some conglomerate in order to provide resources, education, and needs funding in inner city areas resembling that of what I call home. On the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development page there's a venn diagram illustrating the necessary steps one must take when looking at the trajectory in which they want to take their life. They describe it as “Planning your career is much like planning for a trip. There are many details and decisions to make and it requires a lot of exploration and research. It’s not a one step process.” (“Navigating Your Career Journey '' by Meruelo Family Center - Moreau FYE Week Four) This was helpful for me due to the fact that although I may have thought I had it all figured out, there are areas in which I too needed more research. Instead of just posing the notion that I want to go out and help people. Why not research the areas in which they need help the most and where their strengths are to find a midsection between the two? This would allow me to construct my ideas and ultimately help in a more beneficial way than once before. The topic of career endeavors and solid beliefs segway into weeks five and six. Week Five for Moreau we had to complete a conversation activity with a loved one or parent in an effort to review the results of our said career path. The prompt said “The process of discernment is an ongoing, lifelong endeavor. And while you are the author of your story, it is often helpful to involve those you trust.”( Discernment Conversation Activity” by Moreau - Moreau FYE Week Five) Through this assignment and the help of my mother whom I consulted, I was able to see the flaws of the plan that I had put together. I was able to find areas that need more thought and how I could fix them to better suit me. Week six then provided the tools on how to be more introspective. Before this I had no knowledge of the right and wrong way to look within and better myself. In this weeks text (“The Right Way to be Introspective” by Tasha Eurich - Moreau FYE Week Six) said “We can spend endless amounts of time in self reflection but emerge with no more self insight than when we started.” This is true due to the fact that I can sit down and ponder on my tactics and strategy of how I’ll get to where I want to be, but without true action or effort it's a waste. A thought is simply a thought until we act upon it, it's this understanding that clarified the notion of emerging with the same amount of insight even after reflecting. This type of introspective, and developmental practice geared towards bettering your character starts mold for the future. These concepts are described in the words of His Holiness Pope Francis : “The future is made of yous, it is made of encounters, because life flows through our relations with others.” ('' Why the only future worth building includes everyone” His Holiness - Moreau FYE Week Seven) The Pope is right in saying that the future is made up of the interactions of the people in the present. Through every moment, every decision, every transaction we are shaping the lives of ourselves as well as others. Upon this vine of self discovery you may try to define what a life well lived is. How would I want to spend my life's work ? What would I want my legacy to be? In the write your own eulogy assignment for week 8 In the (“Integration Three '' by - Moreau FYE Week 8) I discovered attributes within myself that I would want to pronounce, therefore defining me. It was at first peculiar looking into myself as if I had already gone out and accomplished everything I had in mind before I “kick the bucket.” It made me increasingly grateful for the time I currently have and have already spent. Whether or not I spend my time constructively was a paramount principle of mine. One may see that as time goes on they must liberate and pile on responsibilities. Thinking that the more they add to their plate makes them look more capable as an adult was a foolish philosophy. I garnered inspiration from the story of Prof Steve Reifen Berg in “Teaching Accompaniment” - Moreau FYE Week 9) that in his journey to Chile in which he was supposed to be taking care of the impoverished and orphaned children. See he went there with the thought in mind that he was their sole helper and that all there was, was his advocacy towards thim. Thai thinking although innocent was wrong. When Prof. Reifenberg fell ill. It was the same children that he was there and were supposed to be looking after that cared for him. Isn’t it such a lovely lesson to see how it's a humane instinct to acknowledge suffering. Through this we throw away prejudices, and alert ourselves of our own innate biases. The ability to empathize with a person and understand their plights is a vital step in the creation of a good community. Over the past year in the dormant systems I have been subject to the wonderful care and inclusivity of my peers and hall staff community. The text (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame '' by University of Notre Dame - Moreau FYE Week 10) homes in the key pillars to making the Christain social community on campus the marvel that it is. “ One of the essential tests of social justice within any Christian community is its abiding spirit of inclusion.” This is very true as here no one is made to feel as if they don’t belong. It is a welcoming community representing multiple facets throughout the world, making for a 1 of 1 experience that I’m honored to take part in day in and day out. Education on stereotypes and other hindrances of a healthy environment stops the joining of echo chambers and other one dimensional world views. In a Dr. Blascko video he explained that “Echo chambers are more dangerous than bubbles partly because of their ability to lock us into certain worldview” ( “How to Avoid an Echo Chamber'' by Dr. paul Blaschko - Moreau FYE Week Eleven) This is helpful due to the fact that some people may grow up with one sided beliefs that distort the reality of political and religious subjects. One of these constructs is racism. Dean G. Marcus Cole said in his (“I am George Floyd, Except, I can breathe. And I can do something”- Moreau FYE Week Twelve ) said “But these were not the only scars that those men left. If it were not for our neighbors, I often wonder whether my little sister, baby brother and I would have survived that night.I know that those men will never have to answer for what they did to us. At least not in this life.” This prompted me to think. A man knowing that he witnessed his father attacked because of the color of his skin. Then highlighting the failure of the justice system, alluding through “not in this lifetime” that it's still prevalent today. As an African American in this country as well I too must be alert and distance myself from metacognitive suppositions that’ll lead me astray. In conclusion my mission while here has changed in a decent amount of areas in line with that of the university. “The University insists upon academic freedom that makes open discussion and inquiry possible.”( ND Mission Statement” by University of Notre Dame - Moreau FYE Week Thirteen). This ensured me that I was at an intellectual and complete institution that would foster my growth from the adolescent I am now, into a beneficial member of the future.