Moreau Capstone Integration Assignment Limon 1 April 29, 2022 Moreau Capstone Integration Assignment My Road to A Life Well Lived As I come to the end of the first year of college, I am amazed when I look back at all the things I have been through and where those things will take me in the rest of my college experience, and ultimately in the rest of my life. When I first came to college, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how I was going to do it. It wasn’t until very recently that I realized that I don’t have everything figured out the way that I thought that I did. However, i’ve come to terms with that realization as I’ve continued to navigate my life to figure out what my life mission could be. Towards the beginning of my Spring semester, I had a conversation with one of my best friends from back home which was very insightful in learning about how I was being perceived by the people I cared about. ( Discernment Conversation Activity- Moreau FYE Week 5) I further analyzed this conversation with my best friend in a paper I wrote halfway through the semester. (Integration 3- Moreau FYE Week 8) For this assignment I wrote a eulogy from the perspective of my best friend. Something that I really wanted to convey was how confident I was in what I was pursuing in college. When I spoke to my friend, I asked her what she thought my passions were from her point of view. My best friend, Dafne, spoke about my passions toward social justice and I was very pleased with her answer. The reason that I felt so pleased about her answer was because when I first got to college and decided to study Political Science, I did so with a very clear plan of going to law school afterwards and working in social justice after college. I felt good that my best friend could so clearly see this as my passion because it meant Limon 2 that other people around me knew and understood exactly what I wanted to do. However, I have come to the realization that I don't know exactly what I’m going to end up doing yet because I am still constantly changing and learning about my interests. Despite this, I know that some things have and will continue to stay constant. Throughout my Moreau class, I have been able to develop a Mission statement in which I have solidified what is most important to me as well as some values I will continue to follow in my journey. (Mission Statement- Moreau FYE Week 13) Some things that I will always hold dear is the importance of a community in my life in the form of friends and family. Furthermore, I know that my ultimate goal in life is to be happy. While I still hold passions in social justice and I know that’s the area I want to work in, I no longer have a clear linear path towards this goal. I don’t know exactly how I'll get there, but I know that I will eventually meet my goals if I keep persisting. In my journey towards a life well lived, specially as a first year college student, I have definitely faced moments where I asked myself what I was doing. In some of these moments I felt the most lost I have ever felt in my life. Fall semester was especially hard for me. I was on my own for the very first time in my life and incredibly homesick with practically nobody I could really call a friend yet. To make matters worse, I was taking one of the worst classes I could’ve signed up for which made me miserable just thinking about it. If there’s one thing that time and class taught me was how to respond to suffering. In a Grotto video titled “5 Minutes”, one statement that stuck with me was “Suffering is part of our lives, it is always there. But it is how to respond to suffering with God.” (“5 Minutes” by the Grotto- Moreau FYE Week 6) Now, I may not be the most religious person, but I learned how to respond to my suffering because I pushed through the countless times I cried and seeked help when I needed the extra support. I truly believe that this experience made me so much stronger because I saw how low my mental Limon 3 health could get, and it was miserable, but once I emerged from it I felt like I could get through anything in life. One thing that I've learned in my time here is the importance of solitude. As I mentioned above, a lot of my unhappiness stemmed from feeling alone. Eventually, I learned that sometimes it's okay to be alone. “The need for an empty space, a pause, is something we have all felt in our bones; it’s the rest in a piece of music that gives it resonance and shape.” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico lyer- Moreau FYE Week 1) I think this has helped me become more comfortable with myself and appreciate my own company more than I ever did. I feel much more confident in my abilities to get through obstacles alone when I need to do so. Another insecurity that has stemmed from my struggles so far is having to constantly ask myself if I am doing what I'm meant to do and if I'm doing enough. As mentioned before, I am currently studying Political Science. It was what I first set out to do and I still love my major. However, I cannot deny that there hasn’t been a moment where I have asked myself whether Political Science was for me and what I could even do with a Political Science degree. In one of the readings I did for my Moreau course I read, “There is no “best major” out there - but there is a “best major for you." (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development- Moreau FYE Week 4) Slowly, I've learned that so far, this is the best major for me because this is what I want to study. I genuinely don’t see myself studying anything else and being as interested as I currently am. Furthermore,another thing I read was, “Dissatisfaction (restlessness) is not a bad thing...indeed it’s the best thing about us. It’s what constantly moves us forward, makes us grow, expands our horizons, and deepens our perceptions. It's very healthy, a very important, and a very valuable thing!”. (“Three Key Questions” by Father Michael Himes- Moreau Week 3) While I love my major, questioning it as the right path has allowed me to look into other things I may want to do. I recently added a Latino Studies minor to my curriculum and Limon 4 am very excited to add even more things and expand my knowledge in different areas. Dissatisfaction allows us to do more than what we originally set out to do, and that's okay. In continuation with learning how to be okay with being alone, I have also learned about the significance of accompaniment and community. While making friendships didn’t just occur out of thin air, the friends that I have made so far have been my source of motivation in continuing this school year. I remember last semester when it was really bad, I had a particular friend who did simple acts like having meals with me which made such a huge difference in my mental health. I soon realized that although I felt alone, I was never truly alone. There were people around me willing to accompany me in my times of need. “ One cannot accompany without being accompanied, in the same way someone cannot be a good friend without being open to friendship. This requires a great deal of humility. Not only is it important to walk together with somebody, but one must also learn how to be accompanied – to participate in the reciprocity of accompaniment.” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Steve Reifenberg- Moreau FYE Week 9) The community I have built at Notre Dame is perhaps one of the most important communities in my life right now. I’ve also had to learn how to deal with new communities of people that I didn't know about before. I went to a predominantly minority school and lived in a hispanic neighborhood. Because of this, I wasn’t exposed to white people and had a huge culture shock when I first got here. When watching a documentary on the former President of Notre Dame, Father Hesburgh, he said “At a university, you can’t censor ideas if they disagree with your own”. (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley- Moreau FYE Week 2) While many people have ideas that I may not necessarily agree with, it’s still important to learn about the way that they may think or do things. “In surrounding ourselves with people who agree with us, we’re losing our sense in Limon 5 how someone may reasonably disagree” (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blaschko- Moreau FYE Week 11) By surrounding ourselves with communities that differ from our own, we are able to embrace the differences and learn how to build relationships with one another. I am impressed by the way Notre Dame has encouraged me and my peers to integrate with one another. “This distinction — between individual prejudice and a system of unequal institutionalized racial power — is fundamental. One cannot understand how racism functions in the U.S. today if one ignores group power relations.” (“Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism” by Dr. Robin D’Angelo- Moreau FYE Week 10) I appreciate the way the courses I have taken at Notre Dame have acknowledged the disadvantages that certain communities have. I’ve learned so much about communities so far and I am excited to learn more in the next couple of years. So now I am left with the question of what I am to do after my first year of college. One thing I will take with me is the privilege I have to be able to obtain an education from Notre Dame. Pope Francis once said, “the more powerful you are, the more your actions will have an impact on people, the more responsible you are to act humbly. If you don’t, your power will ruin you, and you will ruin the other.” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by Pope Francis- Moreau FYE Week 7) Knowledge is power. I have a responsibility to use the power I obtain for good things, hence my passion in social justice work. “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.” (“I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something” by Dean Marcus Cole- Moreau FYE Week 12) I will pursue a life well-lived by taking the lessons I have learned throughout my first year of college and applying them to my future. Ultimately, all I want to do is live a happy life Limon 6 surrounded by people that I care about and doing what I am passionate about. So far, I have managed to do just that and I can only hope that I will continue to do so.