Sem 2 Integration 1


The Importance of a Life Well-Lived

Dear Younger Me,

I’m writing this to you as a college freshman that is done with three-quarters of his first year. I

wanted to tell you the importance of living a life well-lived and what that means for someone in

elementary school. Mom and Dad will tell you that you need to get good grades and nothing

else matters. Grades do matter. Don’t get D’s or F’s but focus on doing the things that you really

care about. As you continue throughout your school years, remember that ““stepping farther

back and standing still” allows you to “see what that canvas…really means, and to take in the

larger picture” (“Why We Need to Slow Down our Lives” by Pico Iyer, FYE Week 1). It will be easy

to get caught up in the random daily occurrences of elementary school and to imagine that

nothing matters. That is true and elementary school is a time to explore and do the things that

you love. I want you to always carry with you the importance of not sacrificing who you are for

the happiness of others. Your values and what you believe in is the most important of who you

are and you should never sacrifice those. Father Hesburgh is another example of this as “he

could talk with Russian scientists and American scientists” and “they were pleased to have a

mediator even if they didn’t believe in the Catholic Church but they respected him as a man of

religion” (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley, FYE Week 2). Regardless of

whatever you end up finding passionate or doing with your life, you will never have to sacrifice

who you are or what you believe in just to have a job or to make money. You can live a life

where you can combine both of those into something where you feel like you are making a real

difference in the world.



It is also important to remember that life will not always be smooth. Obstacles will

constantly stand in our way. However, the things that define us are not the obstacles that stop

us but how we respond to the setbacks. It’s the importance of defining ourselves and how we

interact with each other that allows us to move forward. The “central issue in being a human

being…is…Agape - a very particular form of love, a love which is self-gift, a way of giving

oneself away to the ‘other’” (“Three Key Questions” by Fr. Michael Himes, FYE Week 3). We

need to love both ourselves and those around us to move past the setbacks that will inevitably

reach us in life. Finding the ways in which you love yourself is going to be so important because

in this life, family and friends can only do so much for you and there are times where you can

only rely on yourself. It is in those moments that you make sure that you are able to love

yourself and find those things in life that make you feel fulfilled so that you can love yourself

and your peers. In those moments of pain and desperation, find the things that you enjoy doing.

Know that “there’s no relationship between introspection and insight” (“The Right Way to be

Introspective” by Tasha Eurich, FYE Week 6). Know yourself and how you respond to those

tough moments so that you can overcome them and come out a stronger person.

The things that will give you a fulfilling life are not the things that will make you the most

money or make the most friends. It is the thing that makes you feel the happiest and you lose

track of time. When you get to college, this is going to be so important because “There is no

‘best major’ out there - but there is a ‘best major’ for you” (Navigating your Career Journey,

Meruelo Family Center for Career Development, FYE Week 4). No one can find the best major

for you because it all comes down to exactly what you find most fulfilling in your life. This is why

in your life, you should take advantage of those moments where you are stress-free and you feel



as if you have all the time and ability in the world to explore your passions and who you want to

be. You’ll learn this later in life but always remember to not “seek or rely on validation or

recognition from others as my main source of happiness” (Friend Conversation, FYE Week 5).

Using others as a crutch for your own happiness or your purpose does not give you the fulfilling

moments where you can feel completely happy with yourself. You will always feel as if you are

acting just to get people to like you. However, there is a difference between relying on others

and utilizing the friendships you have and the moments where you need your friends to support

you. “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 His Holiness Pope Francis, FYE Week 7). There are

always moments where you have to turn to your friends and find support in those who care

most about you. Taking care of and loving yourself doesn’t always come naturally or doesn’t

always happen and in those moments, it is completely fine to turn to your support system and

find the things that you love. Finding those small moments where everyone loves each other

and is happy with the way things are will give you the most gratitude and happiness.

At the end of the day, living a life well-lived constitutes a lot of things. You have to

balance your interpersonal relationships to stay mutually beneficial and not toxic for either side.

Find the passions and the things you love to do that makes work feel like a hobby. All in all, I

know that you’ll be able to do it and take the lessons I’ve told you and make them part of your

own life so you can be better than I ever was.