LauckKayleMoreauCapstone Kelly Harrington Moreau FYE 19 April 2022 Pursuing a Life Well-Lived through Love My first year of college challenged me in unexpected ways. I imagined it to be busy, difficult, and fun. The year has been all of those things, but experiencing it is entirely different than imagining it. I am in the process of learning to juggle the balance between my social and school life. In pursuing a life well-lived, I know I must find that balance. The pressure of balancing all of it correctly is stressful. This semester, I especially appreciated the insight from Week 1: “Yet, it’s precisely those who are busiest, I wanted to tell her, who most need to give themselves a break” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week 1). In stressful weeks, I have learned that it is sometimes best to take a step back and breathe. Those stressful weeks are made worthwhile when I reflect on the importance of the activities and schoolwork that flood my calendar. Those busy times are the result of my pursuing activities that bring me joy, just as we learned is so important during Week 3: “... No one but you can say this is my joy. You must discover this for yourself!” (“Three Key Questions” by Fr. Michale Himes - Moreau FYE Week 3). Pursuing a life well-lived is challenging, but assuming an attitude of patience and reflection can help us all pursue a life filled with joy and love. I have tried to make my activities on campus tell a cohesive story. Some of my activities may seem somewhat out of character, but I know that anything I devote my time toward helps me achieve my goals. I want to get involved in politics in South Dakota, my home state, and advocate for healthy environmental practices in agriculture. I loved the message I received through our watching of the “Hesburgh” film: “Serve our country. Put your country before party and before politics. Always do the right thing” (“Hesburgh” - Moreau FYE Week 2). The advice to “always do the right thing” is simple, but it can be difficult at times. To be able to feel confident in doing the right thing, I know that I must know myself well, and “the only way to know more about yourself is to test the waters - just get out and experience life!” (“Navigating Your Career Journey” - Moreau FYE Week 4). I have done my best so far in college to experience as much as possible to allow myself to grow. In my idea of a life well-lived, I want to be able to love those around me and receive love in return. I work to form deep relationships with my friends, family, and partner. Choosing to be vulnerable with someone can feel scary, but the rewards you share with the right person are wonderful. When I asked [my boyfriend] when he thought I was my best self, he brought me back to the few most stressful months of my life. He remarked on how stressed I was with responsibilities and big choices, but he told me how much he marveled at the grace with which I handled it all. Looking back at that time floods me with anxiety even now, but he saw me at my best when I questioned my decisions (Discernment Conversation - Moreau FYE Week 5). This reflection proved very valuable in our eulogy activity only a few weeks later. I learned that if I died, I would want to be remembered for my love and kindness, not scholarly or worldly achievements (Eulogy activity - Moreau FYE Week 8). In college, it is easy to put off living a good life until sometime in the distant future. We are here to prepare ourselves for the next step in our journey. But, we are already living, and nothing is stopping up from living our good life right where we stand: “I encourage all of us to just focus on what we can do for others or on what we can do already instead of what we cannot do or what we do not have yet” (“5 Minutes” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week 6). One important thing we can do on campus to live out our good lives is to be inclusive. The university sees this as an important goal: “The spirit of inclusion at Notre Dame flows from our character as a community of scholarship, teaching, learning, and service founded upon Jesus Christ” (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame” - Moreau FYE Week 10). To be inclusive, we must also be mindful of our biases and our circle of information. Dr. Paul Blasko provides great insight to this point, saying, “We should be intentional about the information that we expose ourselves to, seeking out intelligent people with whom we disagree and attempting to fully understand their arguments” (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blasko - Moreau FYE Week 11). Our beliefs, and actions, should be dictated by careful reflection and attention to detail. To live a good life and love others, we must be inclusive. To be inclusive, we must be mindful of our shortcomings and work to overcome them. Being inclusive means opening the door to an opportunity of working with more people and therefore serving more people. Steve Reifenberg conducts interesting research on the power of language, especially the word “accompaniment” and how its meaning changes from Spanish to English (“Teaching Accompaniment” by Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week 9). His insights show how important it is to work to understand one another in our efforts to serve each other. Understanding our differences helps us bridge the gap and love one another better. Pope Francis says it best, “In order to do good, we need memory; we need courage; and we need creativity” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by His Holiness Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week 7). We are each blessed with the opportunity to do good where we are: “Each of us must do what we can, wherever we are” (“I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something” by Dean G. Marcus Cole - Moreau FYE Week 12). These calls for action are calls for more love in the world. When asked to form a mission statement for my life, I was unsure of where to begin. But, in reflecting on a year of new experiences and interactions, I knew I had one central thing driving me through the year: love. My love for farmers in my community drove my passion for a more sustainable agricultural industry. My love for my friends drove me to support them through their first year of college. My love for my family has kept me rooted in a year of all new things. This is how I decided on the driving portion of my mission statement: “My mission is to love, for it has been through love I have grown into the person I am today, and it will be through love that I can continue to grow and positively impact those around me” (Mission Statement - Moreau FYE Week 13).