Giorgi Kharchilava
Professor Wagner
Moreau FYE
Capstone Integration
	After writing my own eulogy, the Moreau powers-at-be have blessed me with a more pleasant prompt. Instead of facing death or mortality, I get to ponder how to best live my life. It’s not an easy question; one might argue that there are many small steps and adjustments one could make to live a life-well lived. However, it’s worth trying to condense every little tip, trick, and maxim on how to live life into a small set of well-articulated principles. These principles would have to involve not only success, but the secrets to fulfillment, self-actualization, and becoming a contributive member of the global community. 
So, here is the attempt. It has been a difficult semester. I’ve taken on more responsibilities but become less responsible, tried to learn but feel like I’m not learning enough, tried to be a good friend and person but come up short too many times. I have all the tools to solve this problem. Diligence, study, and appreciation of what I have would be enough. Indeed, it is things like this that can help me lead a life well-lived in general. It comes down to two things. Firstly,  I must learn and understand the true meaning of prioritizing myself. Second, and most importantly, I must actively appreciate those around me both in word and deed, I can better achieve a life well-lived.
So, a personal mission statement of mine might look something like this:  is a freshman physics student at the University of Notre Dame. His goals consist of engagin in proper self-care and appreciating those around him both with his words and deeds
A life well-lived starts with a mind well-rested. In the modern age, however, this is no easy task, especially considering the effects of technology. Psychologist Pico Iyer puts it aptly: “It’s easy to feel as if we’re standing two inches away from a huge canvas that’s noisy and crowded and changing with every microsecond. It’s only by stepping farther back and standing still that we can begin to see what that canvas (which is our life) really means, and to take in the larger picture.” (Moreau FYE Week 1,  “Why we Need to Slow Down Our Lives”  by Pico Iyer) In an era such as this, to effectively prioritize oneself, one must think and form a relationship with technology. Suggestions range from taking a “technology sabbath” every week to modern “Do not Disturb” Settings. Essentially, we need to confront our problems with technology: how too much information is sometimes a bad thing, how we can’t trust it all, and how it overwhelms us. Indeed, this frees up time and allows for a fuller life. 
One of the fullest lives ever lived by a Notre Dame affiliate was that of Theodore Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987. As a Holy Cross Priest and president of a premier Catholic University, Hesburgh made every decision under the watchful eye of outside religious and political authorities. However, this did not deter him from sticking with what he thought was right. When President Nixon pressured Hesburgh into not releasing a report on Civil Rights during an election year, Hesburgh released it anyway and chastised the executive branch for its lack of action on Civil Rights. He also skirted common Catholic practice when he allowed women to attend the University (Moreau FYE Week 2, Hesburgh). Of course, Hesburgh’s decisions didn’t always age gracefully, but he stuck with what was right and listened to the cries of justice, even when he didn’t really have to. This ties both into self-prioritization and appreciation of others viewpoints.
 Of course, faith has been an interesting part of my Notre Dame journey. I have joined the Folk Choir in an attempt to get to know the Lord and his word better. The great St. Augustin once said, “A human being is one whose heart is restless until it rests in God.” (Moreau FYE, “Three Key Questions”  adapted from Michael Hines) The journey to faith is not easy, but it is a certainly beautiful way of self-prioritization by prudence and sacrifice. Again, this is very much a good intersection between the two parts of my mission statement: self-improvement and appreciation of another view, a holy view.  
Self-prioritization often is a key step in liberating oneself from stress. I consider myself a somewhat altruistic and sociable person, so naturally I struggle telling people no, whether it be for homework help or just to spend time together. Oftentimes, it’s best I focus on my priorities as an academic or even set boundaries of personal space. As I reflected with my roommate, concerns like this came to light (Moreau FYE Week 5). He told me about how he cherished our relationship but that I had stopped working so hard for the luxury of seeing many people and pleasing many people. It made me realize that to truly love myself I can’t simply do social things; I must improve myself before hoping to improve the lives of others.
In all this talk of self-prioritization, one maxim remains important: self-prioritization isn’t just empty introspection. To truly prioritize oneself when engaging in self-analysis, care and caution are required. Psychologist Tasha Eurich explains the modern phenomenon perfectly: “The problem with introspection isn’t that it’s categorically ineffective, but that we don’t always do it right. When we examine the causes of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors — which we often do by asking ourselves Why?questions — we tend to search for the easiest and most plausible answers.” (Moreau FYE Week 7, “The Right Way to be Introspective” by Tasha Eurich) I need to realize that simply moving to self-prioritize is not enough; I need to do it correctly. I can’t look for the mental “easy way out” when solving personal problems. It is much better to ask what to do to solve problems than why they exist and rush to easy solutions.
So, I’ve hypothetically done it. I’ve cleared out technology’s control on my life by regimented discipline, I listen to the thoughts in my head and think what to do to solve them, and I focus on my interests a healthy amount without fixation on being sociable. Now it’s time to appreciate and engage with the problems of our worldwide community. Before starting, one must understand the principle of accompaniment. Accompaniment involves not helping someone from high above, but taking a journey of strife with them and, in doing so, both parties gain something wonderful. Steve Reifenburg, a man who has completed humanitarian works in South Africa, puts it this way: “Even though I had landed on their doorstep with plans to be “their helper,” they accompanied me, and during those first two years and the many intervening ones, I think I have learned – and am still learning– to accompany them as well. For all my mistakes, something worked well in our time together.” (Moreay FYE Week 9, “Teaching Accompaniment” by Steve Reifenburg)
One of the biggest parts about accompaniment is a listening ear, which ties really well into the appreciation of others. One of the most fascinating yet damaging examples of this is modern America’s strife with racism. In all fairness, there is no question that America has drastically improved the state of its race relations since our Union’s birth. However, problems remain, and it is too often a white fallacy to think that past problems don’t have after effects today. A seeming portrayal that racial problems are mostly “solved” leads to white backlash, which Dr. Robin D’Angelo explains as such: “Not often encountering these challenges, we withdraw, defend, cry, argue, minimize, ignore, and in other ways push back to regain our racial position and equilibrium. I term that push back white fragility.” (Moreau FYE Week 10,  “Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism” by Dr. Robin D’Angelo). Much like modern Americans, each human suffers from decreasing their mental flexibility towards other peoples’ problems. To fight this, we need to be engaged in listening at what others have to say. This forms the first step of accompaniment.
One of the greatest barriers to listening in the modern technological world is the echo chamber. Echo chambers are accelerating political polarization, and thus are a reflection of our collective failure at leading well-lived lives. Dr. Paul Blacshko of ThinkND defines the echo chamber as: “A social structure from which relevant voices have been actively discredited.” (Moreau FYE Week 11, “How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blaschko) Avoiding echo chambers, and thus helping appreciate each others’ viewpoints, is accomplished with similar principles to eliminating technology: understanding the difference of information in the modern era. The internet is a bottomless pit filled with clans of like-minded individuals that are just one mouse click away: of course people will start to confirm their own beliefs and see less valid the stances of others. 
The tension of echo chambers and white fragility reached its peak in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. The University of Notre Dame’s own Dean of the Law School Marcus J. Cole wrote a moving piece on how combat the pain, division, and racism. He explains: “One thing that each and every one of us can do is to end the cycle of hate by ending the separation that leads to it.” (Moreau FYE Week 12, ‘I am George Floyd. Except, I can Breathe. And I can do something.’ by Dean Marcus J Cole). So, it is clear, not only must we listen to each other’s problems, but we need to not separate ourselves. We need to all join as one to advance our collective accompaniment. Indeed, proximity is how we can best accompany, appreciate and solve our problems.
Developing a mission is a tough thing, especially at my young age. I know my vision: to be a physicist or scientist who contributes to my field of study. But, as a human, how to pursue a life well-lived is an amorphous question. Certain institutions like Notre Dame have it easily built into their mission statement: “A Catholic university draws its basic inspiration from Jesus Christ as the source of wisdom and from the conviction that in him all things can be brought to their completion.” (Moreau FYE Week 13, University of Notre Dame Mission Statement) 
I am not a Catholic Institution, but a human being. I have trouble finding an exact path to a life well-lived, whether that problem comes from a lack of knowledge or a lack of restraint. However, in my mission, I can confidently outline two pillars of an effective existence: effective, healthy, self-prioritization and a will to listen and engage others’ problems.