Appreciation of the simple things, a Eulogy for 
 was New Jersey through and through. Born in Vorhees in 2003, his heart never strayed far from the dense suburbs and charming hostility of the Garden State. A natural test taker, he excelled academically in his younger years. A member of many extracurriculars, he became marching band captain by junior year with leadership positions in NHS and student government. Pushing through a global pandemic and forty-hour work shifts he graduated one of three valedictorians in 2021. Even at this age, Jack had his eyes on the future. His father had done his best to instill a hard work ethic, and some of the lessons had stuck while others fell to the wayside. Through his academics and a perfect ACT score, Jack managed to secure a spot in the Notre Dame class of 2025.
The Notre Dame experience was initially a sub-par one. The people were entirely different from those he had left at home, and the university fell short on several expectations. Despite this culture shock, Jack managed to get decent grades in his major courses and found some friends to match those he had back home. His experiences in the Rocketry Club and irishSat were instrumental in his journey towards the workforce.
Graduating from college, Jack moved into the aerospace startup industry at a company called Momentus. Here, he designed the advanced propulsion systems that would carry hundreds of satellites to their correct orbits. During this time, he also started a family, first marrying his long-term girlfriend, then settling down with two kids and two dogs. Throughout his life, he would always try to teach his kids the important lessons, while letting them figure out their day to day on their own. While he didn’t hold them to the same academic standard he had once been held to, he still made sure that they were preparing for a successful future. 
Family vacations were a near constant event in the Kornicki household, as satellite launches brought Jack across the country. During the summer he would make extra provisions to bring his kids along as well. Memorable trips to Florida, Texas, and even rocket firing ranges out in the desert would stick in his kids’ memory as they grew older and had less time for their dad’s work trips. His kids inherited his intense memory for useless information, and they exceeded every expectation he had for them. In his later years Jack took a steadier position as a team head at NASA to prepare for retirement. As the advancements in the field began to outpace his aging education, he became more open to suggestions from the younger teammates and employees. After a few years of this he passed the torch to another worker, and peacefully retired back to New Jersey. In his final years he took as many hobbies as could be expected, learning to do all the things he never had time for as a younger man. When his time came, he went peacefully in his sleep, his wife by his side.
Jack is remembered by his children and his grandchildren, who praise his laid-back approach to parenting and cherish the memories they made when they were younger. They remember his passion for learning and willingness to embrace change even if it means admitting he was wrong. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he was always trying to be better. He will be missed.

In imagining my future Eulogy, I faced numerous questions about what I want people to think about me when I die. “What do I want to do?”, “How many kids do I want to have?”, “How honest about myself should I be?”, all questions that crossed my mind as I wrote. I ultimately settled on a simple life, as I don’t have any grand ambitions for the world or my place in it. As Quoted in his Pico Iyer’s ted talk “half the confusion in the world comes from not knowing how little we need.” (Why we need to Slow down our lives- Pico Iyers – Moreau FYE week one). Though I won’t lie and say I don’t plan to enjoy all of the modern comforts of daily life, I will say that most unhappiness comes from the feeling of always wanting more. I intend to live a life where I am satisfied, not working myself to death in the search of a higher paycheck. While I admire the animated spirit of people like, say, Father Hesburgh, who constantly urged those around him that in terms of helping people “they weren’t doing enough” (Hesburgh Movie Jerry Barca – Moreau week two), I know that grand sweeping actions aren’t for me. If I’m remembered fondly, it will be for little things that I did, day to day. It is here where I downright disagree with a Moreau text, specifically that “’satisfaction is a lowly thing. How pure a thing is joy.’ Contentment is an obstacle.” (“Three Key Questions” Marianne Moore quoted by Michael Himes – Moreau FYE week 3). This distaste for one who is content with their life goes completely against my goal of no longer needing to waste all of my time striving for meaningless accomplishments. While I understand their idea that idleness in life can be bad, I completely disagree that idleness is equated with satisfaction and contentment. Further, the idea that someone’s calling is to work until they literally drop dead “six feet under that is,” (“Three Key Questions” Michael Himes – Moreau FYE week 3) is appalling to someone who wants to spend their  last few years relaxing. If forced to boil major life decisions into three components, I would much prefer the approach favored by the Notre Dame undergraduate career services, as they suggest people first “learn about yourself” then “study what you enjoy and get involved”, and then finally to “explore careers” (“Navigating your career journey- Notre Dame Center for Career Development – Moreau FYE week 4). This enjoyment-based system ensures that regardless of starting talent, one learns to do what they want to do, and works where they want to work. It was through a similar process that I came to choose aerospace engineering for my major, and I hope this material helps others navigate the treacherous waters of major discernment. It is possible that a discernment conversation with a peer could also help, one where questions like “what do you think I most value and desire in life?” or “what is something that is difficult to say but important for me to hear?”(“moreau FYE_week five_discernment Conversation Activity_SP22” Moreau curriculum- Moreau FYE week five) could be asked and answered earnestly. In doing so one could learn about what they can’t discern about themselves, and thus they can be better prepared to search for a job. Once a career path is defined, it can be easy to fall to obstacles on the road to being happy, as shown in week 6 of this course. In particular, self-reflection without purpose was shown to actually be detrimental to one’s happiness, as “the people who scored high on self-reflection were more stressed, depressed, and anxious, less satisfied with their jobs and relationships, more self-absorbed, and they felt less in control of their lives.” (“the right way to be introspective (Yes, There’s a Wrong Way)” Tasha Eurich – Moreau week six). This counterintuitive idea, the article argues, shows that in order to properly reflect, one must have the goal of attaining self-insight. Instead of asking why something happened, we should instead ask what happened, and work from there, as asking why can cause negative emotions. I personally think this article is a complete misunderstanding of self-reflection, as the idea of negative feelings being a “bad” outcome seems misguided at best. Self-reflection can cause negative emotions, and often will, but I believe that instead of shifting our entire process to avoid feeling bad about ourselves, we should instead take note of what makes us feel bad, and aim to improve in those areas. While fixating solely on the why can lead to a depressive state, I believe it is essential to at least ask why before moving on to brighter more forward leaning questions. The pope offers some of these forward leaning questions when he discusses the hardships other face, namely “why them and not me” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” Pope Francis- Moreau week seven). This is the most important question I think can be asked, because it reveals that there is no real difference between those that are fortunate in life and those that aren’t. While all manner of excuses can be made for why someone is or isn’t successful, everything boils down to effort and luck, but mostly luck. The world is generally unfair, and the question “why them and not me” rarely has an answer other than luck, and I think that’s key to appreciating what one has for what it is, a blessing.