Robert Corrato
Integration 3 
02/28/22
Instructor: Taylor Kelly
The Robert Corrato Eulogy: The Sequel to Life

	As the name of this hereby integration states, this is Robert Corrato's eulogy. The title is bland and complex, the text is drastic yet straightforward, and the content is hopefully outright insane. Eulogies rewrite and re-explain the fruitful life this specific person in the tribute had. I have fortunately never had to write this type of commentary before but have had to read multiple times. That, though, is completely inevitable throughout all walks of life. Writing my eulogy is something that I have never thought about. I have thought about the contents of what I want to be in that eulogy, also known as my future, but never who will be writing it for me, what things they will get wrong, what things will be made up, and if I would even decide if I liked it or not. On earth, I wouldn't have an opinion of it anyway. To begin this process of writing my eulogy, I would have to say this first. I am extremely superstitious, a little more "stitious" really than most. Let us pray that I will never have to write one of these essays about anyone, especially myself. 
"To begin: I am Robert Corrato, and I am writing on behalf of the passing of Robert Corrato due to unknown and unfortunate circumstances. This is extremely unfortunate, and he was loved and adored by so many, his family, friends, and students of both the Episcopal Academy and the University of Notre Dame. Robert, better known as Rob, worked his tail off at most things he did. This includes his passions on and off the lacrosse field, especially his filmmaking and content creation. I am saying he did the majority due to his inability to clean his room, but he was still able to do all these other things so well and to the best of his ability. His connection with his sister was absolutely the strongest relationship out of anyone else in his lifetime. Olivia, his sister, is two years younger than Rob, and she looked up to him every day. Through Rob's amazing perseverance and the support of his sister, she will now be able to reach the goals she set for herself so many years ago to play Division 1 field hockey at a prestigious university. And, of course, they loved each other very much. Rob's parents, Donna and Rob, would say something similar. Their firstborn was the single joy of their life until Olivia's birth in 2004. Rob had the goal of living a dream-like life that was unfortunately cut short. At Notre Dame, he was majoring in Film, Television, and Theater with an intended Real Estate minor that he most likely wouldn't use. His one true passion was making movies. In response to that, while doing so, of course, he wanted to live his life like a movie. Ever since he was little, he would sit in front of the television for hours, watching films from the Star Wars Saga to SpongeBob SquarePants to Cars. His passion for storytelling is something that shouldn't go unnoticed, not just from Rob but all the people in the world. "It's an extremely underrated talent," Rob would say. This comes in every shape and form. Rob's dream job would have to be something extreme, traveling the world and recording everything about it. Making his experiences into something for other people to enjoy would be something that wouldn't make him happy, but his friends as well. Another thing Rob loved was sailing. Sailing, although a sport that not many people get into, fell right into Rob's arms. Being surrounded by water in New Jersey, Rob's competitive spirit allowed him to succeed in racing and eventually coaching young kids who were just like him once upon a time. The vast amount of time spent allowed Rob to make plenty of friends with who he hung out every day of the summer, rain or shine. Lastly, his compassion for hope and the Lord gives me great faith that Heaven is an amazing place and Rob's time there will be amazing, nonetheless. We all loved him, and he would be dearly, dearly missed." 


Now looking back after, I quite literally wrote about what I wish my eulogy would be. 
At the same time, this is something I never want to think about, as I have stated many times before. Over the past seven weeks of the Moreau First-Year Experience (FYE), each class period offered me a different outlook on how my life should be "well-lived." According to my own definition, living a life that is fruitful in your own mind is something that each and every person should grasp. This can be your own passion or path you want to take with your life. In order to find that passion, you must start with self-reflection. Self-reflection happened in my sophomore year of high school when I decided I wanted to quit my computer science path that I intended to follow and completely change subjects to writing and film. I realized this most specifically during class when I realized that sitting at a desk and consolidated to a cubical box is something that I would never want to do. So, in the world of Pico Iyer, "…stepping farther back and standing still, we can begin to see what that canvas (which is our life) really means, and to take in the larger picture." ("Why we need to slow down our lives" - Moreau FYE Week 1) 
Finding the many empty canvases for you to paint your own artwork on is something that I especially allude to. My visual art is my paint, and the internet for all of those to see being my canvas allows me to reach out, jumping over the obstacles that come before me. Again, life isn't life with some type of turmoil. Unfortunately, that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Discrepancies in life that you wish never happened come around, whether it's not getting the job you want or losing someone special to you, and they show how you must overcome adversity. Sadness has been prevalent in my life and everyone's life. I expressed the greatest sadness quite literally writing my own eulogy for my own death. While our time is short, utilizing everything around you and making those relationships with the special people in your life aids your exploration into yourself and into your future endeavors. In Week 7 of Moreau, Pope Francis speaks about how solidarity is "is a free response born from the heart of each and everyone." ("Why the only future worth building includes everyone" - Moreau FYE Week 7) The people you choose to grow with and experience life with. As in my eulogy, I have made plenty of great friends and many long-lasting memories with those friends from all across the country. From Pennsylvania to New Jersey to Indiana to Colorado, the relationship you have with someone proves that it doesn't matter where they are from, their social class, or what kind of things they like and dislike. What truly matters is how both you and this other person have a mutual connection of love and respect. Father Hesburgh reiterates this in the documentary movie Hesburgh. He states, "Treating people how you want to be treated in this case is something that should always be practiced, regardless of who someone is or what their relationship is to you." (Hesburgh - Moreau FYE Week 2) My father always said that you must "treat others the way you want to be treated." This is an exact repetition of those very words I heard each and every morning as I shut my car door and walked into school. 
During my eulogy, I mentioned how much time and effort I put into my schoolwork, the friends I made there, and the relationship I will have with this physical location for the rest of my life. Going to a private, k-12 school all my life had me grow up with all the same kids for the fourteen years I attended the Episcopal Academy, better known as EA. After graduating, I realized I made the right decision committing so much time and effort into this place. EA now has an obligation to repay me, which is something I believe is totally fair. EA and Notre Dame both have given me the choice of doing what I feel interests me and advances during those interests. For the majority of my eulogy, I talk about my passion which is film and content creation. These places have taught me that this choice "…requires a lot of exploration and research. It's not a one-step process." (Navigating Your Career Journey - Moreau FYE Week 4) The industry I have chosen isn't necessarily a kind one. If you cannot produce what attracts an audience, you are cut. The film industry is full of bumps and bruises, hills and valleys, etc. In order to make your mark on society and be known as that director, that actor, or that famous person, I cannot reiterate more about how you must continue trying. Right now, I am simultaneously editing a silent film for my Introduction to Production class and writing this reflection. Still, I have to keep in mind that failure lurks around every corner, facing the darkest realities of life that we (must) find light in them." ("Meet the nun who wants you to remember that you will die" - Moreau FYE Week 3) Finding positives in your negative moments are some of the best things you can do in times where you must triumph. When I am imagining these thoughts, something I have done often to combat this is picking up meditation. Not many people know about this because it's something I haven't talked about and kept to myself for all the right reasons. 
When I completed Week Six of Moreau's QQC, I was glad to be able to comment on my patterns of meditation along with developing questions about the different meditational videos I listened to. One passage that struck me states, "...many people are going through these citations." The flavors are all different, but it is a part of our lives." (Self Compassion Break - Moreau FYE Week 6) Having people around you to understand what specifics you are going through and share the same type of mindfulness is incredibly rare and important, I found out. Making the change from a high school community to a university setting showed me a reality that there are fewer people that care about you. Fortunately, I have found my people, and that's all that matters, yet, knowing not everyone has your back was a bit of a surprise being from such a small community. Having a strong sense of discernment is good in these scenarios from both ends, involving your conscience and your friends' conscience. My discernment through my good friend Julia told many things that both I knew about myself, and I didn't know. She expressed to me that I know what I want to do with my life, but I do have my doubts. She said, "while sometimes you might doubt the path leading to your future, your motivation and dedication will take you where you want to go." (Julia DiFazio - Moreau FYE Week 5) I admire her perspective of me, and during my eulogy, I compared this to how I had a very set thought about myself and about what I had in my life. I take both J's (Julia) and all of the other close members of my circle's opinions very seriously, and I trust their judgment heavily. 
Overall, my life is only the way it is because of the people around me. I am truly blessed. There is no other way to say it, and when I am off this earth, I hope the memories and ways I have affected lives remain my greatest legacy.