Moreau Integration 4 My Mission To restate, my personal mission statement is: I am dedicated to helping others, through a variety of ways. It is my goal to cultivate my character, and inhibit selflessness, compassion, and love for those around me. I value giving back to my community, whether it be through community service or other manners. I strive to achieve future success, dedicating myself to my studies, so that I will have the means to help others in the future. I aspire to seek new passions and career aspirations through my higher education. I hope to be enlightened by a variety of different viewpoints, which will help me grow in awareness and understanding of the society that I am a part of. I am also passionate about educating myself on larger social issues, as I hope that injustice and hatred will stop plaguing our society. On a smaller scale, I value spreading happiness to those around me. It is important to me that I do small acts of kindness for my friends and family as a way to show my appreciation for them. Likewise, personally I value taking time to myself, so I can contemplate my thoughts and feelings as I make decisions for my future. Ultimately, I hope to seek personal fulfillment through the accomplishment of my goals. This course has taught me many valuable lessons to achieve these goals in my mission statement. First, this course has emphasized the fact that we live in a very interconnected world, so we must show concern for the wellbeing of those around us. Pope Francis reinforced this idea when he said, “First and foremost, I would love it if this meeting could help to remind us that we all need each other, 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. We don’t think about it often, but everything is connected, and we need to restore our connections to a healthy state” ("Why the Only Future Worth Building Includes Everyone" by Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week 7). We must live in a mutually supportive society in order to fully strive, which is why part of my mission is to give back to my community and to be aware of the societal issues that require change. One way to show concern for those around us is through solidarity. We can put solidarity into practice through accompaniment, as is shown in Steve Reifenberg’s article when it says, “Solidarity is about our relationship with the other, and through the practice of accompaniment we make it real and move it forward. ‘To accompany is to help the person take their own destiny in their hands and allow that their voice is heard,’ Gutiérrez said” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week 9). Caring for those around us and being willing to help them –whether through accompaniment or different means– can better our society and help those in need, which is why it is an integral part of my personal mission. Additionally, this course has taught me to identify my passions and educate myself on them. Coming to college, most people focus solely on their major, however I’ve learned that “Contrary to popular belief, deciding on a major does not determine the rest of your life” (Navigating Your Career Journey - Moreau FYE Week 4). We can have broader passions in life, and they can be totally unrelated to our major. Father Hesburgh exemplified this, as he was “someone who was totally committed to his country, his faith, and to what was right” ("Hesburgh" - Moreau FYE Week 2). He was passionate about many different things, including https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/38593/modules/items/145505 his faith and racial justice. Part of my mission statement includes exploring and finding my passions, though there are some matters that I already take interest in. For example, when I talked to my mom for the week 5 interview, she said that she believed that equality for everyone regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc is something that I’m passionate about (Moreau FYE Week 5). This is a concept that we have talked a lot about this semester. We have discussed that “Our socialization renders us racially illiterate. When you add a lack of humility to that illiteracy (because we don’t know what we don’t know), you get the break-down we so often see when trying to engage white people in meaningful conversations about race” ("Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism" by Dr. Robin DiAngelo - Moreau FYE Week 10). Getting better education about racial relations and gaining different perspectives about racial struggles is something that I am really focused on moving forward, and it is an important part of my mission statement. Coming to Notre Dame, I experienced a more diverse population than was in my hometown and I hope to surround myself with more diversity even after college. The importance of diversity is illustrated by Dean G. Marcus Cole when he said, “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. This racial separation and violence will not end until we stop waiting for African-Americans to enter our circles” (“I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something.” by Dean G. Marcus Cole - Moreau FYE Week 12). Part of my mission statement is to experience and understand many different viewpoints, which is why diversity is something that is so important to me. Lastly this class has taught me important lessons about self reflection which will help me achieve my goals. We started off the semester discussing the purpose of self reflection, which is that it “helps you see through the very idea of pushing forward; indeed, it strips you of yourself, as of a coat of armor, by leading you into a place where you’re defined by something larger” (“Why we Need to Slow Down our Lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week 1). We discussed many different types of self reflection, and the dangers of self reflection. For example, introspection can be dangerous as “introspection can cloud our self-perceptions and unleash a host of unintended consequences” ("The Right Way to be Introspective (Yes, There's a Wrong Way)" by Tasha Eurich PhD- Moreau FYE Week 6). Likewise, being in an echo chamber can cloud our self reflection. Dr. Paul Blaschko described that “We need to take a step back and reorient ourselves. We need to ask ourselves whether our picture of our opponents is accurate and well-thought-out or whether we might be trapped in the feedback loops characteristic of echo chambers” (“Big Questions 2, Part 4: How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blaschko - Moreau FYE Week 11). If we are not getting a variety of perspectives, our own self reflection is useless. However, one beneficial form of self reflection is the “concept [of] intentionally [thinking] about your own death every day, as a means of appreciating the present and focusing on the future” (Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week 3). These different dangers and benefits of self reflection will be extremely helpful knowledge to know as I move forward. In order to achieve the goals of my mission https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bdVnfLDrJUJhd-4UtYb_kfRpcFgOoOeY7O1WT8_d3iw/edit https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/dean-g-marcus-cole-i-am-george-floyd-except-i-can-breathe-and-i-can-do-something/ https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/dean-g-marcus-cole-i-am-george-floyd-except-i-can-breathe-and-i-can-do-something/ https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/38593/modules/items/145485 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/38593/modules/items/145607 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/38593/modules/items/145607 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s&ab_channel=ThinkND https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html statement, I need to be self aware and reflect on my progress, which I am equipt to do with this knowledge.