Capstone Integration Yerania Serrato-Bucio Maria Finan Moreau First-Year Experience 22 April 2022 How I Pursue a Life Well-Lived I think that a life well-lived is different for everyone and it’s hard to know if you’re living a life well-lived until the end. That’s why I believe that you just have to do your best in all that you do. As mentioned in my personal mission statement, my mission in life is to just do my best because life has so much gray area, it’s hard to know what’s always the right thing to do, so just do your best and learn from the outcomes and hopefully I’ll end up having lived a well-lived life ( by Yerania Serrato-Bucio - Moreau FYE Week Thirteen).Week 10 - Embracing Humanity Life can quickly become overwhelming because of all the problems in the world. We can’t do everything or solve every problem but I think that as long as everyone makes an individual effort to try to improve, there’s a bit of satisfaction in knowing that you tried. Sometimes our best is just doing what we can do and hoping it helps whatever effort we support. The Grotto Article said, “Focus on what we can do for others or what we can do already instead of what we cannot do and what we do not have yet” ("5 Minutes" by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week 6). There are so many things out of our control that we can’t do much about but instead of focusing on all of that, we can focus on the things that we can do. For instance, I’m passionate about environmental sustainability and last semester in my sociology class, we discussed the impact modern society has had on the environment. We are destroying ourselves through social media and advertisement while taking the natural world down with us. There isn’t much that individuals can do because large corporations are the ones doing most of the damage but they’ve https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aasNPwbKNiVyWAZRBjStRMYe8tnOrE1spofP_hLAuOo/edit https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149414 conditioned us to think that we can make a large difference. However, just doing our best is all we can do sometimes and right now being aware of what’s happening could be what makes a difference in our consciousness and behavior. I also believe that in order to figure out how to live a well-lived life, one must reflect on the past . Like Pico Iyer said, “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” ("Why we need to slow down our lives" by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). We all need breaks to do well and reflect on what we’ve done. That’s how we can further improve in our overall well being and performance both in our personal lives and school/work. I like reflecting during the breaks on what I've done during my time here at Notre Dame. I think about what worked for certain classes and how much I am able to handle during a semester. It helps plan for the future to make sure performance levels will be good and to make changes to ensure life is being well-lived. The Meruelo Family Center pamphlet emphasized that, “Every experience shapes you in some way, whether you realize it at the time or not!” ("Navigating your Career Journey" by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). We exist in the context of history so our biography is intertwined with what’s happening in the world and impacts how we behave. A lot of what affects us are things that we typically have limited or no control over and so we aren’t fully conscious of it all the time which I learned about in sociology. However, there are some experiences that we do have power over us such as the opportunities we take and certain decisions we make that we know will impact us one way or another like taking up a certain position or moving somewhere new. I think that when we take time to reflect on all that we’ve done, that’s when we discover what left a lasting impact on us and help us figure out how to live a well-lived life. https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ Aside from reflecting on the past, it’s important to look towards the future and remember the importance of living a life well-lived. Sister Aletheia said, “Remembering death keeps up awake, focused, and ready for whatever might happen - both the excruciatingly difficult and the breathtakingly beautiful” ("Meet the nun who wants you to remember that you will die" by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three). By having death be a motivator to live a well-lived life, it makes finding happiness to be much more important. From my experience, most people say they’d rather live a happy and fulfilling life even if it’s short lived rather than living a long life being miserable and unsatisfied. That’s why it’s important to figure out what brings us joy in life and continue to nurture that in order to live a well-lived life. I also believe that joy is found by nurturing relationships. That's why part of my mission is to continue forming and strengthening connections. As stated in pg 139 of Tattoos on the Heart, “We seek to create loving communities of kinship precisely to counteract mounting lovelessness, racism, and the cultural disparagement that keeps us apart” ("Chapter 8: Jurisdiction" by Fr. Greg Boyle - Moreau FYE Week 7). I’m from the hood, so we have to form connections to get through life; it’s dangerous to be alone or excluded. Connections with other people are what keep us going and help us maintain stability and happiness in life. That’s what’s got me through college so far. The friends I have here have been my friends for as long as I’ve been here. One of my friends here is Mariela who lives on the first floor of my dorm. My friend Mariela and I went to the library for our conversation and it was nice to take a break to talk. It was a bit difficult because we’re basing everything based on only a few months of knowing each other but we realized that we knew each other well and have more in common than we once thought ( byWeek 5 - Discerning a Life Well-Lived Discernment Conversation Activity https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S0kbx0pQvEeklkrEmyBwpL5KBWe0hR4Y6n6IItnQFH4/edit https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/167901 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/167901 Yerania Serrato-Bucio - Moreau FYE Week Five). That made me feel better about being here and seeing that I was forming meaningful relationships at Notre Dame. Relationships here at Notre Dame are kind of like building bridges between different walks of life. Fr. Jenkins said that former university president, Fr. Ted “was a bridge builder between people and God and among people” ( "Hesburgh" produced by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two). I think the concept of being a bridge builder is very inspirational. Fr. Ted was able to be a mediator between many while also maintaining strong faith and remaining true to his ideals. Very few people have the gift of being able to make such strong connections with many and be respectful of differing beliefs and I hope to follow his example. I believe that helps in living a fulfilling life when you’re able to connect and help others. It’s also important to bring in what you know to a relationship so both parties can grow together. Proff. Steve Reifenberg said, “Drawing from personal experiences gives new meaning to the possibility of engaging in a complicated world” ("Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together" by Professor Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week Nine). This is also what I learned in my Giving Back Through Education class when watching the film “Waiting for Superman”. I saw myself in one of the little girls in the movie who planned to go to med school and knew she wanted to go to college since elementary school. My experiences which were the same as those featured differed from the majority of the class, many of which are in that class because they did want to be teachers. In that moment, I wanted to go back to my high school and start teaching possible science majors chemistry because my high school didn’t prepare me. I realized my experiences would impact the way I approached teaching if I were to become a teacher and how that could make more of a difference to certain students. My engagement with https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149193 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149539 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149539 my community will have been shaped by my experiences here at Notre Dame and hopefully I’ll be able to make a difference in the lives of others. However, when forming connections it’s important to be mindful of differences in opinions and beliefs in order to properly learn from one another and grow. It also helps to be more at peace with oneself in order to live a life well-lived. As stated in How to Avoid an Echo Chamber, “We need to keep an eye on our own motives when we find ourselves discrediting views we disagree with and when we find others around us supporting and encouraging us” ("How to Avoid an Echo Chamber" by Dr. Paul Blaschko - Moreau FYE Week Eleven). It’s very easy to say that we listen to different opinions and try to get a full picture, but everyone is already pretty sound in their beliefs and they’re probably not going to change. What’s necessary for people to move away from this is being aware of our biases and figure out why we hold certain ideologies in order to better interact with those from different “bubbles”. That takes a lot of effort but it allows for a lot of personal growth and a chance to be happier in life without being so angry at the opposing side. The reason this is hard to do was mentioned by Dean. G. Marcus Cole. He said, “They don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other” ("I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something." by Dean G. Marcus Cole - Moreau FYE Week Twelve). There is a lot of division in the world and it’s shown here on campus. I realized that Notre Dame can become very clicky and people tend to only hang out with those similar to them. I do the same thing. All of my friends are Spanish-speaking Mexicans and many other racial groups tend to stick together. This causes more division on campus but it’s comforting to be with those similar to you. That’s when we must act with courage and try to expand our circles in order to understand one another which is a step forward to ending hate. It’s https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149642 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149687 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149687 part of my mission to continue meeting more people that are different from myself that will help me grow as a person. Finally, I hope to follow the Spirit of Inclusion here at Notre Dame that states, “We consciously create an environment of mutual respect, hospitality, and warmth in which none are strangers and all may flourish” ( "The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame" by the University of Notre Dame du lac - Moreau FYE Week Ten). I think that the environment that Notre Dame strives for is necessary to live a life well-lived and it’s my mission to be and provide that for other people. https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149597