Integration Three Catherine Wagner Moreau First-Year Experience 4 March 2022 Celebrate Life by Remembering Death Anyone here today probably knows that Noah always loved movies. He told me once that his favorite thing to do as a child was going to the theater with his mom. One of the first things that we bonded over in our first semester at Notre Dame together was our shared love of movies and the lessons we learn from them. In Viola Davis’ Oscar acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress in the movie Fences, she said, “You know, there’s one place that all of the people with the greatest potential are gathered. One place. And that’s the graveyard.” Some of you might think that sounds pretty absurd. I mean, how can someone who’s no longer alive accomplish anything? However, sometimes the best lessons about how to live a good life are learned by examining the lives of those who’ve passed. Their stories might inspire us or devastate us, but most importantly, they teach us. At the end of Viola’s speech, she says that she’s glad she became an artist because it’s the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. Now, I may not be an artist or an actress, but I do know what it means to live a life and to live a life that is meaningful. Noah lived a life defined by his relationships, his career as a lawyer and politician, his perseverance through difficult times, and his zeal to make the world a better place. As I’ve already mentioned, Noah and I both attended the University of Notre Dame for undergrad. You may or may not be familiar with one of the university’s former presidents, Father Theodore Hesburgh. If you went to Notre Dame, you’ll surely know who he is. He’s legendary at that school. During his tenure as president of Notre Dame, some of his major accomplishments were transferring ownership of Notre Dame from Holy Cross priests to the Notre Dame Board of Trustees and transforming the school into a coeducational institution by allowing for the admission of women. He didn’t just make an impact on Notre Dame, though. He was a strong advocate for peace and equal rights. Several U.S. presidents even turned to him as a trusted advisor during some of the most daunting moments in our nation’s history. I know you’re probably wondering what Father Hesburgh has to do with Noah. At Notre Dame, Noah minored in the Hesburgh Program of Public Service, which inspired him to pursue a career in public service later in life. Also, I think there’s a lot of similarities between them in terms of character. In a documentary about Father Hesburgh’s life, someone made the following comment about Father Ted: “Sometimes we get passionate about our own personal causes or the causes we have great faith in, but he was always a person that could look at the wider picture,” (Hesburgh by Patrick Creadon - Moreau FYE Week Two). I think this is something that Noah always strived to model, especially in his political conversations with people who had opposing views. Even though Noah might not have the same impact on the country and the world as Father Hesburgh, his commitment to recognizing the human dignity in everyone made the world a better place. “The future of humankind isn't exclusively in the hands of politicians, of great leaders, of big companies. Yes, they do hold an enormous responsibility. But the future is, most of all, in the hands of those people who recognize the other as a ‘you’ and themselves as part of an ‘us’,” “Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by His Holiness Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week. Noah has always been very passionate about social change (Discernment Conversation Activity - Moreau FYE Week Five). It was one of the main reasons why he majored in political science in college. He had many different interests, but above all, he valued https://tubitv.com/movies/631971/hesburgh?start=true&utm_source=google-feed&tracking=google-feed https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1egpNHiehpDFETPFkF1B1NKMYstmnr4g6iVpGVFyGMc0/edit https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1egpNHiehpDFETPFkF1B1NKMYstmnr4g6iVpGVFyGMc0/edit understanding different schools of thought and the roots of issues. He’s truly an example of the saying, “There is no ‘best major’ out there - but there is a ‘best major for you’,” (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). Through his career as a lawyer and politician, Noah was always a champion for defending the most vulnerable communities. During his time working for the ACLU, he fought many court battles to ensure people’s rights were protected. He specifically worked on cases concerning prisoners’ rights and capital punishment. With so much going on with his career and his family, Noah often found it hard to give himself a rest. He would care so much about the needs of others that he would forget to take care of himself. When he did, though, he made the most out of those moments. “The need for an empty space, a pause, is something we have all felt in our bones; it’s the rest in a piece of music that gives it resonance and shape,” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). Noah typically spent his rests with family and friends like myself. He had a natural longing to be in community with others, and he found strength in his relationships. However, he also found value in being alone sometimes to regroup and check in with his emotions. “Mindfulness is a practice that can help build resilience and has been proven to decrease stress, improve sleep, and help regulate emotions,” (“Ways to Practice Mindfulness” by McDonald Center for Student Well-Being - Moreau FYE Week Six). This is a practice that took a while for him to develop, but he got there eventually. In college, he was pretty hard on himself - always staying up too late, going to the gym almost every day, and pushing himself past his limits. However, as Plato suggests in his dialogues about the death of Socrates, true human wisdom consists of knowing your limits. Once Noah learned this, he realized that recognizing his limits didn’t make him any less worthy or incapable of reaching his full potential. https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SEXhurkurERNVdy8sgNwZaAKTAr-385q/view I want to close by relaying a story that Noah once told me. Noah went to Catholic school, so when he was in grade school, a priest would come to their classroom once each week to talk to them, teach them, and sing with them. Something that the priest would often tell them was, “Someday, you’re all gonna die. You’re gonna be buried in the ground, and the grasshoppers will dance on your grave.” Seems like an odd thing to tell a bunch of third-graders. However, his point was that reflecting on death helps us live more meaningful lives. “Remembering death keeps us 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). https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html