Moreau Integration Three A Reflection of My Life Very early on in my life, I made a plan as to how to achieve the best life I could possibly live. I planned on living a traditional life: going to college, getting a job, getting married, having kids, all that. I thought the best way to achieve this was to try to become as successful as possible and make as much money as I could. When making this plan, I thought I would sacrifice so much in order to achieve it because, at the time, I thought this would be the best life for me to live. After living through more of my life, I now realize how awful of a plan this was for me. I’ve realized that what’s most important is building meaningful relationships, prioritizing enjoyment and happiness in what I do, and living a life where I stand strongly in what I believe in. When I was trying to follow life through the plan I had first made, I figured the best way to achieve this was to put all my time and effort into school and academics. Especially when I went to Notre Dame, I felt an immense amount of pressure to be constantly working if I wanted to be successful. I quickly realized how unhealthy this mindset was, and my own mental health suffered greatly from this. “Yet it’s precisely those who are busiest, I wanted to tell her, who most need to give themselves a break” ("Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). I advise anyone who thinks the way I used to, to listen to this quote I heard from Pico Iyer, and realize what effects this is having on you and what you may be missing out on. Being so focused on wanting a certain kind of success, I feel like I refrained from living in the moment and enjoying myself in many instances. I used to be so focused on my self image and how other people perceived me that I refrained from taking many opportunities in fear of what other people would think of me. I remember when I started my college career at Notre https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ Dame, I was very nervous in meeting new people and being myself around people I had just met. I wish I had heard the following quote before going to school: “But it’s actually in facing the darkest realities of life that we find light in them” ("Meet the nun who wants you to remember that you will die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three). Ever since I first heard this quote, I promised to myself that I would try to live a life where I just lived in the moment, without hesitating on doing the things I enjoy or want to experience. When I made my original life plan, I said I would do anything, even be alone in the process, in order to achieve my goals. I wasn’t really focused on making very many meaningful connections, and didn’t really think about the simple interactions I had on a day to day basis. I also used to be very comfortable with a small group of people so, I didn’t see the need to have that many other connections. A while back, I heard a quote that said, “Life is not time merely passing by, life is about interactions” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week Seven). When I heard this quote, I started to think more and more about the interactions I have on a daily basis. I realized that I take much of these for granted, thinking they would always be there. I also started to realize how important it was to branch out to all different types of people, make meaningful connections with them, and to just learn about their way of life that may be different than yours. I remember when I used to spend so much time dwelling on what I could not do, asking myself, “why can’t I do this” or “why don’t I have this.” Asking myself these questions was not healthy and served no purpose because many times I wasn’t able to answer these questions or change something that I was spending so much time thinking about. I learned that being able to move on or just realizing that you can’t change the past is very important. Instead, I started asking myself, “what can I do better in the future.” “So I encourage all of us to just focus on what we can do for others or what we can do https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript already instead of what we cannot do and what we do not yet have” ("5 Minutes” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week Six). When I heard this quote, I started to not only spend less of my time asking myself why I can’t do something, but I also started to find more valuable ways for me to use this time. During these times, I realized how important it was to see how I could help other people. Not only does this help people in need, but it also allows you to strengthen your relationships and connections that are so vital to living a good life. I was asked once, “How do you define a life well-lived?” To that I now say, “You have to know yourself first - your values, interests, personality, and skills”(“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). Throughout my life, I began to realize more and more that a life well-lived is about so much more than success and your assets. A life well-lived is shown in the healthy relationships you made in your life and the interactions you’ve had. I knew I had made such valuable relationships when I could tell that both I and the other person were comfortable, happy, and supportive of each other. My interactions were meaningful, as I used to learn so much about different ways of life when I began to branch out and found importance in getting to know all different types of people. A life well-lived is also one that was lived with no regrets. I quickly learned that I couldn’t dwell too much on the past, but instead I had to learn from it and incorporate that into my future. I realized I needed to start living in the moment and taking opportunities while they were still available. I saw myself starting to take more risks and putting less pressure on myself. From this, even if I didn’t always enjoy a new experience, at least I learned that about myself and was able to say that I went through it for myself. Lastly, I think a life well-lived is shown through the messages and values you represent and spread. Once I realized what I valued, I tried to go with this reminder, “We don’t know where we’re going from here, and we don’t know what https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ we’re going to do, but I can guarantee you there are a lot of battles yet to be won for justice. There are a lot of mountains yet to be climbed to overcome human ignorance and human prejudice and at times human stupidity” ("Hesburgh” Produced by Jerry Barca and Christine O'Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two). With this quote always in mind, I wanted everyone to know what values I stood for, and I wanted my ideas for a better world to be spread. Not too long ago, I had a conversation with my mom and asked her, “What is it that you think I value most?” She responded with, “I think you are very passionate about trying to change old ways of thinking in order to create a more accepting, open-minded, and positive world.” I am glad she had this answer to my question because that is something I am very passionate about and is how I want to be remembered. I want to be remembered as someone who expressed what issues were most important to me and what I stood for. I want to be known as someone who always stood up for their values and actively showed value and desire in changing the world. After reading this, I hope you all remember me as someone who had so much value in building and maintaining meaningful relationships and positive interactions, someone who prioritized my happiness over materialistics objects, and most importantly, someone who truly wanted positive change in the world and stood strongly in their track. https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9