Integration #3 - Zachary Sellman Zachary Sellman Moreau First-Year Experience Integration #3 February 27th, 2022 The Life of a Wandering Golfer Zachary Michael Sellman was born on a rainy spring morning on April 17th of 2003. Like rainy mornings, Zach was soft spoken and calm, yet he undeniably knew how to leave his surroundings better, healthier than he found them. Zach, as he wished, will always be remembered as someone who was kind, but even more so, always had the patience to be kind. This patience, I believe, was his most special of traits. It was the trait that led to his constant trust in others, in himself, and, ultimately, in goodness. Now, I am quite sure we have all wondered where this patience had come from, and if, indeed, it was present in every part of his life. Today, I am ready to tell you all what and where I believe Zach’s patience came from, as well as about a few times when he was not so patient. You see, Zach was a golfer, and whenever I stood between him and the golf course, he was not so patient with me. To some family breakfasts, he said, “I’ll pick up donuts on my way home from playing 18.”. On a few summer days when the beach was open and I was already packing a picnic basket with towels and sunscreen, I watched him leisurely walk about the door, golf clubs draped over his shoulder, waving goodbye. In a sense, his endless obsession with golfing was a bit frustrating, but I always understood his reasoning. Zach understood that we need time to ourselves for reflection. In such hectic lives, such as his, it is immensely important to compartmentalize some of our time by putting it towards activities that unfailingly interest us and make us happy. In a recent Ted article I read, a quote in it echoed this sentiment: “The places that move us most deeply are often the ones we recognize like long-lost friends; we come to them with a piercing sense of familiarity, as if returning to some source we already know.” (“Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). For him, the golf course was where he could take his mind off of an otherwise stressful, impatience inducing life. His time alone and away from his stress gave him the time necessary to be introspective in the right ways. He could focus on himself and his future, and afterwards he could use his time efficiently and be the best version of himself towards others (Moreau FYE Week Six). His work life was certainly stressful, but I admired him for what he did. He worked many different sorts of jobs, mostly surrounding software engineering, but each one of his jobs, he told me, he picked with a purpose. Zach understood that this type discernment is crucial to living a life worth living (Moreau FYE Week Five). He only ever chose jobs that, even if they were stressful, he to some degree he enjoyed. Even more importantly though, he chose all the jobs he did in order to help others and help causes he cared about. Some of his jobs involved apps and websites in the medical field that would help users with a variety of different problems. With all of this, he definitely knew a few important things about navigating careers. He always told me that living and working in your life is certainly never a one stop process. Although while he was an undergraduate student at the University of Notre Dame he indeed chose his major, his whole life, as I saw, was about finding what we cared about and working towards it. It was not a one stop event, but rather a lifetime of discernment: “As you can see, career development is a process and a journey. If you actively engage in the process, take ownership, and utilize the tools at your disposal you will reap the benefits and establish a satisfying professional life.” (“Navigating Your Career Journey - Moreau First Year Experience Course” by the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). 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/ Away from work, he understood how service was crucial for someone’s role in the community. He worked for a multitude of different service organizations, from Youth on Course to even his own organization devoted to increasing the amount and effects of free coding educational programs in his Minneapolis, Minnesota community. In a lot of the time he did have and was able to, he worked to leave the world better than he found it. In this way, he has always been a person that I have looked to when I am confused about how to live my life. His inspiring life answered all of the questions and concerns that I had. (Moreau FYE Week Two). He also was everything to me and the rest of his family. He leaned on us when he needed to, as anyone does, but he was always there and so reliable for our family to talk to and ask for help. Zach understood the importance of relationships and family in a way that really spoke to the person he was. Everyone could turn to him, he was everything to everybody, and he represented this because that is who he was. I think, though, that what he did for our family really helped him in a crucial way as well. Building the relationships that he did within our family made him stronger in other parts of his life, and ultimately led him to being a happier, more fulfilled person. (Moreau FYE Week Seven). In his retirement, he devoted tons of his time to us and our family, but also, as we all know, to his passion of golfing. Many a day during this time he spent walking courses he dreamed of playing all his life, or just practicing in our backyard. This was a release for him, as I mentioned earlier, but also it was more than that. His life, as I discussed today, was very full of giving and working. But, he also knew of the necessity of having something to do that would capture his attention, lead him to unfailingly lose all track of time, and something that would anchor him to a state of happiness and excitement. He spoke about his death quite little, even as he knew it was imminent, but in the times he did, he reflected on how death made him structure his life in a way that would make his life more meaningful. Because Zach knew his time was limited, he focused on making his life have an impact in his work life, service life, and family life, but he understood that he also had to do the things he loved, like golfing, as well. He told me of how he found the very greatest joys in life by intentionally focusing on the fact that he had limited time to enjoy them. As Sister Aletheia said, “it’s actually in facing the darkest realities of life that we find light in them.” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three). https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html