Cap Stone Mission Personal Statement: How can I live my life the way God intended me to by making good decisions to live a well-lived life and only include people in my life who model these same ideals. Above all being a good person at heart is what counts. The Moral Highground Living your life the way God intended is a lot to grasp. Every single person in this world has a vocation, a purpose that God has given you to fulfill. Finding your vocation had a lot to do with knowing your strengths. Knowing your skills and true passions gives you a better indication of what your career should be. ("Text: "Navigating Your Career Journey" (Meruelo Family Center for Career Development by ND Career Site - Moreau FYE Week Four). These VIPs allow us to live our life to the fullest. I know from the Carrier journey one of my talents is public speaking, so I try very to implement that in my life to inspire others, whether in a club or classroom setting. Our God-given talents are not the only gifts God provides to live a life well-lived. Our mentality is also important because how we perceive God’s world can make it that much richer. Sister Altheia talks about the word "memento mori," which in Latin means remember your death. ("Rember the Nun Who Wants You To Rember You Will Die" by Sister Altheia - Moreau FYE Week Three). People think if they avoid the subject of death and only focus on the warm and fuzzy feelings of life, they will only know happiness. Many forget the reason life is so sacred is that it's finite. Knowing we won't live forever adds value to every single day. Once I understood this concept, it changed my attitude about life. It set up the foundation for me to stop giving into the victim attitude in my life. The day I knew I only had one life, I started living the one that counted. This has changed my mentality, helping me learn to appreciate the little things more and always want to give back to the universe and the people https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html around me, even as small as complimenting them. The mentality has a big impact on how you act every single day. A big way to help improve that is through meditation, improving your quality of life. When I acknowledge that my emotions are getting the best of me, I do a body scan and meditate accordingly to be my highest self. According to a TED Talk by Pico Iyer, Mahatma Gandhi was once quoted as saying, “this is going to be a hectic day. I won’t be able to meditate for an hour. I’ll have to meditate for two” (“Why We Need to Slow Our Lives Down” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). Mental health is a big factor in treating others and can impinge on our journey of living like God. There have been countless studies to show how self-reflection can help decrease anxiety. This is highlighted in a study by Dr. Tasha Eurich where she found people who engaged in high amounts of self-reflection to be, “more stressed, depressed and anxious, less satisfied with their jobs and relationships, more self-absorbed, and they felt less in control of their lives” (“The Right Way to be Introspective” by Dr. Tasha Eurich - Moreau FYE Week Six). Our mentality is a significant tool to be used in how successful we can live our life, but another determining factor is how we treat others, but before we can treat others well, we have to work on ourselves. A shift in my mental health journey was when I began to realize that I have to take myself into the importance and love myself first. This impacts how I move forward in the next three years as I need to love myself before others; this will enable me to give them the full attention and affection that they deserve. To further this, treating others with dignity and respect is crucial when wanting to be a good person. Father Hesburgh shows this when he says “All that we cherish at the face of the great dream of America demands a dedication to the dignity of man, the god-given dignity to human beings,” Hesburgh thought no matter who you were that you deserved to be treated with human decency “Hesburgh Movie” by Father Hesburgh - Moreau FYE Week Two). I think a big factor in deciding if a person is https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8403168/ deemed to be good is if they are good at heart is how they treat others. In high school, there was a big racial discrimination problem - this is what I also aim to change in the next three years; by having no biases and standing up for their justice. No person, no matter their race, nationality, or even their block, should ever dictate how you treat them, only the content of their character. This idea of equality is explained in Notre Dame’s Inclusion Statement, “The social teachings of the Catholic Church promote a society founded on justice and love, in which all persons possess inherent dignity as children of God” (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame” - Moreau FYE Week Ten). Since we are all children of God we are all supposed to treat each other as equals, so evidently not treating someone with the same respect you expect is disrespecting God. Though this is tough in a world filled with different social norms depending on your geographical location. Father Greg Boyle talks about jurisdiction and how social and innate boundaries prevent people from loving unconditionally. ("Tattoos On The Heart" by Father Greg Boyle - Moreau FYE Week Seven) I think that relationships we need have in life need to be more open than just friends, family, and people of similar socioeconomic status. The pope talks about how people are scared about the future and the only way to improve that is together. These boundaries set up by class, race, and sometimes gangs are destroying the future. Once we let, people in they can be loved unconditionally and start a chain reaction. The harmonious action of everyone working together for a better future is the only way it can be done. These obstacles need to be destroyed now, or the world will reap the repercussions. The pope thinks that as we become more advanced in science and technology, we also could socially with equality. This is why my mother always reminded me of that Golden Rule treat your neighbor as you want to be treated. (“Conversation with my Mom" by Mom- Moreau FYE Week Five). Hopefully, in the next three years, I will be able to treat everyone as a neighbor. Even just helping your neighbor with a https://dulac.nd.edu/university-mission-and-vision/spirit-of-inclusion/ https://www.amazon.com/Tattoos-Heart-Power-Boundless-Compassion/dp/1439153159 small favor is good in itself. This is exemplified when it was stated that “The people I had so earnestly come to serve (and whose lives I had imagined transforming) had to take care of me” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together ” by Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week Nine). I think this quote is incredibly powerful in that Reinberg ended up being changed by those who he had thought he would enact change upon. To be a part of the greater common good, helping those in need - fortunate or unfortunate - will help the universe as a whole. It is easy for us to judge, but we have a choice, and “Each one of us can choose to finally end hate, by ending this separation. We must do something. This is something each one of us can do” (“I am George Floyd. Except I Can Breathe. And I Can Do Something” by Dean G. Marcus Cole - Moreau FYE Week 12). Furthermore, to help alleviate the separation, it is necessary to step out of an echo chamber. Dr. Paul Blaschko touched on the idea of echo chambers, and how being around the same group of people and listening to the same news stations is inhibiting people from looking at the world in different ways (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blaschko - Moreau FYE Week Eleven). I believe it is important to surround ourselves with people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and values to explore our mindset and be more educated about the world around us. The more diverse my perspective is, the more socially woke I will be. In the next three years, I aspire to be aware of my echo chambers (which restrict my growth), extend my horizons, and keep diversifying my knowledge. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s&ab_channel=ThinkND