My Dash My Dash was like a shot of espresso, sunshine bottled up in a 5-foot frame, a perpetual smile. She found joy in each crevice of life: the snow, running, sunsets and sunrises, the stars, math, historical fiction, skiing, bluebirds, flowers, reading in the rain, watching the Gilmore Girls. Most of all, she found the greatest joy tangled in the smiles of others. At least, this is what I hope people say in my eulogy. When thinking about my death I cringe a bit, death was always one of my greatest fears. However, not to relate another integration to TikTok but today I saw a video talking about normalizing death as something natural and not something to exactly fear. It immediately reminded me of the article about the Nun who wants us to remember death. While morbid, this article stuck with me as a constant reminder that life will at one point end; “We naturally tend to think of our lives as kind of continuing and continuing”(“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html - Moreau FYE Week 3). Death is not something to fear but something to remind us to never take a single second for granted. I only have a snippet of time to explore the world and make sh*t happen. So, I hope when I die I know I didn’t waste a moment and I use that as inspiration each day. When I go out I want to dance like nobody's watching, absorb every minute detail, run as much as I can, listen to the birds and appreciate our little piece of paradise. So, rather than dreading the day I leave this earth I want to leave knowing I lived like there was no tomorrow. With that being said, when I die I hope my bones are weak and worn because of how much I ran and traveled and climbed and skied. I hope my hair is gray and my eyes are a bit tired from how hard I worked. However, most of all I hope my eyes are lined with wrinkles that show https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html I smiled and laughed the same way my mom’s are. My mom, my greatest inspiration, the woman who personifies kindness and love, is who I hope I can live up to in my life. She reminds me of Father Hesburgh from the Hesburgh Film; she is the greatest force for kindness I have ever met. She never let my sister or I think we couldn’t do something great and led by example every day caring for her patients as a Physical Therapist. Never once does she ask for a thank you, all she does is ignite goodness in the world the same way Father Hesburgh did (“Hesburgh”https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7e ca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 - Moreau FYE Week 2). While yes I want to promote change like father Hesburgh, I want to make change the same way my mom does. Her incredible character and passion for her job are why I dream of being a prosthetist because I want to help make others' lives better. Most of all, I want to put a smile on someone's face the same way my mom does. The impact my mom has had on the person I am today and the person I want to be tomorrow is why I talked to her for my week 5 reflection. During this, we talked about how competitive I am and my perfectionistic tendencies and while I know it's very true it is also something I hope people don’t talk about in my eulogy (Conversation with Mom- Moreau FYE Week 5). So, I want to try to slow my life down and really appreciate each moment more rather than stressing about what I am doing tomorrow or what test I have coming up. “It’s easy to feel as if we’re standing two inches away from a huge canvas that’s noisy and crowded and changing with every microsecond” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Iyer https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ - Moreau FYE Week 1). It feels like I am rushing through life so to improve this I want to take more time to just appreciate the moment. I have been trying to start journaling more and focusing on gratitude as well as taking moments to https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ reflect on my day. Additionally, I want to be more spontaneous and not worry as much about winning or being the best and rather just worry about being the happiest I can be. To do this I am trying to spend more time focusing on the present and living in the moment rather than stressing over the future. To the same point I also want to spend less time trapped in the past worrying about if I did something wrong; ““Why” questions trap us in our past, “what” questions help us create a better future” (“The right way to be introspective” by Tasha Eurich https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ - Moreau FYE Week 6 ). Every moment is a chance to learn but not turn yourself into the victim, rather I want to spend my time learning from the past but not dwelling on it. It’s too beautiful of a life to sit wrapped up in wondering “why” you’re like this and to start wondering “what” you can do to improve yourself and be a better person. Recently, I have been extremely anxious and I was spending lots of time wondering “why” me? Why do I have to have such bad anxiety when everyone around me seems fine? After reading this article I changed that phrase to what can I do to help my anxiety? What tools are there to help me calm down when I am having a tough day? By doing this I have seen my anxiety improve tremendously. This can be applied to anything like instead of why am I doing so bad in this class and ask what can I do to improve? Instead of why did I act like that yesterday, ask what can I do to be a better person? I hope to carry this especially into my kids life because in the end the past is the past and you can't control the future so might as well just enjoy the present and become the best version of yourself that you can be. As someone reads my eulogy, I hope it is filled with stories from all over the world and is sprinkled with jokes and puns. “Every experience shapes you in some way, whether you realize it at the time or not!”(Navigating Your Career Journey https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ -Moreau FYE Week https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ 4). My goal is to just make some type of difference in this world. I don’t need to be known by everyone but I hope the people who do know me think of me with a smile. This is why I really want to work in a third-world country or impoverished area to create prosthetics. Just in my time in eNABLE, I see what an impact a new prosthetic can have on someone's life and I hope to be able to share that with everyone who wants one. Specifically, I dream of helping runners who are looking for prosthetic devices because running has truly been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. When I run my mind is free and I am the most simple form of happiness. Additionally, I hope when I die my life can be filled with many different countries. I always loved language and different cultures and I hope I can spend time truly learning about them. But, I don’t want these stories around the globe to be in a 5-star hotel. I want them to be in a small apartment that is the center of everyday life, truly understanding what it is like to live in a foreign place. I hope, more than just having a eulogy full of stories, my eulogy is full of people. During week 7 we talked about the importance of relationships; “life is not time merely passing by, life is about interactions” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by Pope Francis https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_inc ludes_everyone/transcript - Moreau FYE Week 7). Just being at Notre Dame I have met more inspiring people than I could ever imagine and have learned so much about myself like that I love to have fun but I also genuinely enjoy studying and doing homework. I have met people who are pessimistic and mean but I have also met people who have the kindest hearts and greatest ambition. While I don’t see myself being friends with the pessimists they still have acted as a reminder of how much someone else's attitude can affect those around them. So, whenever I am feeling down or negative I try to find a reason to wear a smile. Equally, this place is filled with so many brilliant people that inspire me to work harder, love better, and smile larger. For https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript instance, Thomas in my USEM is probably one of the most intelligent and curious people I have ever met and I aspire to share that same fervor for knowledge, or Ashlyn is the most charismatic human I could ever meet and I aspire to listen and care the same way she does, or Maddie is the most ambitious person I know and I aspire to dream without boundaries the same way she does. Beyond being inspired by these people, I hope I can inspire at least someone with my kindness and curiosity. This is why I hope, if I live long enough, that when I one day retire from making prosthetics I can work as a math teacher because I know how incredibly influential all my teachers were in developing my complete and utter love for the subject. I have no clue what they will say in my eulogy but I hope when I die my dash on my tombstone between the date of birth and the date of death means something. Most of all, I hope when someone reads my eulogy they’re smiling because life is meant to be celebrated.