Capstone 
Social change is  a broad and ambiguous term used to describe solutions to an array of problems in our social system in America, but also the world. What does it mean? What can we do to provoke it? Do our efforts to be a catalyst for social change even matter when there is so much wrong in the world? These are all valid questions to ask as a human existing in this world, but especially during the times we have been living in the last few years. It is more than normal to feel anxious and helpless when the world is so big and our impact can feel so small. However, if there is one thing I’ve learned during my short first year at Notre Dame, it’s that our effort and reflective leadership  is not only valued, but absolutely necessary for social change. Over the past semester in Moreau, I’ve discovered that as reflective leaders, we are all agents for change if we want to be. 
In  week twelve of Moreau, we talked about wisdom, another broad yet powerful term. I talked about in my own reflection that wisdom is the ability to do two things: open yourself to the wisdom around you and to be able to reflect on your own decisions and learn from them. To touch on the first point, I would say that it takes a wise person to be a reflective leader, and an even wiser person to know to step down when they are not the most knowledgeable on the topic. This reminds me specifically of issues of racism and advocacy within the last two years when the Black Lives Matter movement was a foot. It was evident that most people were unsure of what to do, especially white people. I myself as a white person faced this dilemma. How do you help someone when you yourself are a beneficiary of their oppression by a system that allows it? How can you even contribute to a conversation like that? The answer is that you can’t. I don’t mean that in a way that ignores the issue as a whole, but to listen to and amplify the voices of people who are suffering. Being a wise reflective leader is understanding that you won’t know the answer to everything, and handing the leadership role to someone else when that is the case. To address my second point about looking inward, there is no better reference than the source on introspection in week 6. This article goes into depth about what the right type of introspection is, which I think is vital to be wise. Specifically, Eurich says, “ “Why” questions trap us in our past; “what” questions help us create a better future.” (Introspection- Eurich- Week 6) What Eurich is referencing is our ability to look inwards, notice a problem, and move forwards is the most efficient way to be introspective. I agree with this. If we get caught up in other things while reflecting inwards we eliminate any possibility to grow and become a more wise, reflective leader. 
Like I said before, it is vital to being a leader that we look outwards and listen to the stories that we have never experienced. As a class, we were made to do this in week 11 when we recounted an Anti-Racist Vocabulary lecture of our choice. I chose a lecture by Ruby Bridges since she is from my hometown and she was a constant figure in my education on civil rights in elementary school. While I thought I knew all there was to know about Ms. Bridges, her story still shocked me. Ruby Bridges spoke specifically of her memories of her integration into a white school and what she experienced. I always envisioned Ruby Bridges to be this stoic hero who fought racism single-handedly at the age of 6. And while Bridges is nothing short of brave, the stories I had heard of her all forgot one thing: her humanity. I’d always seen Bridges to be this entity stuck in the past, when in actuality she was a child then and has lived a very real, not-story book like life that I pictured. In the lecture, Bridges spoke of the toll that her role in the integration took on her family and her parent’s eventual separation. When asked if she would allow her own child to integrate a school she responded, “ I could not let my child endure what I did.” (Ruby Bridges- Week 11) I hadn’t even considered the collateral damage little six year old Ruby had caused in her own personal life when she had no real idea of what was going on. Ruby spoke of the years that followed her integration of the school and what I realized was that I was listening to a very real woman who had endured racism and hate since she could remember. She was not a character in my elementary curriculum or a fact to be memorized on a flash card, but a little girl grown up to be a woman. Something I learned was that in order to be a reflective leader of many you must bring humanity back to the people suffering.When considering this point, I was immediately transported back to week 5 when we watched the TEDX talk with the Pope. Specifically he said, “ Let us help each other remember that the other is not a statistic or a number. The other has a face.The you is always a real “presence”, a person to take care of.” (Pope Francis- Week 5)  People aren’t just statistics, poster children, or infographics; they are humans who deserve empathy and compassion. We must as reflective leaders love the ‘other’ for the sake of themselves and not for the appeasing of our own conscience. 
When considering Ruby’s story, one thing kept coming to mind: empathy. Empathy was the topic of conversation during week 9 when we watched the video of the commencement speech. It stuck out to me in particular to me when Louise Richardson said, “To see the world from another’s perspective is a critical life skill. It is a hallmark of a vibrant society and a civilized society. It is one of the first casualties of warfare.” (Louise Richardson- Week 9) Richardson’s eloquent words are indeed eloquent and timeless as they are as relevant today as they were when she spoke them in 2018. In fact, the first thing I thought of when revisiting this video is the war in Ukraine. There is a criminal lack of empathy for the people suffering there. It is imperative that we find it in ourselves to have empathy for these people rather than just watching their stories on the news, saying we feel sorry, and clicking to the next channel. Being a reflective leader means having empathy for the people and their pain that you will never feel. A good example to look for this is Fr. Hesburgh. He, a white Priest who was the president of a prestigious educational institution, found it in himself to have empathy for those specifically being oppressed during the civil right’s movement. In week 2 when we watched his movie, I was inspired by his lack of hesitation to support Martin Luther King Jr. when he had no reason other than his own conviction. He felt the moral responsibility to be empathetic towards the African American community and his reflective leadership was instrumental.  
	To revisit the main question of how to be a reflective leader in a world in need of a lot of social change, I can say that Moreau has opened my eyes. Being a reflective leader is not about being the loudest in the room, the most powerful, or the most intelligent, but about being the most sensitive and thoughtful. A lot of issues of today are very precarious and through Moreau I understand that in order to be an agent for change in a tumultuous world, we must approach these issues with intentions for good, an open mind, care, and grace.