Capstone Integration Moreau FYE Capstone Integration 16 Apr, 2022 Four Keys to a Life Well-Lived As I embark on my journey at Notre Dame, I intend to focus my efforts on pursuing a life well-lived. To me, a life well-lived is one in which an individual feels that he or she has personally succeeded. I believe a life well-lived is devoted to the pursuit of one’s passions through education and beyond, developing wisdom and understanding, building meaningful relationships, and practicing self-reflection. Together, the four aforementioned characteristics culminate in personal success and overall a well-lived life ( - Moreau FYE Week 13). Through my studies, I am going to strive towards maintaining an open mind and dedicating myself to following my passions. My long term goal is to go to medical school and become a physician. In order to do this I must continue to push myself everyday, no matter the challenge. This is something that will not be easy, but as the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development at Notre Dame states, “the best career choices for a person are those that allow him/her to implement as many parts of his/her self-concept as possible,”(“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career - Moreau FYE Week Four). I believe that a job in medicine will allow me to implement many fundamental beliefs, values, and standards. Striving towards this passion will enable me to maximize my educational skills and use my individual strengths to better the community. In this way, I can truly maximize the education I have the fortune to receive at Notre Dame. https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ In striving for this goal, it is of the utmost importance to keep my mind open to the fullest extent possible. I am fortunate to attend a university dedicated to helping students obtain a vast understanding of the world that surrounds them. Father Hesburgh once vowed that “The Catholic university of the future will be a true, modern university,”(“Hesburgh” by Father Hesburgh - Moreau FYE Week Two) and it is my responsibility as a student to uphold the goals that Hesburgh once set for Notre Dame students. Hesburgh devoted himself to ensuring that we are exposed to a wide array of opinions and outlooks so that our education can truly flourish, and I intend to keep this devotion in my life after I graduate from the University of Notre Dame. In particular, as I progress through my studies as a student in the College of Science, it will become increasingly feasible for me to seclude myself to only the information that I am actively being exposed to in rigorous science classes. This, however, will put me at a severe disadvantage with regard to skills and knowledge applicable in the humanities and life. Developing a strong understanding of many topics and viewpoints apart from what I am actively exposed to or that I gravitate towards will be essential to becoming the best possible version of myself. Similarly, philosophy professor at Notre Dame, Dr. Paul Blashko, contends that, “..we should be intentional about the information that we expose ourselves to, seeking out intelligent people with whom we disagree and attempting to fully understand their arguments,”(“ How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blashko - Moreau Week Eleven). Intentionally submerging myself in novel sources will assist in my pursuit to see the world through other people’s shoes. In continuing my studies, I plan to make a strong effort to regularly expose myself to many sources of information so that I can be one step closer to pursuing a life well-lived. Another important aspect of my next three years at Notre Dame is the relationships that I will establish with others. As a part of my personal mission, I want to always put forth effort into https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s&ab_channel=ThinkND building strong relationships with my peers. A large part of this resides in my desire to work towards relinquishing judgments that invade my thoughts. Basic human nature makes it difficult for us to refrain from forming rash judgements. As a Catholic, however, it is my responsibility to live out Jesus’s name in everything that I do and think. In order to do this I must consistently remind myself that “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” by du Lac - Moreau Week Ten). To live out God’s will for His Children, I must always challenge myself to refrain from forming judgment and see life through the perspectives of those around me in addition to my own. If I can do this, I can continue in my journey towards living a life well-lived. Similarly, it is important to recognize the equality that each of us exhibit due to our nature as children of God. The Constitutions of the Congregations of the Holy Cross, a congregation of missionary priests and brothers, remind us, “It is not that we take sides against sinful enemies; before the Lord all of us are sinners and none is an enemy,”(“Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross” by The Congregations of the Holy Cross - Moreau Week Twelve). God created each of us in His image and likeness, making us all of equal origin. As I continue to live out my mission statement and relinquish judgment from my relationships, it will be critical to remind myself that in God’s eyes, we are all equals, and should therefore treat everyone with uniform kindness and care, as He does. In this way, I can eliminate many of the judgments that occupy my thoughts. Moreover, as I withdraw judgment from my mind and recognize the equality in humankind, I can begin to build stronger relationships with those around me. Friendship has always been one of the things I value most in life. Therefore, building strong connections with people is very important to me. I believe this stems from the numerous unfulfilling friendships https://dulac.nd.edu/university-mission-and-vision/spirit-of-inclusion/ https://dulac.nd.edu/university-mission-and-vision/spirit-of-inclusion/ https://holycrosscongregation.org/holy-cross-resources/constitutions/2-mission/ that I had to go through in high school to finally find meaningful ones that will last forever. Peruvian philosopher, Fr. Gustavo Guierrez, brings forth a good point on friendship, “..you must learn to be beside, walking with another person,”(“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together by Fr. Gustavo Guierrez - Moreau FYE Week Nine). Reciprocal friendship is a premier example of this. After experiencing many unbalanced friendships, I was able to recognize the difference that a reciprocated and genuine friendship makes in one's life. Instead of working against each other, we can foster a greater good if we work together by encouraging and pushing each other to success. Likewise, it is necessary to remember the concept of accordance- working with one another as opposed to against each other. This idea of working in harmony with others is essential when building strong relationships because “the future is, most of all, in the hands of those people who recognize the other as a ‘you’ and themselves as part of an ‘us.’ We all need each other,”(“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by His Holiness Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week Seven). Our independent growth will always be enhanced and strengthened by collaboration with others. Once I was able to realize that mutually beneficial relationships are the key to a successful life, I noticed the positive impact stronger relationships had on my own personal growth. The final aspect that I would like to focus on in my next three years is self-reflection. a life well lived is one in which I personally feel successful. Personal success is something that you can feel only once you reflect, which is why I believe self-reflection to be essential. If we do not ever take a moment to evaluate our lives and how far we have come, we will easily get lost in a cycle of feeling inadequate. Particularly when I experience feelings of unassuredness and inadequacy, I pause to compare my current situation to previous years. It becomes increasingly obvious that I have come farther than I had thought. This self reflection helps us understand our https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit?usp=sharing https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit?usp=sharing https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript worth, and as our discernment conversation activities also taught us, feeling pride, contentment, and worth is further enhanced when we take a moment to self-reflect with others. In this activity, I was able to receive feedback from my parents on how I have grown through the years. This enabled me to see how important figures in my life have observed me grow as well (Moreau FYE Week Five). Seeing this growth encourages me to continue to work harder and push myself towards achieving further personal success. In addition, we can find motivation for success in other ways. In particular, we can use death to inspire hard work. Religious sister dedicated to reviving the memento mori, Sister Alethia explains this technique for living, “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 Sister Aletheia - Moreau FYE Week Three). Reflecting on our lives, and more specifically, realizing the extent of them, can be a way to instill motivation. Choosing to use the idea of our death to inspire us to live our present lives with more courage and strength can help us grow and flourish into the people we always wish to be. Self-reflection is not only important for working for success, but it is also vital for assessing our mental health. The next three years of education and the further schooling will inevitably consist of a lot of stressful experiences. Understanding when I can no longer thrive by myself will be crucial to surviving. From here I can rely on both the important figures in my life and God for advice. As technology and education advance together, it will be necessary for me to remember the value of in person contact. I consider myself to be a people person, and I do my best when I am surrounded by others. Nevertheless, I can sometimes find myself consumed within my studies and communicating only via social media or instant messaging due to ease. I convince myself that I do not have time to talk to my friends or family. Writer and speaker, Pico Iyer highlights that, “the more we can contact others, the more, it sometimes seems, we lose https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html contact with ourselves,”(“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Lyer - Moreau FYE Week One). It is in these times of intense focus on my academics, however, that it is even more important to not use technology as an easier outlet. When I do this I am inevitably damaging my mental health by secluding myself from the things that provide the most joy. Similarly, if I allow myself to reflect and recognize that my mental health is not being prioritized, I can turn to God as a source of help. Ted Talk subject, Aria Swarr stresses that, “Suffering is part of our lives. It is always there, but it is about how to respond to suffering with God,”(“5 Minutes” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week Six). God is always with us, and wants to see us succeed, and thus we need not suffer in isolation. If we recognize we need help and turn to God for advice, He will endow us with the strength to persevere. God never gives us more than we can handle, and overcoming suffering helps us grow stronger. Assessing our mental health and knowing when it is time to take action is an essential part of living the good-life. The next three years and life thereafter will not be easy, but understanding the keys to living a meaningful life will be essential to finding personal success. The four main concepts I will focus on consist of pursuing my passions in my education and work, becoming wise, creating strong relationships and performing self reflection. I will work my hardest to live out these pillars everyday in order to cultivate a life well lived. https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/