Moreau Integration IV Rauguth 1 Professor Cathrine Wagner FYS 10102 19 April, 2022 Follow Your Dreams A life well lived isn't only a life filled with doing good, but in my opinion it is a life filled with doing good with a purpose. By having your own reasons for your actions you are able to pursue the dreams which you have created, and not those of others. Within the modern age of social media it can lead to many people trying to pursue the lives of others rather than pursuing a life of their own. Because of this people are losing touch with themselves as they are no longer pursuing the aspirations of themselves, which can lead to a feeling of emptiness. This has led me to develop my own mission of helping individuals focus on themselves and pursue a life because of their own purpose. By helping others find their purpose in life, I won't only be following my own passion but I would be guiding others to pursue a life with purpose, and thus a life well lived. In order for me to continue my pursuit of a life well lived I will begin working towards my mission statement, thus helping others pursue their passions in life. In order to begin progress towards this goal I will be using a portion of my remaining time at Notre Dame to find a way I can spread the knowledge I have gained about pursuing a life well lived. The first issue that I would like to address would be our tendency to want to imitate others, and to this I say that we must rather find what we are passionate about. Within week one Pico Iyer reflects on just how important meditation is within his life, as it allows him to reflect on him and his actions. With so much of our time now spent on social media, it leads to us becoming envious of those on the platform which is why it is vital for us to instead put that energy into ourselves. Now what I am not saying is that you shouldn't look to others for inspiration as imitation is very different from inspiration. When it comes to imitation, much of our social media pages are filtered towards our liking, which can make it very easy for us to fall into what is called an echo chamber. The reason why echo chambers are dangerous is because of their tendency to make us experience very little diversity, and to avoid this we must “be intentional about the information that we expose ourselves to”(Week 11), in order to make sure that we don't lose touch with reality nor ourselves. Diversity on the other hand, whether that is “differences of culture, religion, and conviction can co-exist with friendship…. ”(Week 2), allow for giving-and-receiving relationships rather than the one sided relationship which is imitation. During my time here at Notre Dame I plan on continuing my journey of exploring the many diverse communities around campus in order to grasp a better understanding of the world as a whole. I believe that if I want to help anyone pursue their passion then I must have at least a basic understanding of what kind of lifestyle they may come from so I can better suit my advice towards the individual. Learning from others is the only way we are able to develop as humans which then leads into why keeping an open mind is vital when trying to find your passion. “The Rauguth 2 humility to hear what we are good at and the humility to hear what we are not good at is enormously important”(Week 3) as this is what allows us a chance to reflect on our actions and find out if we have a purpose behind our actions. Throughout my life I have found that collaboration with others is key in order for you to sort out your own ideas. The reflections that we had during week five allowed us to view ourselves from another perspective which further made us consider if we seemed to have a greater purpose behind our actions. Then by having others be able to understand your end goals that means you have a very solid understanding of what you are going to pursue and thus there is no hesitation. And although you may not have a perfectly clear idea of what you want to do, taking steps towards finding that purpose is just as important as taking steps towards fulfilling that purpose. By taking steps to pursue our dreams and not the dreams of others we are able to formulate our actions to lead to a feeling of fulfillment rather than emptiness from simply imitating others. During my time here at Notre Dame I plan on taking advantage of as many opportunities as possible that will lead to me fulfilling my mission. This is why keeping an open mind is so important because over time you’ll alway be able to adjust or even change your purpose based on the new experiences that you have had. As discussed in week four, “career decision making is a developmental process that spans a person’s entire lifetime”(Week 4), which is exactly why searching for a purpose is equally as important as pursuing a purpose. Although the goal is to pursue your own passion, you must also take it one step at a time especially when it comes to obstacles. Obstacles can be the major cause of someone giving up on their dream which is why it is very important to remember that anything worth having is not going to come without sacrifice. Overcoming an obstacle not only gives you a sense of accomplishment but they can also make you realize that “some of the things that [you] could do can be a blessing to some others”(Week 6). After overcoming obstacles I tend to find myself thinking about the many people who face much more difficult challenges on a daily basis which is why I have chosen my mission of helping others pursue a life which they are passionate about. Within week nine professor Reifenberg states that, “accompanying the dying helps you understand what is most important about living”(Week 9) which furthers my reasoning for wanting to help others live up to the life they are passionate about, no matter their circumstances. As you may have been able to tell, my life is centered around assisting all others on their journeys and through this I've come to strongly adopt the idea of paying it forward. This I feel is key for myself and others as I feel that you should always help those on the way up in the world as you wouldn't be in the same position if you were never helped. By not secluding yourself above others you are able to build a community of people which can help build eachother up. As is said, “Christ is the source of the order of all creation and of the moral law which is written in our hearts”(Week 10), which means that we should treat everyone as equals. I feel as though my acceptance into this university is my “call to action on behalf of marginalized communities” (Week 12), and so for my remaining years at Notre Dame I plan to use opportunities as a source of power. Though in many cases power can be used for evil, “through humility and concrete love, power becomes a service, a force for good”(Week 7). As I have said, my passion and my Rauguth 3 mission is to help the future generations. I not only want to lead by example but I want to assist them on their journey and make sure they know they have my support on their journey to find and pursue their purpose. So by pursuing my mission I won't only be pursuing a life well lived but I will be helping others pursue their own purpose which I believe is the change that the world has come to need. Citations ("Why we need to slow down our lives" , by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One) ("Hesburgh Video" , Produced by Jerry Barca and Christine O'Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two) ("Three Key Questions" , by Father Micheal Himes - Moreau FYE Week Three) ( “Navigating Your Career Journey”, by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four) ("The Grotto: Why does God allow suffering?", by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week Six) (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone”, by His Holiness Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week Seven) (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together ”, by Professor Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week Nine) (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame”, by A Guide to Student Life, University of Notre Dame - Moreau Week Ten) (“How to avoid an echo chamber” by Professor Paual Blaschko - Moreau Week Eleven) (“Justice on the Margins” by Suzanne Shanahan - Moreau Week Twelve) https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40253/files/467215?module_item_id=142974 https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit?usp=sharing https://dulac.nd.edu/university-mission-and-vision/spirit-of-inclusion/