Looking Towards the Future by I believe in the Catholic faith centered on the teachings of Jesus. I believe in acting kindly towards others and giving my time selflessly. I believe in loving those around and having close ties to one’s family. I believe in community and that it is important to form one to turn towards during times of struggle and times of joy. I believe in inclusivity and the importance of having each person feel welcome in their community. Being successful means to strive towards these beliefs and living out these qualities each day. This is put into practice by reaching out to friends who are struggling. These aspects are also seen when friendships grow deeper because of shared experiences based on trust and respect. The highest good in life is being able to think back on the day and to pick out points during the day when you felt at peace or genuinely glad because of an interaction with someone else. Forming a strong relationship with God, close friends, and family are characteristic of a life-well lived. These relationships help the person stay grounded when they are moving through troubled times. Embracing humanity means to reach out to your community, beginning with family and extending it to friends and others, to see what their needs are. Acting courageously means holding the above qualities and values in your heart and speaking out when you see injustice or exclusion within a community. The mission statement stated above will help keep me centered in my faith and the important values I hold. During all the stress and chaos school brings, I will continue to rely on my family for help and lean on my friends for support. I will try to find “an empty space, a pause” during my day to be thankful for the great community I have formed while at Notre Dame (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer – Moreau FYE Week One). I also https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ will hold the value of inclusiveness during my remaining years at Notre Dame and beyond. This aspect will be seen through me encountering and having open conversations with those who follow a different religion than I do. This sentiment of inclusivity and its importance is highlighted at Notre Dame through Father Hesburgh and the legacy he left for us to continue to grow upon (“Hesburgh” produced by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley – Moreau FYE Week Two). Keeping all these ideals in mind, I will remember to live my life each day as if it were my last so that I am not wasting my time and gifts. This sentiment stems from Sister Alethia and the idea of “momento mori” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham – Moreau FYE Week Three). Living like this for the rest of my time at Notre Dame and beyond will help me to appreciate my community even more than I already do. During my time at Notre Dame, I will reflect on what I am passionate about. This will stem from reflecting on what career I want to pursue after leaving Notre Dame. I will continue to reflect on questions such as “what does the world need you to be” so that I am keeping others in mind to make my decisions selflessly (“Navigating Your Career Journey” from the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development – Moreau FYE Week Four). When talking to my friends about each other’s values and how we perceive each other, I realize how important community is to me and that I need to be more available for my friends whenever they are struggling over the next few years (“Week Five Discernment Conversation Activity” from Moreau – Moreau FYE Week Five). I will practice reflecting on my life by using different techniques such as taking a “body scan” or coming into a state of “meditative or contemplative prayer” (“Ways to Practice Mindfulness” from McDonald Center for Student Well-Being – Moreau FYE Week Six). Using these different techniques, I will be able to better reflect on how my actions affect others and https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit where I am able to end my day feeling happy about my actions or come up with ways for how I can improve my interactions with other people the next day. My role model for a well-lived life will be Father Gregory Boyle because his actions and help extended to a great, marginalized community which no one had reached out to before (“Chapter 8: Jurisdiction” by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. – Moreau FYE Week Seven). He is a very faithful man who believes in God and places a great amount of trust in what God has planned. From his excerpt, I can tell he has formed a strong and safe community around him which challenges him and helps him to grow. I believe that if Father Boyle was tasked to write his own eulogy, he would be able to write a statement about the importance of community and how it has impacted his life (“Integration Three” from Moreau – Moreau FYE Week Eight). A community is there to help you through troubled times and “accompany” you on the road ahead (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Professor Steve Reifenberg – Moreau FYE Week Nine). I will live out this aspect of my mission statement by reaching out to those who I believe need more community in their lives to make them feel more comfortable while at Notre Dame. Notre Dame and the values it holds as an institution such as “the spirit of inclusion” will help me keep me aligned with my values stated above (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame” from du lac: A Guide to Student Life, University of Notre Dame – Moreau FYE Week Ten). I will only be able to hold these beliefs and values if I am challenged about my reasons behind holding them. This can be accomplished by continuing to have open conversations with those I will encounter over my time at Notre Dame. This means that I will not be caught in an “echo chamber” and I can grow deeper in my beliefs or rethink them as I encounter these types of conversations (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blaschko – Moreau Week Eleven). I will also be courageous during my time at Notre Dame to stand up when I see injustice https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/41060/files/523808?module_item_id=167937 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SkhkzZIMH2UwJauu5J_yq76rGV0GcG_lVd8KPBLTFF0/edit https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/41060/modules/items/143949 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/41060/modules/items/143949 https://dulac.nd.edu/university-mission-and-vision/spirit-of-inclusion/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s and when I can speak against it. This courageous spirit branches from Dean G. Marcus Cole who used his position to make a concrete statement on what we can do as a community to stop what happened to George Floyd from taking place in the future (“Dean G. Marcus Cole: ‘I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something.” by Marcus Cole – Moreau FYE Week Twelve). This act took a lot of courage because it is a sensitive topic in society right now but one that needs to be discussed. My mission statement above encapsulates all my important values which I will grow on and develop over the next three years (“Complete: Writing a Personal Mission Statement Activity” by Moreau – Moreau FYE Week Thirteen). In conclusion, I will live out my mission statement every day for the rest of my time at Notre Dame by being true to my values of my faith and community and looking towards strong individuals for support to spearhead my own causes in the future. 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://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ur4b9oFy7Mh8adNrwRTIFcanUIJUAI6wnAczkxW-H3I/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ur4b9oFy7Mh8adNrwRTIFcanUIJUAI6wnAczkxW-H3I/edit