Eulogy Francesca Maria Lee sadly passed away a few days ago due to a conflict between her and her best friend, Abby. Francesca was an accounting major at the University of Notre Dame, although everyone knew her true desire was to never work a day in her life… and she never did. Her life was cut short in its prime. She was only nineteen years old when her life came to an abrupt end. Three weeks ago she and her friend Abby interviewed each other for an assignment in their Moreau First-Year Experience course. The interview included asking each other something that would be hard to hear (“Discerning a Life Well-Lived Discernment Conversation Activity” - Moreau FYE Week 5). Although the answer cannot be shared here because it has been redacted by both girls’ families, neither girl was happy to hear what was said. This interaction was only the beginning of the ongoing conflict between our hero, Francesca, and her so-called best friend. The two continued to have small arguments about little things for the next two weeks. One night, the conflict became too much. The two girls, along with 2 of their friends, decided to settle the score once and for all in a battle to the death… in Mario Kart. They would play 32 races - every single course available on Mario Kart Wii - and the winner of the whole thing would be the champion. Things went south on the final race of the Prix, “Rainbow Road.” They had been neck and neck up until for the first 31 races until they went into the 32nd race in a tie. Francesca had a rough start at the beginning of her race due to her character’s size. Toad is a small character so he tends to get knocked off the course a lot. Abby, who plays as Donkey Kong, had no trouble running into others. Abby was in first starting the third and final lap. As Francesca desperately tried to catch up from her place in second, she received a blue shell. This was her chance. She threw the blue shell and it hit Abby just before she crossed the finish line. Francesca was able to finish the race in first place. This was the final straw for Abby. The two began fighting. Punches were being thrown and their friends tried to stop them, but it was no use. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit Their fight continued as they made their way up to the fourth floor of Farley Hall, their dorm of residence. Due to the extreme temperatures inside Farley Hall, a window was open in the hallway. The fight approached it and suddenly they fell through the window, breaking the screen and plunging to their deaths in the Farley parking lot. May they, more so Francesca, rest in peace. Now that you know the circumstances of her death it is time for this eulogy to get into the highlights of her life. Francesca was a bright young girl who greatly enjoyed her time on this earth. Not everything about her life was all fine and dandy. Although short, her life was incredibly busy and stressful. As stated in the article Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives, “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 Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week 1). Francesca was quite easily overwhelmed by situations that caused her a great deal of stress. Her final week and her conflict with her best friend were extremely detrimental to her mental health. In her final days before her showdown with Abby, she texted one of their other friends about how she wished they could have their friendship back. Their friendship was truly noisy and crowded and changing with every microsecond. Every day, a simple conflict led to a large fight that didn’t need to happen. If only Francesca and Abby had slowed down and talked out their differences maybe their lives wouldn’t have ended so abruptly. A significant portion of Francesca’s childhood was dedicated to the University of Notre dame. Her parents graduated from there in 1986 as well as 2 siblings graduating in 2017 and 2021 and a sister who is a current junior. All of whom are with us today to mourn the loss of their beloved daughter and sister. Francesca always said that the most inspiring thing about the Notre Dame culture was its faith, and no one expressed that faith better than Father Ted https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ Hesburgh. Father Hesburgh was truly a role model to Francesca after she viewed his documentary when she was a junior in high school. She was delighted to have the opportunity to watch it again as a freshman at Notre Dame and always cherished the memory of watching it with her 3 roommates, including Abby. Father Ted’s faith and determination were truly an inspiration to her and she always wished she had been able to meet him. Now, hopefully, she can meet him in Heaven. Rest in peace Francesca (“Hesburgh” film by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week 2). Francesca had always been afraid of death. She never knew when death would come to her but she had always hoped it would be at an old age maybe even in her sleep, although, sadly, that was not the case. Because of her fear of death, specifically being murdered but we won’t get into that now, Francesca can in no way be related to Sister Aletheia, whom she read about for Moreau. This sister was obsessed with death. Not in a creepy way, but more in a way that she wasn’t afraid of it. She was not hoping for death, but simply accepted that death was inevitable and didn’t shy away from talking about it. Francesca could learn a thing or two from Sister Aletheia. She was afraid of death up until the moment before she hit the gravel of the Farley parking lot. Hopefully, she is now in a better place where she no longer has such fears (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die ” New York Times - Moreau FYE Week 3). Francesca’s death came so soon after she had officially declared her major. Although she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, Francesca thought that she had finally found something that she could be interested in. She had simply taken the first step in the “Career Development Process” and was looking forward to stepping further into the thought of an actual career. Sadly, Francesca can no longer have a career because her life was cut short too soon. But we are still proud of her for attempting to make the steps towards a career. What helped push her 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://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html the most into starting the career decision process were the discussions in her Moreau class. Her wonderful instructor, Nhat Nguyen, did an amazing job at talking to his class about career development and what it really meant to be happy in a career. He too is here to share in the mourning of his beloved student ("Exploring a Life Well-Lived - Career Development Reflection” Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week 4). Francesca was lucky enough to come from a background of great privilege. She had always lived a comfortable life with a tight-knit family and loving friends. The word suffering to her would certainly not hold the same weight that it does with others, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t suffer. Everyone lives a life that involves suffering no matter how small that suffering truly is. Although she did not suffer from anything even similar to Dr. Jihoon Kim, a man who became paralyzed in a snowboarding accident, she spent her fair share of time struggling (“Five Minutes” Grotto Network - Moreau FYE Week 6). Nobody’s life can be perfect, and Francesca’s definitely wasn’t, but what’s important is what you do with that imperfect life. While Francesca was still young and not able to make a hugely important impact on the world, she still made an impact on the small circle of people around her. Her friends, many of whom mourn her loss a great deal and are here today (you can see them all crying in the front row), would all say that she made a positive impact on their lives simply by being their friend and being a kind and generous friend. This was mainly due to the fact that she wanted everyone to feel included and kindness to be spread to everyone as she learned from her Catholic faith, specifically Pope Francis (“Why the Only Future Worth Building Includes Everyone” Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week 7). While we all mourn the loss of our dearest Francesca Maria Lee, we must remember the true impact that she has had on many of our lives. She was a strong, independent individual who https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0AGRyH4SWX0bz38 https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0AGRyH4SWX0bz38 https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 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 left everyone who knew her wanted to know her even more. We are so deeply saddened to see such a bright shining star cut down in the prime of her life but we can only hope to spread her memory and let her live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her… oh and Abby too I guess.