Integration Three How Attending Notre Dame Has Established My Definition of a Life Well-Lived Before I came to college, I never really considered whether or not I was fulfilling a life well-lived. I’ve been on autopilot as my life takes its course - from elementary school all the way up until college - not really thinking about what I should do that makes me happy or what career path I should follow in the future that is a passion of mine and is beneficial to my community. Although I’ve only been at Notre Dame for about a semester and a half, my experiences here and what I’ve learned in my classes have established my idea of a life well-lived in this short amount of time. First, learning how to transition from a life where I was dependent on my family to college, I gained a lot of independence and learned how to do things on my own. This freedom resulted in changes in my daily routine. I started practicing mindfulness and self-reflection after learning about its importance in the first week of this semester’s Moreau class. This helped me reflect on my current decisions and how they affect the future decisions I make that allow me to lead a life well-lived. As I become bombarded with stress over schoolwork and feel as though I have no control over my life, taking this time to reflect allows me to decompress and take hold on the things I can control (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). Now that I recognize how I can control certain aspects of my life in order to lead a life well-lived, this brings me to my next question - what exactly does a life well-lived entail? Although there are many aspects to the definition of a life well-lived, I have boiled it down to a few important things - implementing your passions into your lifestyle, serving your community and others, and utilizing your natural skills and talents to make the world a better place. I have used the time I take for self-reflection to ask myself if I am making progress in fulfilling these goals. One way to identify how to live a life well-lived is to look at examples of others who have done so. I have found inspiration in seeing others embody how I perceive a life well-lived, such as in the case of Father Hesburgh. My father has always emphasized the importance of integrity, which is a trait that Father Hesburgh demonstrated in all aspects of his life. His emphasis on morals is what made him a man for the people - he always put others before himself and had a desire to do the right thing (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two). He put integrity first and service before himself, and these are what allowed him to enrich the Notre Dame community along with the rest of the world. I began using his actions as insight into what I want to achieve in life. To do this, I hone in on how I can make good decisions now to build myself a future like that of Father Hesburgh’s - full of integrity and kindness. I was introduced to a new way of looking at how to accomplish this from a unique perspective - by reminding myself that I will die. I use this as motivation to accomplish my dreams and help those who need help, because soon there will be a time when I won’t have the ability to do that. Sister Aletheia opened up my mind to this idea of focusing on death and using this as motivation to make a change for good in the world and to not take advantage of our time here (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three). Keeping this in mind, fulfilling my goal of living a life well-lived is not something that can be held off for the future - I have to start living now, I have to start finding my passion now, and I have to start doing what makes me happy now - because before I know it, my life will have gone by, and I’ll be asking myself why I didn’t do what makes me happy while I still had the chance. 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://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html The next step after coming to this realization is putting it into action. How can I do what brings me joy and what I’m good at in a way that benefits my community and those around me? I want to choose a career that can put these goals into action. The classes I’ve taken here at Notre Dame have helped me discern how to do so. In the classes I’ve taken, I have found my passion in economics and finance, and I have found how I can use these career paths to help make the world a better place; for example, by learning in my economics class how the living standard in our country can be maximized (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). Most importantly, I have learned how to take the next steps in leading a life well-lived - all fostered by the teachings of this University. Moreover, I’ve found it helpful reaching out to Notre Dame graduates in my planned career path and seeing how they utilize their knowledge to do great things (“Week Five IrishCompass Activity” by Moreau - Moreau FYE Week Five). An important part of leading a life well-lived is not getting discouraged by setbacks. Everyone has struggles in their lives, but it’s learning how to continue to live a life well-lived while enduring these struggles as opposed to letting them overcome you. Personally, attending Notre Dame has strengthened my faith and my relationship with God. So, one way I cope with my struggles is having God by my side and letting him help me respond to these struggles while continuing my goals of leading a life well-lived (“5 Minutes” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week Six). One last important concept this course has taught me is the importance of loving others. In the definition I’ve established for a life well-lived, while I don’t explicitly state love in it, love fits under the category of serving your community and others. Serving others is a way of showing love. Choosing to love others despite past conflicts and without holding grudges is an important part of what allows people to continue living a life well-lived and not letting hatred tear them down (“Tattoos on the Heart - Chapter 8: Jurisdiction” by Fr. Greg Boyle - Moreau FYE Week Seven). In conclusion, my experiences at the University of Notre Dame, my classes, and this course have taught me valuable lessons that greatly impact my future by introducing me to ways of leading a life well-lived. Each day I set standards for myself to act with my definition of a life well-lived in mind, and it has made me a better person and allowed me to be more aware and careful of my actions and how they affect the world and others around me. I plan to continue to lead a life well-lived through the knowledge and values I’ve obtained from this class and this University. https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z1bZTNU9tpjCnuC9iDFLjslYaX0v4XpBwClh_GynKfo/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z1bZTNU9tpjCnuC9iDFLjslYaX0v4XpBwClh_GynKfo/edit https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40250/files/524003?module_item_id=168041