Gus Heatherman 
Moreau Integration Three 

“Death Resume” 

Angus “Gus” Heatherman was born on March 20th, 2003 in Newnan, Georgia. Gus was homeschooled in his early years and attended Northgate public high school later on. While growing up, Gus was active in the Boy Scouts of America and ran cross country and track at Northgate. As we all know, Gus was born into a Notre Dame dynasty family, with both of his brothers attending the school before him. Gus continued the tradition and graduated with a primary major in science business and a secondary major in English. 
Gus never knew for sure what he wanted to do for a career, except that he wanted to be involved with helping others. It was this mindset that led Gus to use his business knowledge to work for a nonprofit organization in the Atlanta area. The nonprofit focused on helping feed and clothe the homeless in the city of Atlanta, while also working to provide affordable housing for those with lower incomes. Gus was happy to use the knowledge and experience he received from Notre Dame to help others, and he loved being close to home while he worked. 
Outside of work, Gus’s number one hobby was poetry writing. Since he took a poetry writing class in the second semester of his freshman year, he fell in love with the activity and has a published poetry collection called “Happy Go Snappy”. Gus described his writing as a moment to have a little peace and quiet in a busy life, something that he valued greatly. Gus didn’t even like poetry in high school, but it was his willingness to take a chance and explore something new that helped him find a lifelong passion. Aside from poetry, Gus has loved video games and following the video game industry from a young age. He also loved Star Wars and Marvel, hiking and the outdoors, and playing the piano. Gus liked to take the time out of his day to enjoy the little things that he was passionate about, which is why you could often find him transfixed if he suddenly got the inspiration for a poem, heard a song he liked come over the radio or saw a Star Wars trailer on TV. 
Gus was born into a loving and tight night family. His parents always pushed him to be the best version of himself, and he credited their love and guidance as a main factor in his own happiness and success. His two brothers were his best friends growing up and continued to be throughout his life. As a family, they loved to play board games and watch Georgia sporting events together. Gus has been married to someone he loves, considers his best friend, and who knows how to waltz since a year after college. Gus always knew he wanted a family of his own and subsequently had three kids. 
Gus always knew how to make someone smile. Sometimes he did this by making a joke to a specific person who he knew would find it funny. Sometimes it was to sit and listen attentively to a friend who needed to vent. And sometimes it was love given to a stranger through the nonprofit he worked for. All of these examples show one thing in common about Gus: he lived for other people. It is this selflessness that we will most remember Gus by. While we will miss Gus for his kindness, passion, and devotion to others, we know that he is in a better place, probably still writing poetry and playing video games.

 I don’t think that it’s possible to write your own eulogy and not do a little reflecting on your life. For me, writing it was like writing my own death resume, the final application that I’ll ever have to submit. Like all resumes, I included my best attributes, my talents, and among other things, what makes my life (or more specifically, what will make my life) a life well-lived. 
A major topic that I cover in my eulogy is my love of poetry. I truly hope that it is something I keep up with my entire life. One of the reasons is best exemplified by this quote: “The need for an empty space, a pause, is something we have all felt in our bones; it’s the rest in a piece of music that gives it resonance and shape.” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Lyer - Moreau FYE Week One). Poetry is not just a hobby and activity that I hope I keep up with, it’s an escape. It’s a moment where I can be at peace, be focused, and listen to nothing but typing keyboards and my own voice in my head. Like the quote says, poetry is my pause in a chaotic life, and I hope it continues to serve this function. 
I mentioned in my eulogy that I was a Boy Scout when I was younger. This is closely related to the fact that I hope to work at a nonprofit organization later in life. Consider this quote about one of the Domer Dozen. “He was a freshman in high school when his younger sister, at only six years old, was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening brain tumor that required surgery and left her dependent on a slew of medications to support her endocrine system. This served as his motivation to pursue a career in medicine.” (“Domer Dozen” by Notre Dame Alumni Association - Moreau FYE Week Two). I love the fact that this person was inspired from an experience in their childhood to do something great. In this same way, I hope to follow the example of my Boy Scout Troop Leader who dedicated all of his free time to the Boy Scout program and helping young people strive for greatness. He truly was a selfless person who cared deeply for others, and I hope to mirror this by dedicating myself to something similar someday, which is why I chose the career I did for my eulogy. 
Another reason I chose the nonprofit organization to work at was because of the difference between happiness and joy. “Happiness changes from moment to moment, day to day. Joy, on the other hand, is much deeper and much more central, it comes from within, and it’s a genuine rightness of how one lives one’s life.” (“Three Key Questions” adapted from Father Michael Himes - Moreau FYE Week Three). Working at the nonprofit is something that I think will lend me joy and not just happiness. The “genuine rightness of how one lives one’s life” is how we find joy, and I think that rightness comes from a life of helping others. Working at a nonprofit is something that I think will bring me joy because the main focus will be helping other people. 
The part of my eulogy where I talk about the attributes I’ll be remembered by is included here for a similar reason. “Tenderness means to use our eyes to see the other, our ears to hear the other, to listen to the children, the poor, those who are afraid of the future.” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by His Holiness Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week seven). In my eulogy, I discuss one of my positive attributes: wanting, and being successful at, making others happy, my friends and strangers included. This quote was affirmation for me that this is the best way to live. Like the quote says, I hope in my life that I listen to everyone I’m in contact with and try my very best to make everyone joyful. 
I included in my eulogy that I didn’t even like poetry in high school, which is odd since I love it so much now. A quote from an article posted by the Meruelo Center for Career Development states that “The only way to know more about yourself is to test the waters - just get out and experience life!” (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). I thought that this quote was very applicable to my experience with poetry and shows me the importance of trying new things. If I hadn’t taken a poetry class, which is something that I previously wasn’t interested in, I wouldn’t have found a potential lifelong passion. This is why throughout my life I always want to try new things and be open to all sorts of different experiences. 
When discussing the various things that I’m passionate about in my eulogy, I mention my passion for the “little things” in life. I decided to include this because of the conversation I had with my roommate for the Discernment Conversation Activity of week 5. He said that “[I] value the simple things in life because they make [me] happy and because they are often taken for granted.” (“Week 5 Discernment Conversation Activity” - quote from my roommate - Moreau FYE Week Five). Sometimes, I believe that we all need to stop and appreciate the small aspects of life that make us happy. So much of life is waiting for the next big thing and traveling to the next big event. This in-between time can be filled with so many small moments of joy and happiness if you simply give them the attention they deserve. I included this in my eulogy because this is a mindset I hope to keep throughout my entire life, one where I’m appreciative of everything life has to offer, even the smallest of moments. 
“ ‘Why’ questions trap us in our past; “what” questions help us create a better future.” (“The Right Way to be Introspective (Yes, There’s a Wrong Way)” by Tasha Eurich - Moreau FYE Week Six). This quotation was helpful when writing the Eulogy as a whole. I had to ask myself what I was going to do with my life, what my career was going to be, what attributes I value in myself. I think that why questions are somewhat appropriate because you have to ask yourself why you want certain things over others in your life. Despite this, what questions are much more concrete, and I found myself asking them more frequently when writing my eulogy than the why questions. “Creating a better future” is exactly what I was doing with this assignment, so I think it’s appropriate to end it with this quote. 
This assignment, and indeed the entire first semester of assignments, has been thought-provoking. The concept of one’s own death might be frightening at first, but you come to realize how much insight you gain by keeping it close in your mind. I hope that my real eulogy is at least somewhat similar to the one I’ve written here and I plan to keep the knowledge I’ve gained from this experience close at hand.