Integration 3 Zuzanna Kawula Moreau Integration 3 March 4, 2022 A Melodious Soul of the Party Zuzanna was a singer and her life was a musical, ironically as she really disliked musicals- she thought of them as annoying and ineffectual scenes that brought little to the plot of the story, thus she always made me skip over the songs. And yet, the best way to describe her is through them. She loved music - always listening to music and romanticizing her life to the fullest and although she hated drama - she was a dramatic person whose life took her through many twists and turns. You often found her dancing in the kitchen to rock n’ roll, making up jazz combos on the piano, or writing heavily procrastinated essays whilst listening to the Mario Kart theme song playing in the background - something she claimed made her fingers move faster on the keyboard. Music made her happy and knowing that she implemented it into everything that she did. She loved playing the piano for others - seeing their faces lighten up and relax with the melodies that she skillfully made up. She loved singing for the Lord at church - either singing psalms or harmonizing with the choir. Melodies were her escape, in them, she found the necessity to slow down and take a step back in her daily routine and take a deep breath to take some time to reflect on the day’s happenings, her state of being, actions, and future pursuits. Oftentimes we find ourselves in such a zone that we cannot get out of where we constantly are distracted, Iyer points out that “researchers in the new field of interruption science have found that it takes an average of twenty-five minutes to recover from a phone call. Yet such interruptions come every eleven minutes — which means we’re never caught up with our lives'' (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). However, for https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ Zuzanna, she found her inner peace in music to which she made sure to dedicate time for each and every day. Although music wasn’t her career choice, she made sure to stick with it wherever life and her ever-ranging interests took her. She tried her best to make the best of every situation and kept motivated to keep up and be true to her pursuits Having these words intentionally in our minds keeps us motivated to keep up and be true to our pursuits, living in the moment as when is a better time than now, and also being grateful for what we were able to experience and accomplish thus far. Although living in the moment was a hard concept for her to grasp, as how can you do so when so many dwell in regrets and others solely focus on the future, she tried her hardest to be present with everyone around her and in all her experiences. She found this essential to finding herself and practicing gratitude everyday, similarly to Sister Theresa Aletheia who brought about the concept of thinking of your own death “as a means of appreciating the present and focusing on the future” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die'' by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three). Whilst music was her rock, which made her who she was, she was passionate and intrigued many many other subjects and topics. She challenged herself to be open to new interests and tried many things out to try and find the ultimate thing that she wanted to pursue. However, she ultimately realized that not one single thing would be the “ultimate” career choice or path that was destined for her. She realized that “career decision-making is a developmental process that spans a person’s entire lifetime” (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo FAmily Center - Moreau FYE Week Four). Letting life take her in whichever way, she decided on becoming a pediatrician - combining her passion for understanding the intricate mechanisms of the human body and her love for interacting with children, after a long and hard decision process. Whilst to her this decision came about surprisingly out of the blue, no one was surprised. Her mother stated that her desire ever since https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ she was little was to work with children; she admired her kindergarten teacher, Ms. Simons, saying that when she grew up she totally wanted to be just like her. As they talked further she realized that she could potentially incorporate her passion for helping out kids with her fascination with the human body through becoming a doctor - her way of serving the community (“Reflection Moreau Week 5” by Zuzanna Kawula - Moreau FYE Week 5). Although this was her career, she made sure to stick with music and all her other numerous hobbies - dreaming of one day owning a piano shop of her own on the side. Although she found the path in becoming a pediatrician much harder than she initially assumed and found it challenging to not give up like others were telling her to do, just like Father Hesburgh who once said “I know why I was fired. If I were in Nixon’s shoes I probably might have done the same. But I took a stand for something, and I wasn’t about to stop” (“Hesburgh '' by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two), she persisted through and stood her ground for her passion in medicine. Even when there were easier paths to take that people were proposing for her to do, she got through the obstacles that came her way. She found herself in the work that she did, and found joy to aid and relieve children in their health troubles. In times of hardships, annoyances with her job and relationships, she often reflected on her day-to-day experiences in her small, royal blue journal, which she utilized to look back and be thankful for the good that she was able to serve others. She found this introspection especially good for her own mental health and self-awareness, as Tasha Eurich comments “ After all, what better way is there to increase our self-knowledge than to look inward, to delve deeply into our experiences and emotions, and to understand why we are the way we are?” (“The right way to be introspective (yes, there’s a wrong way)” by Tasha Eurich - Moreau FYE Week Six). Zuzanna https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Smy67_3m6fbQ4anRx8vLiCBKosuo-keSS9MxjaLAZCo/edit?usp=sharing https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ had a melodious soul that tried to express happiness and genuine energy even if she was not feeling her best. She worked hard to give everyone the undivided attention that they deserved - her goal being to make whoever she talked to feel like they were so special and the only one in the room. She enjoyed forming melodious harmonies in relationships with others and cherished meaningful experiences that she shared with them. She often came to Pope Francis’ quote “I could have very well ended up among today's "discarded" people. And that's why I always ask myself, deep in my heart: "Why them and not me?" (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by Pope Francis - Moreau Week Seven). She believed that with every interaction that she had with another person, her soul lightened a bit more each time. Thus, she tried to treasure meaningful interactions to aid her in becoming a better self that would be able to live a fulfilling life. She deeply acknowledged the fact that not one person was a single being that thrives on their own, but rather our own beings thrive on the existence of others and our interactions with them. She was a soul full of cheer and drama. She loved deeply and sang loudly. https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript