Moreau Integration 3



3/4/2022

Living in Preparation for my Eulogy
A eulogy is often a great look at what a person valued most in life. Some people may

have stories that highlight their focus on wealth accumulation. Such people would have stories in
their eulogy about their persistence and hard work to accomplish their goal of becoming more
wealthy. Though expensive items and large bank accounts may be nice to have, what people are
truly remembered for is their acts of kindness and generosity to those around them. Other people
have stories in their eulogy regarding their value of family and friendships. These stories would
highlight someone’s ability to be welcoming to all and light up a room with a friendly smile. At a
top university like Notre Dame, people (including myself) find themselves getting caught up in
just what they can do to get that big internship, get the perfect grades, get the fast-paced job they
want, and in general get ahead of everyone else in life. In your eulogy, however, this will not be
the things that will be important. The important things will be your impact on the lives of your
peers and the good things you do for the world around you. When I breathe my last breath and it
is time for a eulogy to be written about me and the life I lived, I hope it focuses on how I helped
my family, friends, community and those in need.

In the first week this semester, we focused on the question “what life am I living.” This is
a very important question to reflect on, especially in regards to what you want on your eulogy.
The article that we read from ideas.ted.com Why we need to slow down our lives suggests: “The
very people, in short, who have worked to speed up the world are the same ones most sensitive to
the virtue of slowing down.” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau
FYE Week One) This quote is in response to what the author saw during their trip to Google’s
headquarters. The author was fascinated to see trampolines and creative spaces in an office of a
highly successful company in charge of vast amounts of data and innovation. It seems that the
companies that drive the world forward at the fastest pace have discovered that time without
screens and the internet helps to promote creative thinking and motivate workers. I agree with
the findings of this article, and do my best to avoid getting sucked into the world of screens. I
can make myself happier and probably live a better life by balancing work with spending time
with people I enjoy and doing things I enjoy.

We watched a video for the second week of Moreau about Father Hesburgh. My favorite
part of the video was when the moderator said “This whole committee was a put on, and here we
have a couple of democrats, some republicans, and an independent priest, and we got you to
agree on civil rights? And he said, Mr. President, we may have had our disagreements, but at the
end of the day, we are all just fishermen.” (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley -
Moreau FYE Week Two) I liked this quote a lot because Father Hesburgh was able to find a
common hobby and use it to unite a seemingly hopelessly divided group of people. The quote
brings forward the commonalities of our fellow humans and shows that even groups that were
staunchly against each other were able to talk through an agreement by listening to each other
and relating to them on even the smallest of things like fishing. Overlooking the huge biblical

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


implications this could also have, it relates to my life because I want to be the kind of person
who is remembered for bringing people together, not pushing them apart.

I found the New York Times article from week three to be particularly intriguing due to
the different approach this nun has on death. The nun was a teacher of momento mori, which in
Latin means “remember your death.” This was a bit surprising because it seems like Catholic
teachings usually focus on resurrection and the life of the world to come. Sister Teresa Aletheia
Noble stresses that since death on this world is inevitable, we need to focus more on it every day,
and act accordingly with the acknowledgement that our time here is limited. (“Meet the nun who
wants you to remember that you will die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three)

Week four was mostly about reflection, but it did have a little article which stressed:
“There is no “best major” out there - but there is a “best major for you." If you are in a major you
enjoy, you will be more motivated to go to class, get better grades, and overall be happier - all of
that leads to better post-graduate outcomes.” This quote strikes me the most because it reinforces
my choice of major and desired career path. Biology is certainly not the easiest major, and there
are times that I feel that I would be better off in an “easier” major. This helps me to remember
that doing what I enjoy the most is worth it even if it seems way harder than other alternatives.
(“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau
FYE Week Four)

Instead of a typical reading and QQC in week five, we did an activity in which I asked
my friend Sam about his thoughts on me. Overall it was pretty surface level things, since as a
young male I am not particularly in-touch with my emotions, but it was still interesting to hear
what someone else thinks I value. (“Week Five IrishCompass Activity” - Moreau FYE Week
Five)

I was a bit intrigued by the quote: “studies have shown that people high in insight feel
more in control of their lives, show more dramatic personal growth, enjoy better relationships
and feel calmer and more content. However, Grant and others have also come to realize there’s
no relationship between introspection and insight. This means that the act of thinking about
ourselves isn’t necessarily correlated with knowing ourselves.” from the reading for week six
because it is a bit oxymoronic. It helps highlight the article’s point that simply sitting and
thinking about yourself aimlessly is not always helpful, and that it is better to ponder who you
are and what you want to become. (“The Right Way to be Introspective (Yes, There's a Wrong
Way)” by Tasha Eurich - Moreau FYE Week Six)

I do not know much about the background of the story from which the chapter
Jurisdiction from week seven is taken, but it simply does not matter. Each of his self-contained
stories have vast meaning that does not require one to dig too deep to see. The story from the
diner, where the two gang members are incredibly uncomfortable walking into a diner comprised
mostly of “proper” families with money, is rather startling in how quickly one’s friendliness can
make someone feel welcome. The waitress’s change from hostile to treating the strangers like
friends eases any pre-existing tension, and brings both parties together. This is another quality

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://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z1bZTNU9tpjCnuC9iDFLjslYaX0v4XpBwClh_GynKfo/edit?usp=sharing
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00223980.2010.528072
https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/P_Silvia_Evaluating_2011.pdf
https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/
https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/


that I strive to emulate, and hope that one day may make it into my eulogy. (“Chapter 8:
Jurisdiction” by Greg Boyle - Moreau FYE Week Seven)

In the end, it will not be me who writes the eulogy that will sum up my life. Therefore, it
does not matter how highly I regard myself, it only matters how I help and serve the fellow
humans around me. No one will remember me for money, and I will never be famous. I must
work to balance my ambitions in my career with spending time on me and people I care for.
Kindness, generosity, and friendliness are the adjectives that I hope will truthfully adorn my
eulogy.

https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/39639/modules/16529
https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/39639/modules/16529