Integration 1 Finding Meaning in a Life Well Lived During the past semester and a half, we have all reflected on what it means to live a life well lived as we have moved into completely new surroundings. Coming to Notre Dame, which is completely different from my hometown, I had the unique opportunity to discover myself. I had the time and the resources to self reflect and find out what was important to me, what did a life well lived look like for me. Although I may not have found the answer yet, I think reflection has been valuable during this journey of discovery. During each of the past seven weeks, I have taken time to reflect and learn something new about my values, core beliefs, and most simply what matters to me. During week one, of this semester I was drawn to the quote, “one of the greatest surprises I have encountered has been that the people who seem wisest about the necessity of placing limits on the newest technologies are, often, precisely the ones who helped develop those technologies…”(“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer, Moreau Week 1). Going into college one of my goals was to reduce the amount of time that I spent on my phone and other devices in order to redirect that time towards making better connections with those around me. I felt like I had developed an unhealthy dependence on my phone and believed that it would limit my ability to make new connections. However, after only a little while at college, I quickly reverted back to my old habits. I often used my phone to get myself out of “awkward” situations rather than talking to someone I did not know as well. The reason that this quote stood out to me was that people, who are much smarter than I am, were recognizing the same negative impacts. As a result, I challenged myself to take small steps away from my phone. The smallest step but arguably the most important was not going on my phone while in the elevator. I started to recognize that every time I was in the elevator with someone else, I automatically turned to my https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40306/modules/items/149141 phone instead of talking to them. As a result, I forced myself to not go on my phone in the elevator and found that these small conversations allowed me to get to know a lot of people I would not have normally talked to. These small conversations led to bigger ones in the dining hall that allowed me to grow closer to people. Ultimately, I learned that I enjoyed meeting new people and that the time I spent off my phone and made an effort to reach out to other people made a difference. Taking breaks from my devices suddenly became part of what I defined as a life well lived. The second week of this semester I focused on discovering my larger goals in life. While reading the story of Tia Paulette, I was inspired by her drive to constantly give back to her community despite already accomplishing her dream. As I reflected on her story, I realized that although her career was her dream, what she was able to accomplish in her free time truly defined who she was. In her story they reported that, “In her personal time, she continues to give back to her community through volunteerism and mentoring high school and college students seeking to attend law school” ( Domer Dozen by Tia Paullette, Moreau Week 2). Rather than taking that time for herself, she decided to use that time for others. Her story reminded me of something that my freshman year soccer coach would say, “character is what you do when no one is watching”. Paulette was able to find something bigger than herself, service for others, and oriented her life towards that goal. I learned that week that I needed to discover what I wanted my life goal to be rather than simply my career, how did I want to act when no one was watching. While reading about Sister Teresa during week three, I found particular interest in her interest in death. She said “Suffering and death are facts of life; focusing only on the “bright and shiny” is superficial and inauthentic” Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die https://domerdozen.nd.edu/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html by Ruth Graham, Moreau Week 3). Although this seemed dark at first, I realized that this quote was more about living a worthwhile life rather than death. By eliminating the “bright and shiny” from our lives we can focus more on the things that we are called to do. If we recognize that we have limited time, it encourages us to spend it doing things that have meaning. During week 4 the quote that resonated with me was “The only way to know more about yourself is to test the waters - just get out and experience life!”(Navigating Your Career Journey Moreau Week 4). One of the things that is important to me and has become very central to my philosophy of life is simply pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying things. Coming into college I recognized that may only have four more years where I could do “stupid” things; college was the one of the last times that I could spend money on stupid things and not have worry about paying bills. One of the ways that I’ve tried to do is find the people that are living the life that I admire, the people who are willing to try anything. Although I recognize that I may not be exactly like them, I try to think like them in certain situations in order to encourage myself out of my comfort zone. Whether that's waking up at two in the morning to get Blaze pizza or talking to a girl at a party, I try to push my boundaries a little bit so that one day things that I am uncomfortable with become normal. Week five was probably the most impactful week as I reflected on my values and what was important to me. During the interview with my mom we discussed the question “what is something that is hard for me to hear but something that I need to know” (Discerning a Life Well Lived Moreau Week 5) . Her response surprised me as she told me that she thought I “responded too harshly to peoples’ mistakes”. Although this was very hard for me to hear, I realized that it was something that I needed to work on. This realization eventually led to something bigger; I realized that I needed to constantly reflect on the things that I did not do well and constantly https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit work to be better. In the example of forgiveness, it is something that I have never been good at but something that I want to be known for. During week six I reflected on what it meant to reach my potential with the opportunities that I have in my life. One of the important things that I discovered during this week was the importance of “what questions”. In particular the quotation that stood out to me was self reflection as it taught that “Why questions can draw us to our limitations; what questions help us see our potential” (The Right Way to be Introspective by Tasha Eurich, Moreau Week 6). For me learning how to properly self reflect helped understand what it meant to reach my potential and take advantage of the opportunities in front of me. I recognized that one of the important things for me to live a “good life” is to fully recognize and fulfill my potential not only at Notre Dame but in the larger community. Finally during week seven I learned an important lesson myself and how I relate to others. In his speech Pope Francis talked about how “Happiness can only be discovered as a gift of harmony between the whole and each single component” (Why the only future worth building includes everyone by Pope Francis, Moreau Week 7). I recognized myself in this quotation as I have always leaned on others for my happiness; I am most happy when I am around those who care about me and who I care about. As a result, I realized that the “good life” was not only something that I had to pursue alone but something that had to be shared with others. In order to find my “good life” I have to depend on others as well as being there for them to support their goals and root values. https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ 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