Capstone Integration Professor Nguyen Moreau FYE - Capstone Integration 29 April 2022 Personal Statement to a Life Well-Lived Revised Personal Statement: I, , will be appreciative of every gift that appears in my life, no matter how big or small. The gift that I will act on the most in my future at Notre Dame will be my family, who I am fortunate enough to see on a weekly basis, something that not a lot of others have. Moreover, I will work hard in the gift of employment that I have at Notre Dame, as I believe that it will lead me to a more successful and happy career path. I must take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. During my time at Notre Dame, I have found myself in stressful times of heaps of schoolwork, as well as overwhelming situations with my friends. I have found the importance of reducing stress, and making sure to take breaks when necessary. This stems from an article that emphasizes that breaks are important in a work culture, “because workers find unclogging their minds’ arteries to be so exhilarating.” (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One) This will be vital in my next three years at Notre Dame, as I will be able to cool myself down, and not get overwhelmed during these times. I have found the most relaxing times in college to be the ones where I’m with my friends and with my Dorm mates, regardless of what we’re doing. I will be more productive if I take the time to de-stress and relax, which I apply a lot in the future. https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ Another crucial part of my good life at Notre Dame is the relationships that I have with others. I haven’t had much trouble having a personal conversation with anyone here, which in turn leads me to joy, because everyone here is so kind and makes me feel loved. If I ever were to sense tension between myself and someone else, I would reflect on Father Ted Hesburgh and his ideologies. He believed in resolving conflicts with others, no matter how large. For example, a resonating quote from him is: “We may have had our disagreements, but at the end of the day, we were all fishermen.” (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two) At Notre Dame, I should seek peace, just as Fr. Ted did, because any two diverse groups of people can be brought together. This will contribute to the more unified and inclusive campus at Notre Dame, which I enjoyed in my first year, especially when I was able to hear from new perspectives in my Moreau class. Looking to the future, I need to struggle with the hard ideas first. This comes from an interesting quote from a New York Times article, which says, “‘We try to suppress the thought of death, or escape it, or run away from it because we think that’s where we’ll find happiness,’ she said. ‘But it’s actually in facing the darkest realities of life that we find light in them.’” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die ” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three) I often find that if I choose to ignore the difficult tasks of life, such as death, I can’t have a truly happy and worry-free experience in the other facets of my life. I have applied this in my schoolwork in the last couple of weeks, where I do the difficult and daunting assignments first, while doing the “easier” things last. I have experienced a much more stress-less experience in my life overall, as realizing I have the difficult things done takes a lot of worry off my shoulders. One extremely important facet of my life is my interest in work and what I will do post-graduation. Through the Center for Career Development survey, I was able to reflect on 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 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html what dream jobs I would like to pursue. I described my interest in sports media and broadcasting, which I have been able to do in my first year at Notre Dame. Through Fighting Irish Media, I have been able to call games on television that anyone can see, which brings me a sense of joy that I have not felt before. I have realized that in order to live a good life, I should continue this career path and doing what I love for work. If I do this in the next three years of my life at Notre Dame, I truly believe my life will become more animated and “good”. Personally, a good life consists of a healthy relationship with my family, and to be able to speak with them frequently. I have a unique situation, where my brother attends Notre Dame with me, and my parents live literal feet away from campus. Through having a conversation with my brother, I have realized what brings me the most joy. Jack said, “I think that you value family and friends first. You’ve always been very social with people around you, and are good at making conversation.” (Discernment Conversation Activity by Jack Bailey - Moreau FYE Week Five) Therefore, I realized that I should remain close with my family in the next three years of my college experience, as it brings me pure joy. One of the most calming experiences at Notre Dame is going to the Grotto during times of trouble in school and in my social life. This was verbalized perfectly in Dr. Jihoon Kim’s Grotto story, where he says, “But at the same time, the purpose of my life is not simply about overcoming suffering, suffering is a part of our lives, it is always there. But it is about how to respond to suffering with God.” (“Why Does God Allow Suffering?” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week Six) I will apply this well to my future at Notre Dame, as I will incorporate God into everything I do. Finally, I will realize that I can’t fight battles on my own, and that I have God as a source of strength and motivation. https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 In the future, I will be more grateful for every day that I have at this phenomenal university. I need to see life as a gift, even during rough times. I reflected on this in week seven, where I was asked, “When one realizes that life, even in the middle of so many contradictions, is a gift, that love is the source and the meaning of life, how can they withhold their urge to do good to another fellow being?” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week Seven) In order to make myself happier, as well as those around me, I need to cherish every moment that I have at school, whether good or bad. I will be much more outgoing in the future, with the goal of improving everyone’s mood around campus. I anticipate that I will be working with communities outside of campus much more often in the next three years, particularly with local groups in South Bend. A quote from this semester changed the way that I will approach these service opportunities, where Steve Reifenberg said, “‘The goal should be that those who have no voice today will have voice and will be heard.’” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together ” by Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week Nine) This will change the way that I approach the idea of charity and helping those in need. Today, it seems that people help others in order to make themselves feel better about their work, and not with the intentions of helping others. I will combat this in my future years at Notre Dame, especially when working with others in the South Bend community. It was very interesting to hear how the university views themselves in regards to inclusion and diversity. They describe how “the spirit of inclusion at Notre Dame flows from our character as a community of scholarship, teaching, learning and service founded upon Jesus Christ.” (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame” by the University of Notre Dame - Moreau FYE Week Ten) This motivated me to be a key contributor of diversity and inclusion at Notre Dame. I can do so by reaching out to everyone that I see, and try to meet someone new every day https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit https://dulac.nd.edu/university-mission-and-vision/spirit-of-inclusion/ during my college career. I would be able to learn so much about different backgrounds of those at Notre Dame, and get a more well-rounded perspective of the world. One danger that was presented to me in this semester was the danger from echo chambers and filter bubbles. I was informed of how to break myself out of an echo chamber if I ever find myself in one. I was told, “first, we should be intentional about the information that we expose ourselves to. Seeking out intelligent people with whom we disagree and attempting to fully understand their arguments. Secondly, though, we need to keep an eye on our own motives.” (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blaschko - Moreau FYE Week Eleven) I found this to be very applicable to my time at Notre Dame, where I now have the tools to break the strong wall of misinformation. This will allow our campus community to be much more realistic, as dangerous echo chambers twist reality and essentially “hide” the truth that they don’t agree with. During a time of American history filled with racial injustices and inequality, there has been a massive call to action. I believe that Notre Dame students are best-equipped to respond to this call in society. Dean G. Marcus Cole discussed how to use a Notre Dame education to help the world well, where he said, “While my education and position do not grant me immunity from racial violence, they do place me in a position to do something about it.” (“I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something.” by Dean G. Marcus Cole - Moreau FYE Week Twelve) This transformed the way that I will act as a member of society in the future, but also as a Notre Dame student. I will respond to pressing issues in society, and will be a part of the large movement in order to bring equality to all demographics of America. Finally, it was intriguing to see how my personal statement had potentially changed over the last couple of weeks, especially after this integration. In my initial version, I discussed the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIVxQcqnLs&t=1s https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/dean-g-marcus-cole-i-am-george-floyd-except-i-can-breathe-and-i-can-do-something/ https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/dean-g-marcus-cole-i-am-george-floyd-except-i-can-breathe-and-i-can-do-something/ importance that family had to me. This motivated me to be with my family more as summer break moves in, and to be more appreciative of them more often. This point was hammered home for me after writing the revised personal statement. Moreover, I talk about my work and how that is a large part of “feeling successful”. If I work hard in my job now, and eventually are able to get a job in the future that I’m happy with, I will feel successful, and not want much more. This remained true in my new personal statement, which emphasizes the place that work has on my life. I will embrace the areas of my life that bring me true joy in the next three years of my Notre Dame experience, and will make sure that I’m appreciative of every gift that I have currently.