Integration Three A Letter to Myself, A Letter to My Future Dear Audrey from August 2017, As you are probably aware, you’re about to start high school. This is kind of ironic because on the first day you’ll have to write a letter to your future self. I’m very tempted to tell you all the things I wish I had done, and all the things you are going to fall in love with. But I don’t think that would be the best way to go about it. Early on in the second semester of freshman year at college, I completed a reflection activity about the first semester. One of the questions was “What could you do differently if you could?” (Pause for Reflection Activity - Moreau FYE Week One). It can be kind of frustrating to think about what you regret, but I think there is something more powerful about regrets than just obsessing over something from the past. I’ve learned that they are motivations for the future. Things I love doing now in college are mostly things I regretted not doing in high school. If I told you what those things were, it might take you on a completely different path. I think some of these things, if I had started them earlier, I may not have had the same experience that I do now. What I’m trying to say is that regrets can be an important part of a life well-lived because they are essential to learning what that life would look like. That being said, I will offer you this piece of advice. I know there are some things you are thinking about at this moment that you really want to try that you already regret not doing. My advice is to just go for it. This is going to sound really morbid, but you are going to die someday. When that day comes, your regrets have no future. You want to take advantage of the things you learn as soon as possible. Remembering that you eventually won’t be able to do some of these things can be an important push to finally take that leap. Think right now: what must you do before you die? Or think on a smaller scale: what must you try before high school or college is over? Thinking about this can help you create goals that focus your resources more in the right direction (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week 3). That’s a heavy piece of advice I just threw at you. You may be asking, “How the heck am I supposed to figure all this out?” To that I suggest you begin by thinking about this: “If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?” (“7 Clues - An Interactive Assessment Activity” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week 4). If you don’t focus so much on the fear of failure, you’ll be surprised at what you’ll find. I took a one-credit Irish Dancing course last semester for fun. I was kind of scared that the class would be full of professionals and that I would look dumb. But I’m so glad I didn’t get stuck on the fact that I could “fail” (at least relatively), because it turned out to be a class full of students looking for something fun and crazy. We all bonded over the fact that we didn’t know what we were doing. Something that goes hand-in-hand with this is the advice to not focus on what you can’t do (“5 Minutes” by Aria Swarr - Moreau FYE Week 6). I’m currently experiencing this as I’m applying for internships over the summer. As I read job descriptions, I get scared about the qualifications I don’t meet and about the criteria I cannot fulfill because of what’s on my resume. But my mom always reminds me that the qualifications employers ask for are often hopeful and not set in https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SDVigBXg1KOCptB2vSYbFWFyLyX9xnCo/view https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0NyUlYVK9JdsUrs https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022 stone. Things like that should not make me think I don’t have a shot at a job. The moral of the story is that there are so many factors to situations that what you believe you “cannot do” is a miniscule problem that should not bear a significant amount of weight. Now it’s time for some more internal advice. I had a discussion with Mom about what she thinks my personal qualities are. One of the most surprising things she said is that I have good leadership qualities, but I don’t feel the need to exercise them because I like being in my comfort zone (Discernment Conversation Activity - Moreau FYE Week 5). I think this already relates to what I’ve been talking about this whole time: try to get out there and try things without fear of anything. I am in no way a role model of this yet, but I have some plans. I’ve been Assistant Stage Manager this entire year for Pasquerilla East Musical Company. I am completely comfortable at this position, and I love it. But sometime next year (perhaps when the current Stage Manager studies abroad), I am going to apply for the Stage Manager position. Mom also knows that I want to be on stage but I’m afraid to audition. So I’ve told myself I will audition at least once by sophomore or junior year. I think it’s important not to feel pressured to do things right away. Just making a plan or a goal is a good way to ease into new things. High school is going to be stressful, fun, and it will fly by in seconds. Try to stay true to yourself and attend to your needs. Remember that “the most loyal thing you can do is to be honest” (“Hesburgh” - Moreau FYE Week 2). You are going to have trouble making decisions about who to hang out with, what activities to do, and all that. It can be scary to learn you may want to quit doing something that you’ve been loyal to all throughout your life–I guarantee you a major one of these decisions is going to happen, but you need to come to that decision on your own. Just be honest with yourself. A well-lived life is not one-size-fits-all. Make sure you don’t let others get in the way of your own decisions, hopes, and dreams. Some decisions will make you feel isolated, but it’s the hope that everything will work that matters. Remember that “hope [begins] with one ‘you.’ When there is an ‘us,’ there begins a revolution” ( “Tattoos on the Heart” by Fr. Greg Boyle - Moreau FYE Week 7). Right now you have many hopes. Just know that I’m right there with you. We are already an “us.” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit https://okta.nd.edu/app/universityofnotredame_panopto_1/exk13lykiqNLbwS7H357/sso/saml?SAMLRequest=jZJPj9owEMW%2FSuR74vwhEFmARBdVi0S30UJ76AUZZxYsEo%2FX4%2BzCt68D2%2B32surJ1mie3%2FvNeEqya61Y9P5oHuG5B%2FLRajljO9XkVVaocVxBLuPRqKziqqmKeJ%2FJIlV7Nc7KMYt%2BgiONZsbyJGXRiqiHlSEvjQ%2BlNM%2FjtIjT0TbPRJmKYpRkk%2FIXi5bBRRvpr8qj95YE53jyMjFNAk3PpbW8N%2FpleN1f8Mmgd9DIDnZWGrQedxmH8ykr2stJPz%2Bs96%2BbyX1RTjgR8oGIRV%2FRKbhizdiTbAmGeLUkCq%2B%2BV2qHHhW2X7RptDnMWO%2BMQEmahAluJLwSm8W3tQh4Yn9rInG%2F3dZx%2FX2zZdGCCNzAcYeG%2Bg7cBtyLVvDjcf2X7D19ckTy0CRvEInCjte3ezgPQHwIzNd40CaRZM8sOnetIXFd0ufp7BsKm0%2BHbnHdhfug%2F1wu%2F4Cw%2Bf%2FEnvIPJjdHKx5C72pZY6vVJVq0Lb7eOZA%2BjNu7Pkybz2%2Byf7%2Fb%2FDc%3D&RelayState=%2FPanopto%2FPages%2FViewer.aspx%3Fid%3D10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9&SigAlg=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2F09%2Fxmldsig%23rsa-sha1&Signature=YaxvNxWbH7vKBQWHSnhMLU2sYVgWh1CMzHuido6%2B4rfITNvQmhcMrLlPqixRtt77JNZbNV%2Be4hz3884TofUgDZKTQcH0qguSGOrPseoNFl0Afe9%2FNOHtigFCrFVTJfKdLWyzFtHUUB4X2wetTAva9igumTh%2Fts0FI7MPtUWw42c8q9%2B%2Bnl%2B8EdW8%2FZFIp338Qdf1g2wx%2FhXd2Ge5jIJ0CxQPsXPZHpLxgznibV6KgtHW1%2B8XMcQZusMX8vpCPgjK7DD%2B4ur3wLW1P%2BSrpQvwn3dHMg0wJilKbYJyz1y%2FykOenKqQ%2F6knXIg7Tt08GYvJg2J2B1tro5oF0K2Upu%2FVQg%3D%3D https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40380/files/523817?module_item_id=167946