Capstone Integration



Capstone Integration

I honestly still don’t know what a “life well-lived” looks like for me. In terms of what I
want to do with my life, where I want to be, who I want to be with–that’s all extremely up in the
air. All I know is that I can take certain steps in the way I approach everyday life that will take
me where I’m supposed to be. It won’t always be easy, but every experience builds my character
bit by bit.

Throughout freshman year of college, I was caught up with all the things to do on
campus. I wanted to do PEMCo (Pasquerilla East Musical Company), Ultimate Frisbee Club,
Club Softball, Club Field Hockey, and many other activities. My extracurricular interests are
very much like my academic interests–I want to do as many things as possible. In Week Four, we
completed a questionnaire to evaluate our career interests. One of the questions was, “If you
knew you couldn’t fail, what might you most like to do?” (“7 Clues: An Interactive Assessment
Activity” – Moreau FYE Week Four). When I saw this question, I didn’t immediately think
about a dream job or career. Instead, I thought about how I would participate in everything I was
interested in. Most of these clubs I was interested in I considered “fun.” This meant it was a
break from school and work. But “If I take time off, I somehow believe, I’ll be that much more
hurried the rest of the time” (“Why We Need To Slow Down Our Lives” by Pico Iyer – Moreau
FYE Week One). This is exactly what started to happen to me during the second semester. I
ended up settling on PEMCo and Ultimate Frisbee as my main activities. But my second
semester classes were a lot more work, and my role in PEMCo got larger. Going to rehearsal was
my favorite part of every day, but I ended up being extremely rushed on lots of my school work,
and I did not do as well in some of my classes as I knew I could have. As someone who feels
extremely rewarded by doing well in school, this was disheartening.

The spring semester was definitely more difficult than the first. 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). While I didn’t do as
well academically as I wanted to, I realized something important to take with me the rest of my
college experience. The value I get from the time I spend with my friends in PEMCo and
Ultimate Frisbee is way more than the disappointment I get from a lower grade. I think the
environment in high school was very much focused on what you’d put on your college
applications. Even extracurriculars–which are supposed to be fun–had an end goal. But now, I
feel that I can participate in things just because I want to. The question of what I could do if I
knew I couldn’t fail is great. But it often gets me “focused on what I could not do” (“5 Minutes”
by Aria Swarr – Moreau FYE Week 6). Instead, I’ve decided I’m going to focus on thoroughly
enjoying what I’ve decided to prioritize in my life.

With all these activities comes many, many relationships. I interact with so many people
everyday, and how I interact with them is incredibly important. I’ve encountered some situations
where I’m asked an opinion on something–for example, an essay or a decision about the musical

https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0NyUlYVK9JdsUrs
https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0NyUlYVK9JdsUrs
https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/
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://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022


we’re putting on. And this question comes from a close friend. I’ve learned that “the most loyal
thing I can do…is be honest” (Hesburgh – Moreau FYE Week Two). Everyone is hear to grow
and learn, which cannot happen without knowing what we can work on. While I’ve learned it’s
important to not be afraid of criticism, I’ve additionally come to understand that there is still a
way to be positive with it. If we all help each other out by instilling hope in one another, then we
may all be better off, because “hope began with one ‘you.’ When there is an ‘us,’ there begins a
revolution” (“Jurisdiction” by Fr. Greg Boyle, from Tattoos on the Heart – Moreau FYE Week
7). These types of interactions require teaching each other. Everyone has different skills. One of
my friends is very good at writing, and she sometimes generously reads essays of mine. In
return, I look at videos she’s made and helped her with editing software. Oftentimes, I don’t feel
qualified to help someone out even if I have the knowledge to do so. I was always a shy kid, and
“I imagined that a good teacher would be in control and should be the expert” (“Teaching
Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together ” by Professor Steve Reifenberg – Moreau FYE
Week 9). But during a Discernment Conversation with my Mom, she surprised me by saying I
“actually have the qualities of a good leader,” I am just comfortable not exerting them
(Discernment Activity with Mom– Moreau FYE Week Five). That gave me the confidence I
needed to step out of my comfort zone a little bit and take initiative of how I want to spend my
time.

If everyone is teaching each other, it seems that there isn’t anything we can’t do. If
someone has an opposing view, “if [you] really care about moving them,” you have to think
about what “they care about that I care about that I can leverage to move them in my direction”
(“Passion Isn’t Enough” by Hidden Brain Media – Moreau FYE Week 11). However, we have to
be careful. It’s easy to get caught up in what we can do for ourselves and for others that we don’t
know when to take a step back and let someone else be in the spotlight. I learned a valuable
application of this lesson for our allyship activity, where I watched a video on how white people
can remove themselves from the racism conversation when needed to let black people’s voices
be heard (“Allyship Activity” – Moreau FYE Week Twelve). Not doing so leads to a toxic belief
that we are moving forward when we really are not. It takes “let[ting] go of your racial certitude
and reach[ing] for humility” to serve others in a beneficial way (“Why It’s So Hard to Talk to
White People About Racism” by Dr. Robin DiAngelo – Moreau FYE Week 10).

Overall, my personal mission is to find small ways everyday to better myself (“Personal
Mission Statement” – Moreau FYE Week 13). Through this, I can work towards living my best
life and helping others do the same both with and without personal interactions.

https://okta.nd.edu/app/universityofnotredame_panopto_1/exk13lykiqNLbwS7H357/sso/saml?SAMLRequest=jZJbb%2BIwEIX%2FSuT3xEm4pLEAiS1aFYlto8Luw74gJxnAIvG4HqeFf18HetuXap9sjeb4nG%2FGE5JtY8S8cwf9CE8dkAuWiynb7mRVDUsYh9koTcJhAkmY14MyHJf5%2BCYt02wgb1jwBywp1FOWRjELlkQdLDU5qZ0vxWkaxsMwzTdJLtKRiJMozrO%2FLFh4F6WluygPzhkSnOPRyUjXEdQdl8bwTqvn%2FnV3xp1GZ6GWLWyN1GgcbhMOp2MyaM5H9XS%2FKl%2FW2d1glHEi5D0RC36ireCCNWU72RD08QpJ5F%2F9qBQWHVbY%2FFC6Vno%2FZZ3VAiUpEtq7kXCVWM9%2FrYTHE%2BW1icTdZlOExcN6w4I5Edie4xY1dS3YNdhnVcHvx9Un2Uf66IDkoI7eIKIKW15c7%2F7cA%2FE%2BMF%2FhXulIkjmx4NQ2msRlSd%2BnM28obDbpu8VlF%2FaL%2Fnu5fAdhs%2F%2BJPeFfTK6ORtz73uWiwEZV52DeNPhya0E6P25nOz9tPrvK%2Fv1us1c%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=L1HJckjeQWwVZn%2BFRiB2CWAq4HcnDv8qtmLObaVHiYziedkS0XyVaX4tyS%2BzpDYtwLyr%2Fbq7MszD2Svs8XITrI4PxPMf2Gm5%2FEtqXoBDt8nbXhwY8Ac%2FgXg0x%2BR3NnQ3f4wuVqv23NK1Wz%2BQ8Z0QYjRHfcAoRXWh4ToJfhwJG1yW%2FVxElOoQd6AY0uTI%2FSr5jWPVb7JSuo64zXg5FdAWmS%2BW0tHjaf5gT%2FxxWDAmjm%2BjJSb%2FJpTzBXF8KisPSpDfqROv3XstzgnGbqgerPcejeIGW%2FPlBml2JD5h0swa%2FOTNIbGATmhKs9KMsJFlh6Zv45a4GSbDyfSyBEtqtjj%2BpQ%3D%3D
https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40380/files/523817?module_item_id=167946
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit
https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/40380/assignments/49296?module_item_id=143533
https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/passion-isnt-enough/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10xIiV4DOhKNcz2pHc6QLof_7JG-Je-mjPAji2F1tvmg/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bdVnfLDrJUJhd-4UtYb_kfRpcFgOoOeY7O1WT8_d3iw/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bdVnfLDrJUJhd-4UtYb_kfRpcFgOoOeY7O1WT8_d3iw/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XYy_9TJ_kQPEm6w_ao28f37ROhw5c_YoFq_-v7XgUh4/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XYy_9TJ_kQPEm6w_ao28f37ROhw5c_YoFq_-v7XgUh4/edit