Final Integration FYS 10102 29 April 2022 Moreau Capstone Integration My mission is to always act with humility, kindness, and empathy towards the people around me. I think that if we all worked towards this kind of selflessness, a lot of the world’s issues and suffering would be more resolved than they are now. Because of this, these values are important in my own life, as I believe that God created us in order to support those around us, even if we cannot completely relate to them or their experiences. Even though people can act with malice towards me, I think it is still important to treat them with kindness and respect. This is because we never really know what someone is going through in their personal lives or inner self, and we should always treat people the way we want to be treated. Because of this “Golden Rule,” I also think empathy and humility are extremely important. This is due to the fact that both traits are essential to our ability to relate to others, and especially those who are suffering. In my opinion, kindness, humility, and empathy are all particularly significant to the human experience, and thus, they are also all essential to the pursuit of a life well-lived (Mission Statement by –Moreau FYS Week 13). One of the ways in which I will act on my mission statement in the next three years is through becoming more mindful and self-reflective. In the first week of Moreau this semester, we talked about the importance of self-reflection, especially as Notre Dame students. With this, we were given the worksheet “Pause for Reflection” from the McDonald Center for Student Well-Being (“Pause for Reflection” from McDonald Center–Moreau FYS Week 1). I think this worksheet is extremely useful since it forces me to think about and write down my reflections. Because of this, I plan to utilize the worksheet at the end of each semester here at Notre Dame. I also plan to use the Mindfulness Menu from the McDonald Center throughout each semester to https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CB4nuQz4smHsv20zBuxKnBSzIp0m6zRyiGH0Jkgl3Fo/edit?usp=sharing https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CB4nuQz4smHsv20zBuxKnBSzIp0m6zRyiGH0Jkgl3Fo/edit?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SDVigBXg1KOCptB2vSYbFWFyLyX9xnCo/view find concrete ways to improve (“Mindfulness Menu” from McDonald Center–Moreau FYS Week 6). In these ways, I hope to be able to improve in each consequent semester after I fill out each reflection. I think self-reflection in general will help me on my mission statement because I think my own well-being and better mindset will be reflected in the way I treat those around me. I also think the importance of reflection was demonstrated in the third week of Moreau. This week, we talked about Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble, who thinks that we should always have our deaths in mind, saying “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 FYS Week Three). After thinking about it, I agree with this sentiment and think it applies well to my mission statement. Because of this, I will continue to remember my death throughout the next three years at Notre Dame. This is because I think remembering my death will encourage me to act in the way I want to be remembered after I die, which is what I described in my mission statement. With this, I will also keep my third Integration in mind, since it is written as a eulogy. I wrote that eulogy in reflecting on how I want to be remembered, and I think it connects pretty well to my mission statement (Integration Three by Maggie Clark–Moreau FYS Week 8). Besides self-reflection, another important aspect of my next three years at Notre Dame is career discernment. In my future career, I hope to live by my mission statement in that I want to do something that helps to promote kindness and goodness in the world. I think the resources we explored from the Meruelo Center for Career Development will help me to do this. One of the resources that I thought was helpful in this regard was the “7 Clues” assignment from Week 4 of Moreau (“7 Clues” by Meruelo Center–Moreau FYS Week 4). As I contemplate what I want to do in my life to pursue a life-well lived, I think I will continue to take this survey every semester https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SEXhurkurERNVdy8sgNwZaAKTAr-385q/view https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JJzYX3JVv24J8EDG1JXu7ftVpARqZyKE1ghivhqJXDA/edit?usp=sharing https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0NyUlYVK9JdsUrs and see how my answers change. I think this would be helpful because it will allow me to see my character growth and development, especially in terms of career, as my time at Notre Dame progresses. I also really enjoyed the discernment activity from week 5, and will plan to do a similar repetition with that process (“Week Five Discernment Activity” by Moreau FYS–Moreau FYS Week Five). I think hearing about the opinions of others is extremely important in my mission statement, especially since it is so dependent on my treatment of others. Because of this, I think the discernment activity is extremely important to my development as a Notre Dame student. Another aspect of Moreau this semester that is essential not only to the course, but also my mission statement. In the course, I think we learned about a perfect example of this respect: Father Hesburgh. One of the aspects of Father Hesburgh’s presidency at Notre Dame, and his life, was his ability to demonstrate respect from all sides of the political spectrum and thus allowing all voices to be heard (“Hesburgh” film by Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley–Moreau FYS Week 2). In order to treat people with the empathy and kindness mentioned in my mission statement, I plan to try my best to respect all opinions I hear on this extremely diverse campus, just as Father Hesburgh did throughout his life. By continuing to hear these different perspectives, I think I will be able to avoid echo chambers since “bubbles become echo chambers when groups give up on tolerating diversity of opinion” (“How to Avoid an Echo Chamber” by Paul Blaschko–Moreau FYS Week 11). I think the avoidance of echo chambers in this way is important in my mission statement since my mission statement requires being open and being kind to those around me through showing them the same respect I would like to receive from them. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit?usp=sharing https://okta.nd.edu/app/universityofnotredame_panopto_1/exk13lykiqNLbwS7H357/sso/saml?SAMLRequest=jZLLbsIwEEV%2FJfI%2BcR6YhwVItKgqEm0joF10g0xiwCLxuB6nhb%2BvA31uqq5sjeb63jPjIYq6MnzSuL1eyJdGogtm0xFZs0GXsSzuhUmcZWGnLwZhfyDKkG1Zr8w2%2FW1adEnwJC0q0COSRjEJZoiNnGl0QjtfitM0jDth2lkljLOYZ0nUYd1nEky9i9LCnZV75wxySuHgRKTLSJYNFcbQRqvX9nV3gq0GZ2Upark2QoNxsE6oPB6SrDod1Mv9fPO27N1mrEcRgbZEJLgBW8gz1ohsRYWyjZcLRP%2FqVyW34KCA6krpUundiDRWcxCokGvvhtwVfDm5m3OPxzeXJuS3q1Ue5g%2FLFQkmiNK2HNegsamlXUr7qgr5uJh%2Fk32lj%2FaATpbRB0RUQE3zy92fO4m0DUznsFM6EmiOJDjWlUZ%2BXtLf6cwHChkP225%2B3oX9of9bLj5ByPg%2FsYf0h8nF0fB73zub5lCp4hRMqgrerq0Uzo%2Fb2cZPm44vst%2FfbfwO&RelayState=%2FPanopto%2FPages%2FViewer.aspx%3Fid%3D10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9&SigAlg=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2F09%2Fxmldsig%23rsa-sha1&Signature=LbY9Zf4ORdlihJbVQ18eCk%2FORRWbilWC0Wi%2BOBJVDpjUjsMaD2Y1gbQi1dmRUrF%2FjU%2BU5FjpoFi0JuAOWOlNGs2s0bsEp6OAuLXWg1L%2BaYDhIF5mR2Tew1FdATKL4c2cRe1o7i296fQGVbuQgGrqdWYB2yg0utI0MG4YEF9ahnq2rH0xyg9579Mobt1HsTAAQEm2590P98h76wsqH%2BXq3diGBaYBAQYjD2aZ3BjXhpXYQcNk4LqgECNy0Gh7cCXkqxa%2FFTSUEsVZDP%2BmH443kSKiNflBpZPXOisp9d48V%2BXrTa%2FEly5EiunM717LL5SYiqQQ%2FrP%2FKhjKie6PxpUx6g%3D%3D https://youtu.be/GaIVxQcqnLs Related to the idea of respect, another important part of my mission statement is the idea of forming meaningful relationships with others. When I was writing my mission statement, I was especially thinking about how I would act in comradery with people who seemingly have no similarities to me. I think the idea of accompaniment is really important in regards to this. While I want to show respect and empathy to those around me, I plan to accompany those who are less fortunate than I am, which is not to be confused with the idea of “saving them.” I think that “to accompany is to help the person take their own destiny in their hands and allow that their voice is heard” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Steve Reifenberg–Moreau FYS Week Nine). I think accompaniment is really important to my next three years at Notre Dame, and I plan to work on it by pursuing opportunities for community service and opportunities to understand those not only at Notre Dame, but also in the larger South Bend community. In order to achieve this understanding, I think inclusivity is really important. This is what we learned about in the seventh week of Moreau. A quote that I think is essential to understanding this inclusivity is from Pope Francis: “Let us help each other, all together, to remember that the 'other' is not a statistic, or a number…We all need each other” (“Why the Only Future Worth Building Includes Everyone” by Pope Francis–Moreau FYS Week Seven). Recognizing the humanity of everyone is evidently important in this idea of inclusivity, and I plan to promote this inclusivity for myself and others here at Notre Dame through listening to people who are different from me. To do this, I want to sit by new people at the beginning of each semester. In this way, I can meet more members of the Notre Dame community rather than sticking to my comfort zone of my own friends. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit 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 In my mission statement, this understanding is extremely important in my treatment of those from minority groups. In order to promote this treatment in my own life and in the community of Notre Dame, I plan to look at my faith and relationship with God. As shown in “The Spirit of Inclusion” from Notre Dame, “The social teachings of the Catholic Church promote a society founded on justice and love, in which all persons possess inherent dignity as children of God” (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame” from Du Lac–Moreau FYS Week 10). I want to promote this society described, and think that I can do so through strengthening my relationship with God and respecting all of His creation. Even so, I understand that simply respecting others is not enough in this world of such social injustice. In order to advocate for social justice in the Notre Dame community, I plan to use some of my time in the coming years to join clubs and organizations that align with my values and promote and advocate for human dignity. Even though I do not think my involvement will solve all of the world’s problems, I do, like Dean G. Marcus Cole, think that in regards to these issues, “Each of us must do what we can, wherever we are” (“I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something.” by Dean G. Marcus Cole–Moreau FYS Week 12). I hope to do my part by abiding by my mission statement in the ways I have described throughout this Integration. By doing so, I think I will be able to live the life-well-lived we have been contemplating since the beginning of the semester.