Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Where do I begin? I would have to begin by first saying that this is one of the most inspirational stories that I have ever heard. In my opinion, this story is not inspiring just because of the message that is given, but also the attitude with which it is given under the circumstances. It is human nature to just give up when things are not going well in our life. It seems that the time we as humans face adversity, we begin to feel sorry for ourselves. Mr. Pausch is so inspiring because despite the hand that he was dealt, it never discouraged him from living his life. Outside of Mr. Pausch's courage, his last lecture also had a purpose. What I learned from this lecture is that one should always strive to achieve their goals and dreams despite the obstacles that you may encounter. As Mr. Pausch said in his lecture: "A brick wall will not deter those who truly want to succeed, but it will deter those who do not." Also in Mr. Pausch's lecture he spoke of the opinion that other people previously had of him in thinking that he was arrogant and smirky. What he later relized is the fact that we make mistakes in our life. The key to rectifying our mistakes is to first acknowledge that you made one. Secondly, we should apologize to those whom our mistakes have hurt. Finally we need to find out how we can make the situation right with those who have been hurt by our mistakes. Outside of this lecture Mr. Pausch did a couple of television interviews that were also inspiring. In these interviews, there was footage of him and his children having some quality time together. Despite his circumstances, he appears to be living a normal life. Often many times, people can wear their problems on their sleeves. In Mr. Pausch's case, he appears to be one of the happiest people that you will ever see. For those of you who are reading my post, let me ask you this question: If you were diagnosed with an illness and only given six months to live, how would you live your last six months? Hopefully we can all find the inner strength of Mr. Pausch and live all of our remaining days to the fullest. One thing that this lecture has taught me is that no matter how bad you feel your situation is, there is someone else who would love to change places with you. What we sometimes see as a major problem, is a mere inconvenience compared to others and their problems. We should all live each day to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised to anyone.