The Last Lecture
First of all, if you haven’t watched “The Last Lecture” given by Randy Pausch please smack yourself in the head and watch it now.
“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
—Randy Pausch
Life is a weird experience. Ever since I was little, I’ve always felt a little disconnected from my surroundings as if I did not belong. My interests were never part of what the “hive mind” was following, I never found any interest in banal friendships and, worst of all, I never had the confidence to engage socially. What a disgrace.
As the years passed, I became addicted to daydreaming. No longer was I working hard to achieve anything, I was thoroughly satisfied with my own fantasies. This almost led me to my own personal hell. However, since I can remember I’ve always had very specific dreams I wanted to achieve. They weren’t the dreams most boys my age would have - although one could say I was just trying to escape my generation’s grasp - but I always ignored those dreams… until I came across this lecture.
Spoilers Ahead
All who had the pleasure of watching the lecture knows that Randy only mentions his grim condition once. This amazed me, how could a man who accomplished so much not be sulking in his own misery at such a hard moment. This is a man who accomplished almost every single childhood dream and yet, even though his life was being cut short by cancer, did not complain about his situation. People may walk into this book thinking they will encounter a sob story, this is not the case. Randy does not use his disease as an excuse for people to pity him, instead, he used his last days on this earth to share what made him who he was; I think that is the noblest thing he did in his entire life.
From beginning to end, Randy goes through every single childhood dream he had and how he accomplished (or not) each of them. One could say that he died knowing that he lived a fulfilling life. While I don’t disagree with this statement entirely, I do think that in the end the pain of not being able to see his children grow struck him harder than the chemo.
If there was ever a book I wouldn’t dare to spoil completely, it would be this one. Every chapter has at least one memorable moment and this book is VERY quotable. This is definitely one of those “desert island” items, and I am definitely reading this over and over again.
You just have to decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eeyore.
— Randy Pausch
