Recently, a friend gave me a book to read. ‘The Last Lecture’ by Randy Pausch. ‘The Last Lecture’ is a talk that many professors are asked to give. They are asked to hypothetically imagine their death and think about what they would like to leave behind after they are no more. Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon was also asked to give this talk. In his case, however, the situation was not hypothetical….he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The book ‘The Last Lecture’ was based on the talk he had given….the talk was called ‘Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams’…..and as Randy states…..his last lecture was not about death but about life.
I love to read but find it very difficult to find the time to read. So, I sneak in the time whenever I can. A few days back, as I was waiting in my car outside my son’s martial arts class, I started reading the book. I had seen Randy Pausch’s last lecture on the Internet, found it to be very inspiring and had then forgotten about it. I was halfway through the book (which talks about how you should never forget your childhood dreams and should really try hard to achieve them)…..when I suddenly realized that I did not know if Randy Pausch was still alive. And so, I got on the Internet on my phone and was deeply saddened to read that in July 2008 at the age of 47, Randy Pausch had passed away. It was difficult to imagine that the person whose book I was reading….written in such a way, that while I was reading it, I felt that he was sitting in front of me and talking to me….was no more. Death is inevitable…..we are all going to face it someday….but to know that Death is really close by and still continue ‘living’ with optimism and a positive attitude…..I admire that spirit demonstrated by Randy Pausch.
That night, as I was chatting with my friend who gave me the book, I told her I loved the book and that I was sad to read that Randy Pausch was no more. And she told me…Yes, he is no more….but he left behind a huge legacy for his three children (who were ages five, two and one when he gave the lecture). And it was then that it struck me…..that in a way my blog and my writings are my legacy to my children…..not because of what I write in them but because by writing…..I am pursuing and trying to achieve my childhood dream….of becoming a writer.
My blog was about two months old when my father started asking me if I was maintaining print copies of my blog posts. And I (queen of procrastination….it is amazing how I can be thoroughly organized and well planned for certain things and can really really procrastinate on certain others)….would always tell him…Not yet, but I will do it. Until one day, he told me…print them….not for yourself, not for me….but for my grandchildren, your kids….That did the trick and I printed the posts. Randy mentioned in his lecture that he was not giving the talk for the 400 people in the audience…..his talk was only for 3 people…..his children. I hope that someday, even if I am not around, my children read what I wrote, understand that by writing I made the time out to follow my childhood dream…..and feel inspired and motivated to make the time in their busy lives to do the things that they love or really want to do.
Signing off to go read another chapter from the book ‘The Last Lecture’ by Randy Pausch and these lines from the book
I love to read but find it very difficult to find the time to read. So, I sneak in the time whenever I can. A few days back, as I was waiting in my car outside my son’s martial arts class, I started reading the book. I had seen Randy Pausch’s last lecture on the Internet, found it to be very inspiring and had then forgotten about it. I was halfway through the book (which talks about how you should never forget your childhood dreams and should really try hard to achieve them)…..when I suddenly realized that I did not know if Randy Pausch was still alive. And so, I got on the Internet on my phone and was deeply saddened to read that in July 2008 at the age of 47, Randy Pausch had passed away. It was difficult to imagine that the person whose book I was reading….written in such a way, that while I was reading it, I felt that he was sitting in front of me and talking to me….was no more. Death is inevitable…..we are all going to face it someday….but to know that Death is really close by and still continue ‘living’ with optimism and a positive attitude…..I admire that spirit demonstrated by Randy Pausch.
That night, as I was chatting with my friend who gave me the book, I told her I loved the book and that I was sad to read that Randy Pausch was no more. And she told me…Yes, he is no more….but he left behind a huge legacy for his three children (who were ages five, two and one when he gave the lecture). And it was then that it struck me…..that in a way my blog and my writings are my legacy to my children…..not because of what I write in them but because by writing…..I am pursuing and trying to achieve my childhood dream….of becoming a writer.
My blog was about two months old when my father started asking me if I was maintaining print copies of my blog posts. And I (queen of procrastination….it is amazing how I can be thoroughly organized and well planned for certain things and can really really procrastinate on certain others)….would always tell him…Not yet, but I will do it. Until one day, he told me…print them….not for yourself, not for me….but for my grandchildren, your kids….That did the trick and I printed the posts. Randy mentioned in his lecture that he was not giving the talk for the 400 people in the audience…..his talk was only for 3 people…..his children. I hope that someday, even if I am not around, my children read what I wrote, understand that by writing I made the time out to follow my childhood dream…..and feel inspired and motivated to make the time in their busy lives to do the things that they love or really want to do.
Signing off to go read another chapter from the book ‘The Last Lecture’ by Randy Pausch and these lines from the book
‘Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.’
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