Blog #6

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving your Childhood Dreams

   This lecture is one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen in my entire life. For Dr. Pausch who lives life with such gusto and passion has truly made me look at everything I ever thought I knew in a different light. This assignment came at just the right time in my life, and I am grateful for the opportunity to write about it in more ways than you will ever know. That being said, this blog post will be much longer than the 4 paragraphs you asked for as I don’t think that 4 paragraphs could begin to sum up some of the important messages Dr. Pausch has given.

    First, he talks about “how YOU can achieve your dreams or enable the dreams of others”. I think it is very clear that everyone wants to achieve their dreams whatever they may be, but helping others to achieve theirs is such a morenoble task in my opinion. Dr. Pausch has shown me that it’s never going to be too late to devote my life to helping others achieve theirs. When he made the statement “the brick walls are there to 

show us how badly we want something” and “brick walls keep out the ones who don’t want something bad 

enough,” he is telling us that no matter what our dream may be or the dream of someone else that we want to help them achieve, giving up is never, ever going to be an option. Just because something does not go our way, or we mess up with something, we cannot lose that guiding force in our self to continue with what we know is right for our own or someone else's life. That human spirit to keep on keeping on is what makes us great.

   Second, he made the statement that “experience is what you get, when you didn’t get what you wanted.” This is such a magnificent way to make the point that just because something didn’t work out like you thought it would, doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from it as well as possibly attain it later on. “The best gift an educator can give is to make someone self-reflective” is a statement he also makes along this line of reasoning. I recently have learned more about myself than possibly any other time in my life, and just because I didn’t get what I wanted doesn’t mean that I can’t gain experience from it. Through self-reflection, we can always attain a better knowledge of ourselves, our goals, our mistakes, and how to go on forward in a better manner. Dr. Pausch certainly achieved many of his goals, but he said himself that he learned more from the ones he didn’t attain. I think as an educator or just as a person, self-reflection, is the most important way to grow and improve. Sometimes while admitting your mistakes is not fun, it is necessary in order to not make the same ones ever again.

   Thirdly, Dr. Pausch spoke of his friend and colleague, Jon Snoddy, when he said “wait, and people will suprise you”. I believe this statement speaks volumes about his personal outlook on life and what we should all strive to do as well. Our students and even friends may disappoint us for a period, but if we can just learn to wait, they will surprise us. He also makes the statement of “find the best in everybody, no matter how long it takes,” and then tells the story of his student who he had to “vouch” for despite the department thinking that it was a bad idea. He took a chance on the student who had messed up, and in the end that same student is carrying on his legacy to this day with the Alice project. I think we are sometimes too quick to see the bad in people and are unwilling to wait for the good. Dr. Pausch has definitely inspired me to keep looking for and at the good in all people, there are rare opportunities that I might miss, if I don't.

  Dr. Pausch made the statement that “we learn from our students”. This statement is so important, yet is such a possible over-looked attribute in today’s educators. Any educator who is not willing to learn from their students, I would say that person is heading towards failure faster than any student they didn’t listen to ever will. I think that statement also touches on his previous statement about self-reflection. We all need to strive to learn and grow from any and all experiences, no matter where they come from. The worst thing I think we can do as teachers is just sit back and decide that everything is black and white. Some things are grey and some situations seem illogical, but make total sense. Sometimes we learn things we never wanted to, but we need to always strive to use that to our advantage.

   One of the key things I took from this is Dr. Paunch’s optimism on humanity and how we should strive to live. He said that “it’s not about how to achieve your dreams; it’s about how to live your life. Live your life the right way and your dreams will come true”. He also makes the statement that “when you do the right thing, good stuff has a way of happening”. I think that these are very profound statements in their simplicity. Even if you have not gotten a result that you might have wanted, just TRY and live your life better and better every day, and good things will happen to you. While I have recently learned a whole lot about myself, I know I feel better knowing that for all the wrongs I have committed, that doesn't have to define my life in the future. I can always become a better and better person if I just hold on to those dreams and do the little steps every day to making those a reality. We are not perfect people, but with effort we can become better every day. This is a message that we should always hold on to and believe in and teach our students.

    It is amazing that Dr. Pausch has managed to keep this beautiful, kind, forgiving, optimistic, outlook on life despite all the hardships that he was going through. He wrote a book on living while he was dying. This man has all the reason in the world to be angry and sad, but instead he is finding love in his work and life that others might not ever be able to understand. When other people may tell him to give up, he keeps going with what he believes in, that is truly inspiring. Dr. Pausch will definitely be missed by all, and I personally plan on trying to live my life in a more Pausch-like way.