The Last Lecture

A friend of mine posted a link to a video on Facebook.

It was entitled "The Last Lecture Before His Death" or something. I thought that it was a video of someone giving a lecture right before he dies in the middle of the lecture hall.

Intrigued, I watched the 10-minute video.

Fast forward 10 minutes later and I achieved several epiphanies.

I was thinking in a different perspective.

What was so interesting and mind blowing about that video?

The lecturer in the video is Professor Randy Pausch. I'm no homo but I must say he had pretty good looks. He was brimming with energy and confidence.

Then he started telling his story. Turns out he has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, and has only 6 months of good health left.

But he was so happy and cheerful! He looked so healthy! He even did several pushups on the stage!

I thought to myself, how can someone, knowing that his days are limited to 6 months, be so full of himself and so optimistic?

He talked about achieving his childhood dreams.

He talked about how his parents enabled him to achieve his dreams.

He talked about how his football coach gave him a lesson in life he would bring to his grave.

He talked about everyone who inspired him.'

Everything he said he was giving me a new perspective in life.


So after that video I managed to download his book, "The Last Lecture"

It covers very important life lessons, things that I usually overlook, the essence of time, achieving dreams, adventures, etc.

It was also his autobiography, starting from how he was such a nerd when he was a kid, to how he got his doctorate and finally how he managed to marry the woman of his dreams and have three amazing children.

It also tells us how he tries to battle the cancer, how he run into metaphorical brick walls in his life, how he used to be an obnoxious, arrogant young adult, and how he handled these problems.

It tells us how we should enjoy our life to the fullest even though we know our days are numbered.

But most of all, it was a way to communicate with his children and wife. His children were too young to understand what he wants to teach them and what he wants them to do with their life. It was a way to show how much he loved them and cared about them. He wants them to know of what he has accomplished in his life, because children always needs reassurance that their parents did great things.

Dr Randy Pausch passed away in July 2008. He contributed much to computer science and virtual reality. He was also one of the forefathers of Alice, a software that teaches programming to children. He used to work as an Imagineer in Disney World. He was a superb lecturer and an even better family man.

God bless his family.



And I strongly suggest you watch the "The Last Lecture" videos and maybe even read the book.

As I am doing a degree in digital arts, I deeply appreciate his contributions to the Virtual Reality, Building Virtual Worlds, Disney World and in programming. I wish I could meet him.