Monday, March 1, 2010

Blog Assignment Week 8


Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

When I began watching Mr. Pausch's lecture, I was very impressed by his amount of enthusiasm. How could someone that is terminally ill be so...well...seemingly happy??? I like his positive attitude. He didn't feel sorry for himself and remained strong throughout the lecture. He even did push ups in front of the audience and made jokes saying he was in better health them most of them. Everyone enjoys a good sense of humor, and I'm sure it put the audience at ease. Throughout the lecture, Pausch spoke of some of his childhood dreams and how he either achieved them, or learned something from them. He then spoke of how to help other's achieve their dreams, and how we can achieve our own dreams. He stated that anything is possible, which I think is a statement many children today need to hear because they like self-confidence.

When introducing the three topics he was going to discuss, Pausch stated that "enabling the dreams of others is even more fun." I recently learned in my lifespan development class here at the University of South Alabama that studies have shown that people are generally happier with their life when they are helping others rather when they are simply concerned about their own success. Randy Pausch's lecture emphasized this point. He stated that his childhood dreams included experiencing zero gravity, playing in the NFL, writing an article for the World Book Encyclopedia, being Captain Kirk, winning stuffed animals, and being a Disney imagineer.

Surprisingly enough, Pausch either achieved or learned something from all of his dreams. Pausch stated, "Brick walls are there for a reason: They let us prove how badly we want things." I found this to be a very interesting quote because to achieve anything worthwhile, you've definitely got to be determined. Even if things get in the way, if you really want something to happen in your life, you'll work through it, find an alternative, or make it happen. You've got to be an active dreamer. Pausch also stated, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted." Basically, even if your dream doesn't come true as you had it planned out in your head, maybe you should look to see what you gained from trying to make it happen. If you think about it, sometimes the experience of a dream not coming true may be even better than if the dream had come true.

Because I am a HUGE Disney fan, I was very interested in his dream of become a Disney Imagineer. It just so happens that Aladdin is my ALL TIME favorite Disney movie, too! Overall, I thouroughly enjoyed this video, and it was definitely worth the time spent watching it. Randy Pausch is an inspiration, and I believe many people could learn a lot from him, if by nothing else but his attitude. He quoted someone saying, "When you're pissed off and mad at someone, you just haven't given them enough time. Give them time, and they will most likely impress you." Obviously Pausch knows the value of patience. I think it would be an awesome experience to just meet and talk with Randy Pausch.

Comments 4 Kids

Wow! I am very embarrassed to say that I was very irresponsible and did not read the syllabus in regard to our Comments 4 Kids project. Though I have commented on ALL of the kids' blogs that I have been assigned, I failed to realize that I needed to make a post in my blog regarding the comments. I apologize for this, but starting now I will continue to post about all of my comments. For this week, I was assigned a student named Gerardo. In the post I commented on, he discussed the pros and cons of being out of school for a break. He stated that he was happy to be out because he didn't have to learn. I encouraged him to always keep an interest in learning. I also encouraged him to find something that interests him, even if it has nothing to do with school, and learn all he can about it. I hope the young child never loses the will to learn.

2 comments:

  1. I also enjoyed Dr. Pausch's lecture, I loved how enthusiastic he was with his life. Many people take for granted their health, etc. but he embraced his illness. I also am a huge Disney fan, I loved how he worked there! I also, of course, didn't post anything about comments for kids until now, but hey better late than never! :) Thanks for sharing!

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  2. HUGE Disney fan! My son-in-law worked for Disney Imagineering for several years. And we got in free to Disneyworld and Disneyland.

    "...people are generally happier with their life when they are helping others rather when they are simply concerned about their own success." Wonderful, isn't it!

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