Post your final reflection here. See the instrutions in the Resources section. Discuss your thoughts over The Last Lecture. How did reading/watching it impact your life? What changes will you make? What questions did you ask yourself?
118 Comments
4/29/2012 10:18:55 pm
I will definitely see my way into the world in a different manner than I did before I read the book.
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Jamie Stivers
5/1/2012 10:22:08 pm
The last lecture was a great, inspirational book. Reading it made me reflect on my life some, too. I look up to Randy, with the way he handled his situation. He was such a strong, brave man. Before I red the book, I knew how important it was to stay positive, because if you are negative, you just waist precious moments of your time. Every moment on life, you should cherish because you don't know when your last day will be. God has you alive for a reason. When I wake up I think of how blessed I am to be alive another day, and I make it my goal to go make someone's day that day(:
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Jamie Stivers
5/9/2012 12:18:35 pm
I did a new one FYI since this one is awful(:
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Eric Benenson
5/2/2012 03:39:40 am
Overall, the book taught me a bunch of stuff. It was a great and interesting read. I would diffinetly recomend this book for everybody to read. Many of the topics discussed in The Last Lecture can apply to every day things. Having read this book, I feel much more appreciative of life. He taught me that no matter the situation, keeping your head up will always be the best option.
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Kyle Towe
5/3/2012 01:41:04 am
Reading this book opened up my eyes and ears to the whole world and made me see things a lot differently. Most people know what they think about the intricacies of life and what they think about the world but most people never actually voice their opinions and feelings, but Randy’s did and know he has left a longstanding legacy for his children.
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Mukund Kuntimad
5/6/2012 03:25:31 am
Is time finite only for people with a terminal illness? Reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch made me realize about the finite time everyone has in their life, whether they have a terminal illness or not. I learned that my attitude towards living my life should be based on the quality time I can have with whatever is given to me as my lifespan. It is very important to seize the day and make every moment count however mundane the task you are doing at that time is.
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Hauwa
5/6/2012 07:45:17 am
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Raghav Kotha
5/6/2012 09:38:45 am
It has impacted my life a great deal! It has changed the way I will think about life. It has taught me to value it, and take it somewhere. This book has taught me not to waste my life. Every person can be something great if they try to become great. It has also taught me a slew of life lessons. Starting from trying to be optimistic at all times, to always ask questions.Whenever you have to get something done, you can always ask the person doing it for you to do it as fast as possible(for example the results for if he had cancer or not). Another important life lesson this book has taught me is to be persistent. For example, when Randy asked to be accepted into Brown University. Every day he would ask and eventually he got accepted. Persistence is a virtue that everyone should follow. The last and most important thing I learned from this book is thankfulness. A small handwritten thank you note can take you extremely far in life. It will make the person receiving the note remember you for a long time.Some of the changes I would make are basically applying the life lessons he said. That is the easiest way to put it. Starting from thinking of an optimistic solution to every situation, or writing a thank you note and giving a gift card to a teacher on Christmas day, instead of just giving a gift card. There are many ways I can change my life after reading this book. But every person is unique and this is why I can change a few things, but a few things that Randy said I dont agree with.
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Chandru Sundarrajan
5/7/2012 08:01:06 am
The Last Lecture was one of the most inspirational books I've ever read. Reading the book completely changed my perspective of life. I was just astounded at how he handled his life and how he accomplished his goals. Reading and watching the Last Lecture impacted me and taught me many values that I will definitely apply in my life.
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Sydney Stevens
5/7/2012 10:27:16 am
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Sydney Stevens
5/12/2012 10:26:22 am
Sorry, it didn't put the last few sentences...so here they are:
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Kassidy Cragg
5/7/2012 11:00:54 am
Reading the Last Lecture by Randy really gave me a new prospective. He isnt here to give a lecture about the cancer itself and to whine and mourn over the bad things that will happen but he is simply happy because of what he did accomplish in his lifetime. he conqured his childhood dreams. He shared his lifetime and shared happy times rather than what will happen down the road. he has courage. I think if i were going through this i wouldnt have the strength to carry on like he has. one question i kept asking myself was, how could he possibly stay strong knowing he was so close to death? i dont think i could ever have the strength to carry on. He has shown me that it takes alot of strength to to this but its possible. He has shown me how to lead a positive life with meaning to it. He always had a reason for doing what he did. He fufilled all of his childhood dreams. that says alot about him. people have alot of dreams that they dont even think will ever come true but he pushed for something that he really wanted.
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J.C. Humen
5/14/2012 02:55:58 pm
You know I have to agree. In fact, I admire what you wrote. Most people are coming up with complicated, over-thought responses that while correct, fail to point out the obvious. (Admittedly I was of them) The obvious being Randy's motivation is so inspiring here. He's so optimistic and his motivation is something that we all ought to have. He really did care and I think that's what made his lecture so special.
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Grace Lu
5/7/2012 09:19:21 pm
Reading the Last Lecture has made me think about my dreams, and where I want to be as an adult. I have had many childhood dreams (that were a little unrealistic), but I am still undecided about what I want to be when I grow up. Randy Pausch’s positivity and life lessons really made me think about life, mainly my own life, in a different light.
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Sydney Stevens
5/9/2012 11:46:30 am
I agree with you Grace! I didn't really think about the fact that he did list every single person who helped him but that was really nice! I also agree with you that we do waste too much time on the computer and watching TV and such. We need to fix that so we can live life to the fullest and truly appreciate the life we were given. I agree with every aspect of your response because us teenagers these days take life for granted which is not good and that needs to be fixed.
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maci Scates
5/8/2012 12:22:06 am
I thought the last lecture was very different and unique because usually people tell how one story affected their life and how it made their life better or worse but in the last lecture he talked about how it made his life both better and worse but he meant for his speech to affect others and tell his story to make an impact.
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Daxton Davidson
5/8/2012 01:14:16 am
When I first started reading this book I thought it would be boring and pointless, but it gave me some great life lessons and advice for the future. The most important advice he gave me all throughout the book was follow your dreams and complete them while you can. The story was not all about him feeling sorry for himself or that he was angry. He was sad, but that was not what the book was about it was about Randy trying to give his kids a father and all them guidance a father should through this book.
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Raghav Kotha
5/8/2012 01:40:22 am
The following is my Final Reflection reposted:
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Raghav Kotha
5/8/2012 01:41:34 am
PS: This was a page and a quarter in size 12 Times New Roman.
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melody siebenmann
5/8/2012 01:41:58 am
When I read and watched Randy’s last lecture, I thought to myself, it was cool that he could keep a positive attitude even though he was going to die. It’s hard to be faced in a difficult situation and to not complain, get angry, and be pessimistic. Most people would try to blame someone, and it would get them no where. It struck me that a man was on his deathbed and he didn’t give up or complain, and here I was on a typical weekday complaining about athletic workouts, homework and projects. If a dying man doesn’t complain that he’s dying, surely I can restrain from complaining about everyday things. Because he would want to do the things I am complaining about and he would enjoy running a mile or so or doing a project for another day of life. So who am I to complain… when he wasn’t and he knew when he was dying?
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Melody Siebenmann
5/11/2012 01:10:07 pm
I revised this reflection because this one is to vague for me..and bcause it's terrible
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Payton Molina
5/8/2012 05:44:28 am
I think that this book was very motivating to me because it showed me even if you end up hitting a brick wall, if you really want your dream to come true; you need to find a way over that wall. You can’t just let those brick walls stop you. They are there for you to show someone how bad you really want your dream to come true. I liked how he fought for all his dreams to come true and never gave up when the times got hard. I think that I will defiantly try harder for things from now on because he had so many dreams he wanted to come true and he fought to make sure they all came true. He didn’t stop when the brick wall hit him in the face he found his way around them.
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Surabi Rao
5/8/2012 08:36:10 am
The Last Lecture has impacted my life forever. This book has changed my view on life and my dreams. Not only did it cause me to ask a lot of questions about my life and the world around me, but it caused me to make some changes in my life, too. The Last Lecture should be required reading for everyone! It will definitely change everyone’s life in a positive way.
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Lauren Kirkley
5/8/2012 09:08:29 am
The Last Lecture has really made me think about the way I live my life. No matter what happens, there is always a reason to smile. The way Randy chose to live his life is truly inspiring. It makes me want to be a better person, just by reading his book. The book really showed me that bad stuff happens and sometimes we can't control it, so the only thing to do is make the best of every bad situation.
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Yuna Oh
5/8/2012 10:27:07 am
In my opinion, the Last Lecture was a package of life lessons with realistic examples from Randy's experiences. It was a instruction of life, compacted with extremely important foundation advices. Also, after reading this book, I think whole purpose of life of a human is to acheive dreams. It can be either small, short-term dreams or big, long-term dream. The book gave me idea of human life and importance of acheiving goals.
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Giselle Peng
5/8/2012 10:30:31 am
Reading the Last Lecture really made me aware of how little I actually appreciate life in general. I do know that I have been very lucky just by being born where I have, but sometimes I forget that. I get too concerned with minor details (like the pregnant lady who was smoking and complaining about the jackhammers) and stop being grateful. Like Randy said, just being here does not make me entitled to a good life. Seeing Randy, a man who should have lived for decades more than he did, face death and go down fighting and with a smile on his face, made me think about how much of a gift living is. As many people have said before, you never know how much you have until you lose it.
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Ashleigh Little
5/8/2012 10:37:46 am
Final Reflection
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Grace Lu
5/8/2012 10:59:53 am
SORRY I HAD TO REPOST:
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Janice Kao
5/8/2012 11:37:52 am
I think that the Last Lecture was a poignant, but knowledgeable speech/talk. There are so many lessons packed into a 206 page book or a one hour and sixteen minute in the speech that Randy created. Randy Pausch was a brilliant speaker and he was also wise. He was very experienced in all life’s troubles in only about 50 years. I also consider him lucky, lucky to be able to pull all of those lessons out of his everyday life and experiences. Pretty much all of his speech is a giant lesson to everyone.
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Amy Roh
5/8/2012 11:44:48 am
The Last Lecture in all was a truly inspiring book to read and the same to watch Randy himself give the speech. The theme of chasing your childhood dreams, in my opinion, was a topic that made my mind really wonder. Pausch forced me to rethink about the things that I have achieved in my life so far.
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Adreesh Roy
5/8/2012 12:10:05 pm
This was one of the greatest books I have ever read. It should be required reading for every single eighth grader in the school. Not only was it hilarious and entertaining, but also it taught me many life lessons and codes to live by to be successful in today’s world. Randy Pausch’s writing style was interesting, as it was a light-hearted reflection at a very somber point of his life.
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Taeeun Kim
5/8/2012 12:16:50 pm
To be truthful, I expected The Last Lecture to be a little more touching as in being emotional and heart-breaking. Well, it started off how I expected it to be since I was screaming out “This is so touching!” every five seconds. But then Randy started talking about his childhood dreams and the lessons he had learned throughout his life, and it didn’t pull my heartstrings as much as it did in the beginning. When I was almost near the end, I was practically on my knees pleading for a nice ending. Touching and heart-breaking of course. As I was reading through the last section of the book, I was filled with disappointment. I was thinking to myself, ‘This isn’t touching at all. NO.’ I was totally in utter disappointment, but the realization came a few days after I finished the book. The Last Lecture really wasn’t something Randy wanted people to cry over and pity him for. It really was something that Randy gave and wrote to give all he’s got out to the world and to teach people how to lead their life. When he first said that his Last Lecture was going to be about living, I didn’t put a deep meaning into it, but now I truly understand what he was trying to tell us. He sincerely wanted to give advice to the people and his children about how to live life. Well, now that I think about it, one’s life can’t always be filled with touching and emotional moments, can they?
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Taeeun Kim
5/8/2012 12:20:28 pm
Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture and the lessons that I’ve learned through it is going to stay with me forever. I hope I get to acquire my OWN life lessons along the way, and I hope I make the right decisions throughout my life and live an unregretful life.
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Taeeun Kim
5/9/2012 01:27:44 am
ohhhhhhh there's a character limit.
John Wang
5/8/2012 12:43:16 pm
The Last Lecture certainly was an experience for me. To see a person who has the full knowledge that he’s about to lose his life take his situation so easy is really profound. He jokes around and is just full of energy, but he still manages to pull off a great speech and say many profound words at the same time. Randy’s strangely optimistic behavior did not bother me at all. In fact, I was sort of expecting it. After all, one does not become a YouTube celebrity if one simply does what everyone else does. Randy’s positive attitude made him stand out from every other Last Lecturer, every other speech-giver, every other person reflecting on their death; none have ever shown as much happiness and energy towards the end of their lives. Randy takes his passing away in stride, caring more about others than himself; the only mention of his illness is for use as the background as to why he is doing the last lecture, and his humorous anecdotes.
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Ryan Kinder
5/9/2012 01:32:48 am
This book is definitely a good read with realistic problems and situations. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. It has a lot of great advise on how to live life, the right way. It teaches you to appreciate life and to not obsess over the little things in life that only give you unnecessary grief. If you can follow the advise and the little hints he gives you, your life will be much more enjoyable than it currently is.
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Julia Stephenson
5/9/2012 03:40:37 am
After reading the “Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch I can say that my life won’t be the same. He has taught me so many lessons just through his book, and even through watching him deliver his speech on his video. He accepted his fate, and did nothing but make the best of the last months he had left. The part that got to me the most was when Pausch said “When you screw up and nobody says anything, they’ve given up on you.” That has put so much into perspective for me, because in my life people push me so hard, and I figured it was because they wanted me to fail. But little did I know that it’s the complete opposite. He delivered so many messages that caused you to do a double take at your own life, are you really living it the way that you want to? It sounds sort of cliché, because so many songs say it, but Randy has really made me waking up wanting to live each day like we were dying. I think unconsciously that quote made Pausch live his life this way, in a way he accepted death, but wasn’t okay with leaving his family. He knew there was nothing he could do to change his terminal illness but try to get the best chemotherapy. Reading the book made me start to daydream, wondering what my mortality will be and how I would deal with it. In a way I want to be just like him, so optimistic but still struggling in some ways. My thoughts kept going to Jai and his kids, they were going to lose someone who was so important to them, and he was having no trouble being optimistic. I do have to admit that that would be so much easier to deal with if the person dying had a positive attitude. I asked myself questions like “Why don’t you live this way?” “Do you really take each day for granted?” and “Why do such bad things happen to such great people?” Watching it was a little harder for me because I’m more of a visual person and actually seeing him and his wife made me upset, not knowing that he was dying but thinking about now, while we’re watching it Jai and the kids are out there without a husband and a dad. I think that this book has strengthened the whole family, himself, anyone who heard the speech, and it has probably given hope and comfort to families under the same circumstances. I have personally had the same experience in life, my great Uncle Jamie (who I was really close to) was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was only given a few months to live, when I heard that I couldn’t even say anything. You start to question if it’s even real life, and you start to hope it’s not. But people deal with things in many different ways, Randy’s just seemed to work a lot better and be a lot more effective than just grieving and feeling sorry for the person or feeling sorry for yourself. I was in denial for awhile, I just wish I could have read this book before I found out that one of the people I was closest to in life had only a few months to live. When you find out that someone has limited time to live, you start to want to meet up with them more, and check in with them more. But when I think about it, everybody here on earth has limited time, so why don’t we live like Randy Pausch everyday? Nobody lives forever, so why don’t we spend our time not grieving the bad things but rejoicing over the good things. I can definitely say that the Last Lecture has changed my point of view on life AND death.
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Kate Kaiser
5/9/2012 07:02:24 am
“Achieving your dreams” has always been somewhat of a hollow phrase to me. Until reading The Last Lecture, I had never really believed in this concept. Too many times I have seen people reach for the stars and end up falling short. Or they lose sight of their dreams altogether. Almost every child fantasizes about what they want to be when they grow up. I know, personally, that I dreamed of being a professional singer. It wasn’t until many years later, in late elementary school, that I realized I had absolutely no vocal talent. Most other people simply forget about what they visualized as a young kid. Their dreams become lost and abandoned.
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Maddy G
5/9/2012 07:25:40 am
The last Lecture really moved me. I was really impressed with how Randy handled the situation he was in. He was calm and cool about it and decided he would come at his sickness with a positive approach and just live the rest of his life to its full extent. He did not pity himself or want anyone else to pity him; he just wanted to have fun for the little time he had left.
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5/9/2012 07:36:21 am
The book, The Last Lecture written by Randy Pausch, was a really inspiring story, and taught me that no matter what don’t give up on anything; now that I think back I have given up on a lot of stuff, or just quit because I didn’t like it, or people were exclusive, I wish I could go back and learn to ignore whatever (or whoever) was bothering me. He also taught me to dream big and be creative, I think dreaming was the main emphasize in the entire book. It made me really think and remind myself I can do whatever I set my dreams to be. If I set my standards or dreams low or average, I will be lost in the crowd and not remembered, but if I set my goals and standards really super high, and above average, I won’t be lost, and depending on my success and achievements, I will be remembered. Randy was remembered for his Last Lecture and his book, I also remember him for being such an inspiration and spark, and he sparked children’s minds and gave them opportunities to dream big.
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Ali Ozymy
5/12/2012 07:05:26 am
I totally agree with you Maddie! He was a very inspirational man!! I think you are right about how if you set your standards high you will be remembered! That's a really great way to put it. And no, I don't think you will remember a bad math grade in 40 years. :)
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Vishaal Sakthivelnathan
5/9/2012 07:55:16 am
The Last Lecture… what a great gift of knowledge from a unique person! In all, I believe that Randy Pausch has a way with words. The way he presented his life to his audience was a way that no one would forget. His lecture really was a mix of reality, comedy, and love. Reading and watching him changed me with an exponential factor. Even though he knew that he was going to die soon, he did not mourn. I cannot get enough of what he says. “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” That was probably my favorite line of the entire book. It changed my way of living. Even though we have some of these hurdles that could hinder us, we must still persevere till the end and hang on to each other. There are many moments in my life that I feel like quitting. When my grandfather’s brother was on his death bed, I though nothing would matter with him gone. He was always the one who would put a smile on my face when I was down. He would be the “peacemaker” of the family. He would do everything in the name of justice, and would break up common fights between my sister and me. Then when we found out that he was about to die, I was on my knees. I did not want him to leave me, and he was the first relative to die in front of my body. Now I realize that these “brick walls” are here to help us. Even though the death of a relative is not a good thing, the lessons we learn are good. I was too young at that age to realize that it was a brick wall, but once I finished reading the book, I realized that I had many brick walls. Another brick wall that I faced was during pre-school. There would always be a bully who would knock down everyone. Once he even pushed me into an ant pile. Now I realized he was also a brick wall facing me. It would be my choice if I would just stay there and do nothing, or defend myself. I passed that brick wall, and he never committed any more of his antics. After reading the last page, I finally found out the truth about myself. I have the ability to live out my life how I want to. I enjoyed the head fakes that he brought up every so often during his speech. What a great way to trick your children into learning a good habit. I bet we would not learn the importance of team relationships, and working together without playing sports. One way that I will change myself is to not get put down by the silliest little things. Whenever I get a low score on an assessment, I always get angry at myself. But then I realized that life is too short for me to complain on the miniscule little objects. Another way that I will change myself is to put 100% effort on whatever activity I do. Sometimes, during school, I really feel like not listening to boring lessons. But now I realize that everything occurs for a reason. We learn objectives not just to bore us out, but to teach is life lessons. Another way that I will change is to never give up. I remember how Randy was real persistent to become a Disney Imagineer. Even though he did not get accepted the first time, he did not let that stop him. He kept on going after his dream, and finally did become an Imagineer. Another way that I will change is to set goals and achievements for myself. At first I really did not know why human beings exist, and what our purpose was to live on this world. But now I realize that we have no purpose. God granted us the freedom to become whatever we want to be. Take Randy for example. He had many goals from going in 0 G to playing in the NFL. We are allowed to set goals for ourselves. After reading this book, I also had set many goals for me (even knowing that most of them would be impossible. The main one that I want to work hard for is to play professional soccer. I know that I am nowhere near any one of that caliber. However, I do know that when you work hard and persevere, anything can be true. The book also made me ask questions. One (as I mentioned earlier) was why does mankind exist. Another one was what happens if you put all your energy to a goal that you want to obtain, and you still do not achieve it. That question was also answered by Randy. I will still get experience. Experience and life principles are key to success. I would like to dedicate this epiphany moment where I finally realize myself to Randy Pausch. But did you figure out the head fake? I did not type this because I needed to for class, I typed this because it helped me get a true understanding of myself, and my potentials!
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5/9/2012 08:09:19 am
The last lecture taught me many things, about finding my true self. I never thought that I would actually go after my child hood dreams; I never even thought that fulfilling them would actually be possible. Randy taught me that anything is possible. He accomplished all of his childhood dreams. Although it was sometimes in weird ways, he still did it. I think that now after seeing what he did, I’ll go after my dreams. Instead of doing what others want me to do.
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Tyler Smith
5/9/2012 08:28:54 am
The Last Lecture Reflection
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Neil Bhamoo
5/9/2012 08:51:06 am
The Last Lecture was probably the most interesting and inspiring books I have ever read. I was shocked to see that someone could have such an optimistic view on life. I don’t think that would ever be possible for me. I also felt that Randy was very lucky to have such great parents and tutors. They really helped him through life and guided him without calling him a failure at anything. Also, he was very hard-working and didn’t give up easily. I really liked his point about the brick walls. I don’t think I have ever wanted anything that bad, and brick walls usually stop me.
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Beverly Lo
5/9/2012 08:57:09 am
Goals. Everyone is familiar with them. Goals are what make us want to work harder in order to achieve something. Nobody can say, “I want to get straight A’s”, and get that without doing any work. We commit to ourselves, sometimes subconsciously, to either start working or start working harder to get what we want. We have to make our own goals for us; it doesn’t work if you have someone else set them for you. When you create goals for yourself, you are motivating yourself to do better. Goals are here to help guide us through a successful life.
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Jenna Song
5/9/2012 09:05:06 am
Final Reflection
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Jenna Song
5/9/2012 09:08:00 am
succeeding. The Last Lecture book and watching it was the key to the reality of our world. My back had always been turned to the back of the Earth, but now slowly through this book I could see myself turning more and more face-to-face with Earth. I can sense the world now through The Last Lecture.
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Swathi Sarathy
5/9/2012 10:10:41 am
After reading the Last Lecture, I can honestly say that my perspective on life has completely changed. Not only has it helped me realize that everyday that we live is a blessing, but it has also taught me that life is too short to take for granted. Though Randy knew he only had a few months to live, his outlook on life was so positive and inspiring. In the beginning of the book itself, Randy says ‘We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand,’ and he lives by that motto throughout his life. He continues to say that we might not be able to change what we’ve been given, but we can change how we are going to respond to it (whether that may be positively or negatively). Randy ends up thoroughly living his life with the time he is given, and he ends up being able to accomplish all of his dreams and goals that he had once made up as a kid.
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Rahi Patel
5/9/2012 10:44:54 am
Ok, so to just get this straight... Randy had only three to six more months to live and he still was happy about it? Man! That’s more than I can say! I mean, my friends tell me that I am a Tigger and all, but that is like taking the term Tigger to the extremes. Today we were literally talking and discussing about what a Tigger and Eeyore were like. But, that is not very important right now. So, well the thing is that, if there is one thing that I wish, I wish that I was more like Randy Pausch than anything else. I like the way he thinks and makes people laugh so easily.
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Hayden Kettler
5/9/2012 11:12:29 am
Randy's Last Lecture was very inspiring to me. He has taught me many things that I can now use in my life to strive to be a better person. There are things that I say and do everyday that focus and revolve around myself. I wasn't to worried about others as much as myself. Randy on the other hand is different. He cares about others more than himslef. He would rather the people he is around be happy and satisfied rather than himself. The whole reason he wrote this lecture was not to become famous and get lots of attention, it was so his kids could really figure out who he was and the kind of person he is. His view on the world is much different than most people. He is a man of courage, integrity, and respect. He never once throughout his lecture was worried or concerned on the fact he was about to die of cancer. No, instead he was focused on how he could live out the rest of his life in a happy way that helps others. He wanted to leave behind him a bright future for his wife and kids as they live on without him.
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Kyle Towe
5/10/2012 06:09:56 am
I really like how you said that you were finding yourself caring more about yourself than others and I can say I do the same thing a lot too. He realized that helping more others was a better way to live you life. That was a really great point and made me think a little more about how I live out each day of my life.
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Teena Thomas
5/9/2012 11:17:51 am
After watching and reading the Last Lecture, I learned many lessons.It inspired me to think more positive and not to give up. For instance instead of talking about his tumors, he talked about childhood dreams.He knew he did not have much days left so why waste it by talking about something that is painful and that he can not change.He thought he should share some of his childhood dreams and memories instead.
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Anushka Limaye
5/9/2012 11:22:02 am
Randy's book really made me think about how I take life. I realize now how many things I take for granted. The house I have, the things that fill it, the food we eat, and even my family. It's almost like you have to have something big happen to you in order to put these things into perspective. For me, that big thing was reading this book. Taking things for granted is a sure way to lose interest in them later, then losing them entirely, then realizing how important they are after. I think that that's part of the reason Randy decided to write his book. So that people would learn to appreciate these things after watching his lecture or reading his book, or on their own terms, rather than having to face death or another big thing to realize. As Randy says at the end of his lecture, the biggest head fake of all is how all of this is going towards his kids. All of this advise, and learning something's true value is all going towards his kids.
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Coleman Wylie
5/9/2012 11:22:25 am
The Last Lecture was thouroughly one of the most amazing books I have ever read. In all actuallity, it was actually Randy who was thouroughly amazing. Randy's reactions to certain death have inspired me to completely reconsider my life. Until now, I had been a time-waster. I thought about what I would do in Randy's situation, and what I would do to live my life to the fullest, even if I wasn't in Randy's shoes.
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Sanjuktha Pendyala
5/9/2012 11:50:55 am
The Last Lecture has really changed my perspective on everything in my life. He has inspired me in doing many things now. So many life lessons that I learned just in one single book It inspired to live life and to follow your dreams. It’s sad that his children won’t be having a father as they grow up. But these resources which he has created for his children are great things to look back at. These children had a great dad.
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Sakina Daresalamwala
5/9/2012 11:57:15 am
The Last Lecture was definitely one of the most poignant books that I have ever read. The way that Randy Pausch described and recited his life’s story really gave a full aspect to his life, and how he wanted others to live it (or more specifically, his children). Not only did reading the book give me a lot of useful tips, but it helped me gain a better view of life and how I should live it. I never thought that there could be so much packed into one tiny book! I was so shocked at some of the things that he did, such as pouring soda on his brand new car, just so he could make a point. It seemed crazy when I first read it, but after a while, I sort of grasped the point of what he was trying to say. He taught me a lot of things that I will definitely use in my life.
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Marisa Villanueva
5/9/2012 12:03:04 pm
Before reading this book I thought it was about doing a last lecture project in itself. I thought it included tips and good ways to address things. I have never been so happy to be wrong. I love that there is a story behind it of a real man going through unimaginable things yet finding the silver lining no matter what. It showed me how good I have it and how lucky I am to be alive and healthy. But in some ways I was jealous of Randy while reading the book. I know it sounds silly to be jealous of someone who only has 3-6 months to live. But I was. He seemed to have it all figured out. He had achieved so much and done so many things with his life. Every life goal he set out to achieve he did. Even though it wasn’t always the exact thing but it was good enough for him.
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Jamie Stivers
5/9/2012 12:18:50 pm
The last lecture was a great, inspirational book. Reading it made me reflect on my life some, too. I look up to Randy, with the way he handled his situation. He was such a strong, brave man. Before I read the book, I knew how important it was to stay positive, because if you are negative, you just waste precious moments of your time. Every moment of life, you should cherish because you don't know when your last day will be. God has you alive for a reason. When I wake up I think of how blessed I am to be alive another day, and I make it my goal to go make someone's day that day.
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Joshua Chow
5/9/2012 12:21:40 pm
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch is the last lecture given by Randy at Carnegie Mellon. The lecture was on Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.
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Madiha Rehan
5/9/2012 12:25:12 pm
I think the biggest impact that I got from this story is that Randy was so positive in his lecture that you wouldn’t even believe that he had so many tumors in his liver. Instead of him grieving over the fact that he had about 10 tumors in him, he decided to focus more on his childhood dreams and his goals in life that he was able to achieve. He talked about the things he was thankful for, instead of mourning over his condition. He really did talk about living life the fullest and to enjoy the little moments in life that you have. In the book, it gives more details about the different events that happened in his life and how he learned from all those events. Also, the idea of Randy bringing in so much humor to the audience was astonishing. Even though he was probably the only one in that auditorium that was going to die in a few months, he radiated so much positive energy in his audience, that no one really realized this guy only had MONTHS left till his time was up.
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Shishir Jessu
5/9/2012 12:27:04 pm
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Whitney Bras
5/9/2012 12:40:03 pm
After watching the Last Lecture in class it made me excited tom read the book. Watching was really cool because I got to see Randy's facial expressions while telling all of his stories, and his advice. After reading the book I really got the importance of making your dreams, and then working to have them come true. When you just live life without goals or dreams you have little you really want to go after. Reading Randy's thoughts and advice, and then watching him speak it to 400+ people really motivated me to try hard to get past the brick walls and make my dreams come true. Before reading this book I thought that dreams were there to make you happy when you wander off into space. Now I know that you make dreams so you can achieve them, or at least try really hard to achieve them.
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Camden Herald
5/9/2012 01:08:08 pm
Reflection
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Lea Balcerzak
5/9/2012 01:20:44 pm
Upon first learning that we would have to read an inspirational novel, I must say, I was not thrilled. I am usually not a very big fan of novels and books which try to try to tell me how to live my life or persuade me to do this instead of that. As I began to read the beginning pages of the book, I dreaded having to go on. Yet as the “storyline” progressed I became more engrossed in the book. I found Randy’s style of writing very direct and personal which is a quality I look for when reading autobiographic type books. It turns out this was because most of the book was simply quoted from his speech, but that is beside the point. I began to quite enjoy the book and by the 5 section or so, I was pretty drawn in. I wanted to know what was next, what story would Randy next share with the reader of how he was or wasn’t able to achieve the goals he set for himself as a kid. Who knew, by the end of the book, I was extremely moved by this man’s outlook on his now-fleeting life.
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Anna Sneed
5/9/2012 01:55:08 pm
I can honestly say that I’m glad that I read the Last Lecture. There were a lot of important life lessons in that book, and they showed me a lot. Randy had a lot of good morals, and it would probably be a good thing if more people followed in his footsteps, including me.
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Eugene Han
5/9/2012 06:14:36 pm
I haven't read a good book in a while, but this book was something worth it. It really helped me see "clearly", in a way through life and many other minute things. I really never learn any lessons in books because typically the books I've read just end with an, "Oh, okay." type of feel. This book left me wondering, "If a patient diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with 10 tumors on their livers can live as happy as a Tigger, than what can I do?". This book helped me realize lots of new goals and ideas, too. I can think differently about how I perceive life now.
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Yacine Issioui
5/10/2012 06:41:36 am
Last Lecture by Randy Paulsh Final Reflection
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Andrew Pye
5/10/2012 08:17:20 am
This Last Lecture has really enlightened me. Although I may have already been told many of the things in that were in Randy’s lecture, I finally realized how helpful some of this advice really is. Many of his anecdotes, short stories, and experiences proved that what he is saying is worthwhile, ignoring the fact that he only had a few months to live and he was writing this book.
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Catherine Jackson
5/10/2012 08:29:58 am
This book has had a really big impact on my life. Since reading it, I’ve tried to be more aware of how other people feel, because they may be going through something like what Jai was feeling, when a family member is dying. I also have been trying to live my life more effectively. For example, I’m writing a book. I’ve been putting off editing it for a long time. My dream is to be a writer. Now, I’ve actually been working towards my dream by editing it and making it better, so that someday I may be able to get it published.
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Sujay Adhikari
5/10/2012 10:30:21 am
When I first heard that we had to read this book I thought it would be boring and wanted to finish it quickly, but after actually reading it, I couldn’t put it down. I was fascinated to read about a man who was about to die, but was still able to live so positively and keep moving on with life. Just about every page in his book has taught me a new life lesson and has helped me be a better person. It was such an inspirational book and I was hoping it would never end.
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Nithin Pingili
5/10/2012 10:50:46 am
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch has been an overwhelming, emotional, and effective book and presentation. Randy Pausch has done a great job of presenting his Last Lecture with qualities of affection, emotionalism, and humor. That defines who he was for doing this, when he was emotionally hurt from knowing he life is about to end soon. My thought about The Last Lecture is that a person telling about how he lived his life in a achieving and lesson learning way is what tells others that they want to be like him. And yes, I am trying to say that a life like Randy’s is a life filled with joy, but we must not forget that the decisions that Randy made in his life had affected how his life has turned out.
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Vishnu Kunadharaju
5/10/2012 11:52:22 am
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Joseph Overman
5/10/2012 11:57:09 am
I’m not purposely trying to be different, but honestly I haven’t been impacted much from reading this. I will say it’s a truly amazing book. Randy did a fabulous job talking about his childhood dreams while also trying to show how you can achieve your own dreams. He made the book interesting and unique. In the end though, probably at least three quarters of the people (including myself) who are posting won’t really be changed from this book. We read the book. We reflect on what it might be like to have a terminal illness. We think life has a new meaning. Then a couple weeks pass and we totally forget all of that stuff. In 10 years, I can guarantee that almost everyone’s going to remember this book only as an interesting and well-written book. Books like this tell about motivation and try to make life seem more important, but for people to experience a true turning point in their lives, they have to actually live through something like this. Reading about it, at least in my opinion, is just a drop in the bucket that living through it is.
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Dheeraj Nuthakki
5/10/2012 12:10:05 pm
Why couldn’t there have been someone else in Randy’s place? Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I want people to die but I am truly expressing my feelings saying that Randy was such an inspirational person and a great man that he did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to have pancreatic cancer. He was truly a gentleman. He was a great dad in the time that he lived and he is a family guy. He loves his wife and kids. In fact, he loves them so much that he made a “last lecture” and did his “last lecture” in front of the public. The Last Lecture was very inspirational to read and watch. I’m pretty sure you all would agree with me. When I started reading the book, I thought to myself, this is really interesting and probably the best book I ever got assigned to read in class. It really changed the way I look at things now; it changed my perspective of life. It changed the way I see the world. I know now how to live my life from now on and how to lead it happily and successfully. The knowledge I gained will and already has made a big impact in my life. Randy taught us not to complain and instead solve the problem at hand. He told us nothing is being solved while we just complain. Time is being wasted and you have to make note of that. I learned not to complain as much anymore and target my problem. Randy said he is definitely a Tigger, not an Eeyore. Randy is always positive and happy and likes making others happy. He is not lazy and calm like an Eeyore. I believe I am a mix of both. I am very calm and shy and I’m negative towards myself. I don’t seek things positively like Randy. I am trying to stop thinking negatively now and not be very quiet. Randy’s parents are very good parents. Randy, as he describes it, won the “parent lottery”. His parents take care of him and his mom is strict but just enough so Randy is in his limit. His dad is a great man. He was a World War II medic and he won the bronze medal of valor. His parents let him dream big. They allowed him to paint on his bedroom walls and his dad took a picture of the 1969 moonwalk just in case Randy missed it allowing him to dream big. Randy himself is an excellent dad. He loves his wife and kids and doesn’t want to pressure his kids into what they will become when they grow up. He wants his kids to dream big and achieve their childhood dreams. When I grow up, I want to be a good a parent as Randy and as Randy’s parents were. I want my kids to achieve their childhood dreams and I want them to dream big also. Randy had the greatest quote in the history of quotes in my opinion. “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” He is saying we can’t change what already happened to us in life but we can change the way we lead our life afterwards. That was my most favorite quote of all time. Randy taught us that there are brick walls in life. He said the brick walls are there to make us know how much we want something. My brick wall was my parents. I asked my parents for a videogame. They kept on denying me no matter how much I told them the game was okay and that I wanted it. I convinced them a lot but they just said no. I realized I was too anxious when I kept on asking them. I turned nice and somehow they decided to let me have the game. I broke through my brick wall. I learned to never give up. Randy got declined as a Disney Imagineer but yet he kept on trying and finally got accepted. Tommy had a childhood dream of working on a Star Wars film. At the time, nobody thought there would be another one except Tommy who worked hard and got a job to work on a Star Wars film. He worked on three more films that came out. I learned not to give up and to keep trying hard to achieve my goals. There are some questions I had about the Last Lecture. If Randy was super smart, why did he not get accepted into Brown and Carnegie Mellon on his first try? Why did Disney reject him at first? How was Alice thought up? Why did Randy believe in Dennis and how did he know Dennis was going to pass Calculus? How are Jai and the kids doing now that Randy died? Did Jai show the kids the Last Lecture? Some questions I asked myself were: What would I have done if I was in Randy’s position? How can my kids in the future dream big with all the technology already there? If I was in Randy’s position would I have lived the rest of my life positively and happily? Overall the Last Lecture was excellent and very true. Randy’s words meant a lot to me. I will continue achieving my dreams and leading my life the right way.
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Elbio Guedilla
5/10/2012 01:01:01 pm
What really impacted me was that even though we have brick walls in our lifes there is a way to get past them if we really want that goal. This helped me realized that if i set my mind to something and if I really want it life will set challenges for me to test if I am really worthy of such thing. I will set my mind on thing that will challeng me to the best of my abilities because I know that I can always do better if I can. The questions I have are what are my goals, why do I want this goal, and how can I improve if I can
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Rudy Rampersad
5/10/2012 01:37:17 pm
Last Lecture Final Reflection
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Rudy Rampersad
5/10/2012 01:38:15 pm
Sorry! The spacing on this comment system hates me.
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Dheeraj Nuthakki
5/10/2012 01:40:38 pm
Why couldn’t there have been someone else in Randy’s place? Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I want people to die but I am truly expressing my feelings saying that Randy was such an inspirational person and a great man that he did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to have pancreatic cancer. He was truly a gentleman. He was a great dad in the time that he lived and he is a family guy. He loves his wife and kids. In fact, he loves them so much that he made a “last lecture” and did his “last lecture” in front of the public. The Last Lecture was very inspirational to read and watch. I’m pretty sure you all would agree with me. When I started reading the book, I thought to myself, this is really interesting and probably the best book I ever got assigned to read in class. It really changed the way I look at things now; it changed my perspective of life. It changed the way I see the world. I know now how to live my life from now on and how to lead it happily and successfully. The knowledge I gained will and already has made a big impact in my life. Randy taught us not to complain and instead solve the problem at hand. He told us nothing is being solved while we just complain. Time is being wasted and you have to make note of that. I learned not to complain as much anymore and target my problem. Randy said he is definitely a Tigger, not an Eeyore. Randy is always positive and happy and likes making others happy. He is not lazy and calm like an Eeyore. I believe I am a mix of both. I am very calm and shy and I’m negative towards myself. I don’t seek things positively like Randy. I am trying to stop thinking negatively now and not be very quiet. Randy’s parents are very good parents. Randy, as he describes it, won the “parent lottery”. His parents take care of him and his mom is strict but just enough so Randy is in his limit. His dad is a great man. He was a World War II medic and he won the bronze medal of valor. His parents let him dream big. They allowed him to paint on his bedroom walls and his dad took a picture of the 1969 moonwalk just in case Randy missed it allowing him to dream big. Randy himself is an excellent dad. He loves his wife and kids and doesn’t want to pressure his kids into what they will become when they grow up. He wants his kids to dream big and achieve their childhood dreams. When I grow up, I want to be a good a parent as Randy and as Randy’s parents were. I want my kids to achieve their childhood dreams and I want them to dream big also. Randy had the greatest quote in the history of quotes in my opinion. “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” He is saying we can’t change what already happened to us in life but we can change the way we lead our life afterwards. That was my most favorite quote of all time. Randy taught us that there are brick walls in life. He said the brick walls are there to make us know how much we want something. My brick wall was my parents. I asked my parents for a videogame. They kept on denying me no matter how much I told them the game was okay and that I wanted it. I convinced them a lot but they just said no. I realized I was too anxious when I kept on asking them. I turned nice and somehow they decided to let me have the game. I broke through my brick wall. I learned to never give up. Randy got declined as a Disney Imagineer but yet he kept on trying and finally got accepted. Tommy had a childhood dream of working on a Star Wars film. At the time, nobody thought there would be another one except Tommy who worked hard and got a job to work on a Star Wars film. He worked on three more films that came out. I learned not to give up and to keep trying hard to achieve my goals. There are some questions I had about the Last Lecture. If Randy was super smart, why did he not get accepted into Brown and Carnegie Mellon on his first try? Why did Disney reject him at first? How was Alice thought up? Why did Randy believe in Dennis and how did he know Dennis was going to pass Calculus? How are Jai and the kids doing now that Randy died? Did Jai show the kids the Last Lecture? Some questions I asked myself were: What would I have done if I was in Randy’s position? How can my kids in the future dream big with all the technology already there? If I was in Randy’s position would I have lived the rest of my life positively and happily? Overall the Last Lecture was excellent and very true. Randy’s words meant a lot to me. I will continue achieving my dreams and leading my life the right way.
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Dheeraj Nuthakki
5/12/2012 03:05:03 am
Sorry, I just realized my post got reposted, it didn't post before and it said try again so i posted again, but i guess it did post. well the posts are the exact same.
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Myles Paschall
5/10/2012 01:43:13 pm
I thought the last lecture was a very good book/Story and it was a great idea for randy to do this last lecture for his kids and for everyone else who wants a good idea on how to achieve their dreams and goals. Reading and watching the last lecture really taught me to live out my life to the fullest and to achieve my dreams. This really made me want to think big and follow by dreams. Even though some dreams are hard to have Randy still wants you to believe that you can achieve them and i think that if i live my life how i should the dreams will come to me. I will make changes like never looking back and always thinking in the future. I think that you should not dwell on the past because that already happened and you cannot do anything about it. You need to achieve your dreams by going after them. You can’t do that if you’re trying to live in the past and go backwards.
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Miika Jarvela
5/10/2012 02:54:34 pm
Even though I didn't know him personally, Randy Pausch was, in all honesty, one of the wisest men to have lived, but sadly, died. His clever anecdotes and insightful commentary has really opened both my eyes and the eyes of the many others that have either seen his lecture or read his book. He had very much potential to live out his life further and continue to inspire people. Ironically, though, if he had never been diagnosed with his terminal illness, he probably would never have given his “Last Lecture,” and would have never taught millions of people how to properly live their lives. However tragic his scenario is, it has enabled him to help us “Really Achieve our Childhood Dreams,” or in reality, let us learn how to live our lives.
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Miika Jarvela
5/10/2012 02:56:07 pm
end up changing about myself. They do not have to be drastic changes, though, but the minor things are really the ones that set the best from just good, average, mediocre, and adequate. Starting now, I will start to really use strategies such as the head fake to my advantage. I will scale every brick wall that is put in my path, now that I know what their true purpose is. I will try to make an emotional and attitude adjustment in myself in order to become both a better person and successful person. I can say that reading this book has changed me to become a different person. I will try to lead my life in a better way and really achieve my childhood dreams.
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Nathan Smith
5/10/2012 10:26:20 pm
I loved the way that randy pausch wrote the book, it was intreging and was easy to read. I loved the part when he talks about winning all those stuffed animals. I have learned many vaulubale lessons from this and I hope that I can use this for my life.
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Josh Fink
5/11/2012 01:43:20 am
I never expected the last lecture book to be as brilliant as it is. I honestly forgot we had to read it, until I saw other students with the book. I figured it was going to be another book we are forced to read which isn’t bad, but it’s nothing I enjoy. Then after I read the first page, I was in for good. I read it after taks, during the day, and I finished it at night. It was a perfect combination of humor, experience, and life lessons. Randy is like a hero to me. If I were faced with the fear of knowing I have three months to live, I would be a breakdown. I would feel sorry for myself and would be too upset to do anything. Yet Randy being the wise guy he is, looked at the situation in a bright light and positive attitude. As randy talked about his experiences and memories, I realized that Randy had done a lot, but had a lot left in him.
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Eugene Han
5/11/2012 07:45:37 am
THE CORRECT FINAL REFLECTION*:
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dhathri bobba
5/11/2012 09:41:01 am
I never expected the last lecture book to be so inspirational. When I first saw the book, I thought it would be a very tedious task to finish it because it looked so boring to me. It looked like a completely stupid book which would be useless to my life. How wrong I was about that assumption! The book was extremely inspirational and had a lot of lessons to be learned.
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Pratyusha Manthena
5/11/2012 10:38:01 am
The Last Lecture was a very inspirational book. It taught me a new way to lead life. His first head fake really was true. Everything he said in the book and his lecture made me realize the right way to lead your life. I will now approach life in a totally different way.
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Melody Siebenmann
5/11/2012 01:11:17 pm
When I read and watched Randy’s last lecture, I thought to myself, it was cool that he could keep a positive attitude even though he was going to die. It’s hard to be faced in a difficult situation and to not complain, get angry, and be pessimistic. Most people would try to blame someone, and it would get them nowhere. It struck me that a man was on his deathbed and he didn’t give up or complain, and here I was on a typical weekday complaining about athletic workouts, homework and projects. If a dying man doesn’t complain that he’s dying, surely I can restrain from complaining about everyday things. Because he would want to do the things I am complaining about and he would enjoy running a mile or so or doing a project for another day of life. So who am I to complain… when he wasn’t and he knew when he was dying?
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Taddie Cook
5/12/2012 06:29:29 am
After watching the last lecture, I realized just how little time we have in life between events. I had started to become aware of that as the end of middle school approached. I realize how little time we have in our school before we move onto high school. Reading the Last Lecture made me realize just how little time we have in life. Time will sometimes go so slow, like when you are in gym class. But when you look at the big picture, our life goes by so fast. I also began looking at Randy’s views on life. I agree with so many of the truths that he revealed in his book, like on how we have to watch everything we say to people. One of the things that I realize that I struggle with that was brought up in The Last Lecture was worrying about what others think about me. I spend too much time trying to think about what others are thinking in different situations. Now, sometimes this can be a good thing, but other times it is a problem. I have been trying to just go for things and not worry about other’s thoughts. It was kind of like when a flash mob started at lunch among the girls in athletics. I had no idea what the dance was that they were all doing, but I joined in any way with my friends. There is no way that last year I would have done anything like that. I just would have remained seating, feeling really strange.
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5/12/2012 08:58:23 am
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Helen Zhang
5/12/2012 10:27:10 am
Out of the non-fiction books I have read, the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch had one of the most interesting plots. Think about it. This book was narrated by a college professor who was about to die. Along with this book’s captivating plot lines is the inspirational story Mr. Pausch has told. There is truly so much one can learn from this amazing man. Even when on the verge of dying, he maintains his upbeat and optimistic personality. He has influenced me to make many positive changes to how I act.
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Katy Hensel
5/12/2012 11:54:17 am
The book, The Last Lecture, has really changed my life forever. Before I started reading it, I thought it would be some boring lecture given by some old dude. It turned out to be the best book I have ever read. Randy is truly an example of a marvelous human being. He managed to make a beautiful, optimistic, cheerful speech at one of the hardest and final moments of his life. He is an amazing man and I wish I could be half of the person he is. The book showed me that it was actually completely possible to be a romantic, an intellectual, a comedian, and a great father. I am inspired by Randy Pausch.
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Rinith Prasad
5/13/2012 02:36:54 am
I loved the book. I loved everything about it. It was very interesting to learn about things that are important rather than learning about which celebrity is pregnant. This is the stuff that actually matters; life and family. Randy knew he was going to die. That was the sad part. Every second that he lived, Randy’s cancer was killing him. He couldn’t do anything about it, but he wanted to make his mark in this world. If a person is a musician, they compose a song. If a person is an artist, they paint a picture. Since Randy was a professor, he lectured. There was nothing else he could do. That’s when he made his mark, The Last Lecture named Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. Till this day, millions reminisce on that one lecture or his famous book. I liked how much of an importance he showed to his wife. How he cared for her so much that he sang to her for her birthday during his lecture. I asked myself: What can I do to make an impact? I learned a lot from Randy. Here are some things:
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Jackson Stone
5/13/2012 04:09:16 am
Last Lecture Reflection
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Zach Pranske
5/13/2012 11:03:05 am
I agree, I thought it was going to be a boring history book too. Turns out I was wrong...
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Lauren Rudd
5/13/2012 05:12:05 am
I was very inspired by Randy’s lecture. He never once complained or gave up because things got difficult. That takes a lot of courage and bravery. He taught me some really good things throughout the book, as I’m sure he taught others as well. I enjoyed the book and watching the lecture because he really did hit everything on the mark. He did it for his kids, which was his goal. He accomplished his goal which really made everything worthwhile.
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Haven Chung
5/13/2012 05:40:20 am
Randy Pausch was just a regular man like anyone else. But he knew how to really enjoy his life. Even though he was dying he was always happy and kept going strong. After he was diagnosed with cancer he lived his life out even fuller. Randy never really sounded down about how he was diagnosed with cancer but was rather always happy. He had become less selfish and realized how blessed he was and never took things for granted after.
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Claire Jordan
5/13/2012 06:06:08 am
First off, I thought the Last Lecture was an amazing book and that everyone should read it. Randy really inspired me and how I should live my life. I loved the two head fakes in his Lecture. It made me realize that life is short, and that you shouldn’t waste a minute of it. While reading the book, Randy taught me to never take advantage of your life, because there is always a small chance that your life, like his, can fall short. What I loved the most about the book and Randy himself was that even though he knew he only had a few months left to live, he was still himself. He didn’t dwell on the negatives. He lived each day as it was going to be his last, which is what all of us should do. I also liked how he related things to brick walls, and how he said brick walls show how much you want something. This made me think about how whenever you have an obstacle, if you really want it, you’ll do whatever you have to get through that brick wall. I still wonder what Randy’s kids thought of his Last Lecture, or how they reacted when they did see it. I admire Randy because from day 1, he lived each and every day to its fullest. He was a Tigger, not an Eeyore. What I also liked about Randy is that he not only lived his life to the fullest, but he did it in a way that we all should. Along the way, he worked hard, didn’t complain, and achieved many great things. As I finished reading the book, I got so sad because I knew that Randy was going to die. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t want it to happen because he was such an inspirational man. I think over the years Randy described, and how he had really learned how to live his life, and fortunately, he was willing to share that secret with everyone in his Last Lecture. I learned many things from reading Randy’s book and watching his Last Lecture. One of the most important I learned is to live your life to the fullest. You only have one- so don’t waste it. Even when times are difficult, don’t dwell on the negatives, because that’s just one more second of not being happy that you won’t get back. He taught me to value each moment and make each day worth living. I heard a quote somewhere that said, ‘Write something worth doing, or do something worth writing.’ And realized that Randy not only did one of those, but both. I respect Randy so much now, knowing what he had to go through yet reading about what he did instead of sitting on his death bed. Now, like Randy, I will try to make the best of each day, and will try not to dwell on the negatives as much as I do now.
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Zane Erickson
5/13/2012 06:09:16 am
I think the last lecture is a great story of the good in humanity, it shows that there are some really %100 good people in this world who really care. Randy embraced life to its fullest and as far as I can tell was not happy but content with when and how he went out; he had no regrets. Having no regrets is a huge rarity that I’m sure Randy was blessed to have no regrets. The only thing I did not like about the book was that he did not seem that concerned about his wife but overall it was all amazing.
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Jennifer Chavarro
5/13/2012 06:22:14 am
I didn’t have a clue what to expect when I began reading the Last Lecture. But I sure wasn’t expecting a class assignment to be so moving and inspiring. I thought that the Last Lecture was amazing- there are really no other words to describe it. There were so many incredible life lessons packed into a tiny book. When it ended, I wanted there to be more chapters. Randy discussed life events, and at the first chapter I thought it was just going to be him talking about his life. But then at the ends of the chapters, and sometimes in the middle, a powerful lesson on life was mentioned.
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Morgan Glover
5/13/2012 07:17:40 am
Randy Pausch’s life was an absolutely amazing story. I was very impressed by how many amazing people he knew during his lifetime and how many lives he changed. He went through and talked about all of the substantial people in his life story and told each adventure with enthusiasm, as if it happened that day.
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Sierra Latshaw
5/13/2012 08:41:25 am
The last lecture was a really good book, about a really fantastic man. Throughout the book I learned to see life differently and treasure things I used to take for granite, like my parents. I think that reading it impacted me by showing life lessons by chapter. There were 61 life lessons that Randy Wanted everyone to know. While reading the part about the dictionary Randy says.. "there are families with dictionaries at the table and those who don't have them. " I now keep a dictionary at the table. Over the past few weeks I've looked up only one word in that dictionary, but it still comes in handy. I think that I will try to not overreact to petty things anymore as they really don't matter in the future. I also realized life can be short and you need to treasure your life while you have it. The book was really funny as well, even though Randy was dying he was able to put humor into his lecture to show that he was still him, he just had a little less time than other people. I think this shows people all over that even if your situation is difficult you must make the most of it. While reading this book my family was going through a lot of "relationship problems" my brother decided to move in with my dad and will be leaving soon, my mom was upset and my dad was upset with me for moving in with my mom two years earlier. I felt as if everything was shattering around me, and I figured I best read the book. While reading I realized that I needed to understand it wasn't my fault and not let it get to me. I needed to go to something positive. One last big thing I got out of the book was that it's okay to fail as long as you learn from your mistake. After all failure is the best type of success. The book also taught me many other valuable lessons about people and life in general.
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Avery Pietrowiak
5/13/2012 09:02:33 am
The Last Lecture
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Zachary Pranske
5/13/2012 10:56:32 am
A lot of this is about the project and not the book, cause I originally didn't know what exactly to write about. I do, however, have a paragraph about the book.
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Zachary Pranske
5/13/2012 11:01:49 am
My improved book reflection paragraphs:
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Selase Buatsi
5/13/2012 01:06:32 pm
The Last Lecture was a very touching story. However it did take a while to really grab my attention. From the beginning of the books you could tell that Randy was not a selfish person. You could tell that he cared for people. However, like I said it took a while to grab my attention. I think this is because Randy went on and on about he felt that he had the obligation to do his ‘Last Lecture’ speech, and Jai wouldn’t let him. It took a while to get off of that topic. I don’t feel there was a need for all of that description on how he felt about the ‘Last Lecture’. However by telling us all that he did in the beginning, I think that Randy knew a lot more than he let on. I think that he knew that he HAD to give the speech. I also think he knew that he might dedicate the speech to his kids. I think that Jai was his brick wall, and like Randy said later on in his book, ‘brick walls aren’t there to stop you; they’re there to keep the ones who don’t want it badly enough out. I feel that he must of known how important the speech would be if he was willing to tackle the brick wall separating him from it.
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Joy Johnson
5/14/2012 01:18:24 am
Randy Paulsh really made me think about how I am living my life. He makes you think and realize how important life is. Although Randy was dying of cancer, he had such a positive outlook on life. Mr. Paulsh knew that if he didn’t cherish the moments he had left with his kids, they would never have memories of their father. When Randy was writing the Last Lecture, he put a lot of thought into how he would deliver it. He didn’t even know if he would. I think it is very inspirational that he still wanted to give the lecture. Randy knew it was goodbye to his teaching world.
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Ali Ozymy
5/14/2012 06:25:50 am
Reading and watching the Last Lecture really made me reconsider life and look at it with a new perspective. The more chapters I read in the book, the more I found myself wishing that I could look at life just like Randy did. In each chapter, the story that Randy tells has a lesson with so much knowledge behind it. I really thought that Randy was a thoughtful and smart man. He listened well, and therefore he learned. I personally learned a lot from each one of the stories, and found simple ways that I could change my life for the better. Each little unique thought that Randy discussed gave me a different perspective on situations. Randy’s thoughts gave me a whole different way to look at the little things in life, and his thoughts were nothing I would have ever thought of.
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Michelle Zhang
5/14/2012 09:19:24 am
Reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch has really just given me a lot to think about the life of someone, and how you should never take things for granted.
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Lauren Villaueva
5/14/2012 10:00:16 am
Overall I really liked The Last Lecture. It was cool to listen to someone else’s view on things. Reading the book and watching the movie impacted my life in a huge way. It taught me how to do what I wanted to do no matter who told me not to. I learned that people are more important than things. In general I already knew all the lessons that I learned but it didn’t really stick because there was no example to show me, but in the book it gives me perfect examples. There are a lot of life lessons that he brings up through his whole lecture that are amazing. Probably the biggest lesson out of the whole thing is to live life like you will be gone tomorrow and live in the present. I feel cliché relating it to a song, but it relates to the Tim McGraw song “Live Like You Were Dying” because it talks about what a man did who found out he was dying. This is exactly what Randy did and what I want to strive to do every day.
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Alex Berend
5/14/2012 10:42:02 am
When I hear things like follow your dreams and they will come true, and hear them from someone that actually did come true, I just think, “Whatever. Maybe for you, things just turned out right. But for me, I will just have to end up working some office job like everybody else.” I, like many, have dreamed of being in the National Basketball Association as an adult. Unfortunately, I am going to just be an average adult at 5’11, and one with absolutely horrendous knees, thanks to my father’s side of the family. I just know that even if I try my absolute hardest trying to make it to the NBA, I will come up short. But before I read the last lecture, I just assumed that when you don’t reach your dream, you just completely lose all of your hard work to nothing and feel like a failure. But after Reading the last lecture, I see that it’s not about reaching the climax of your dreams, but it is about the road and events leading up to it. I wish I could think of a better analogy, but just as Hannah Montana’s song “The Climb” says, “it’s not about what’s waiting on the other side, it’s the climb.” And in the Last Lecture, Randy exposes the lessons and morals learned from his lifelong experience of chasing dreams, rather than just the fact that he worked so hard and finally achieved them, like being a Disney Immagineer or writing an article for World Book Encyclopedias. Just like my dream of being in the NBA, he wanted to be a professional football player, but he fell up short. However, he says that he has learned more character traits and has made more self improvement chasing and not reaching that dream than he would have actually making it into the National Football League. Like he says many times in the book, following dreams are often head fakes, such as him playing football seemed to make it look like to him that he was learning about playing football, but actually he was learning important life lessons on how to be a better person. Besides, he also says that you make priceless connections, friendships, and relationships with other people that can definitely benefit you in parts of your life other than, in this case, the sport you were training in.
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Aisha Espinosa
5/14/2012 11:07:04 am
I loved reading the Last Lecture, because it had a lot of emotion and life lessons and humor all wrapped into one. It definitely tugged at my heartstrings a little, especially when he gets to talking about his kids. I enjoyed hearing about Randy’s life through his eyes, and also hearing that he’d touched so many lives (and is continuing to touch them through the big).
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Isabelle garza
5/14/2012 11:53:38 am
Last Lecture Final Reflection
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Nicholas Castorina
5/14/2012 02:00:43 pm
Last Lecture Final Reflection
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Caden Fernando
5/14/2012 02:21:17 pm
I feel the actual discussion changed me, but the book changed me more. The video helped me understand how the audience felt when he was giving the speech, but the book helped me understand how Randy felt giving the speech. The video helped project his confidence, but the book held his deepest fears. Although very different, in the end of the day, the two different realities must conjoin to create one, impressive life. My thoughts on Randy in general were unimaginable. He is easily the closest example to a perfect man, not measuring by means of mistake, but saying that he accepts his flaws and challenges them to make him a better person, not for himself but for his family. To me that is a perfect man, one who could can admit he is not perfect and do something about it. Randy was a dreamer, but he was also an achiever. It takes sheer determination, knowledge and effort to achieve your childhood dreams, and Randy did. I think that really says something about Randy, it says he had the “right stuff,” and he used the tools until the last day of his life. He was also very compassionate. He thought ahead, for the sake of his family, he faced death, accepted it and did the best to prepare his family for a life without him. That is one of the most honorable things that I’ve seen in my whole life.
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J.C. Humen
5/14/2012 02:44:20 pm
To be honest, this book was more like a reminder of things I’ve already discovered. However, I will say it was a very pleasant reminder, and a wonderful source of inspiration. I really came to respect Randy Pausch as I read the book. He really showed how much he cared about his family in this. I suppose I envied that because my dad was abusive and he never really seemed to care. Maybe that’s why Randy’s personality stuck out for me. One thing that I can say I learned is how important chasing your dreams can be. I always thought of chasing your dreams as a semi-real concept that was based more on luck than anything else. However, after reading this book, the last lecture, I realized that maybe what I thought was an idealistic concept, wasn’t so out of reach. What I really learned from that was how much work achieving your dreams requires. It’s not something you can do overnight. In fact, it can take your whole life! However, so long as you’re willing to put in the time and effort beyond what’s required, you can achieve your dreams.
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Siddharth Marella
5/16/2012 11:14:58 am
Final Reflection
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