Blog Assignment # 7

This video is absolutely amazing. Actually, the word 'amazing' does not give this lecture enough credit. Dr. Randy Pausch lived his life to the fullest and with such a positive attitude up until his death on July 25, 2008. Dr. Pausch, at the time giving this lecture, had been told he had 3-6 months to live due to 10 tumors on his kidneys. His lecture is called "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" or as he preferred to it, "The Last Lecture." His lecture focused on three main points. 1) His Childhood Dreams 2) Enabling the Dreams of Others 3) Lessons Learned

Dr. Randy Pausch begins his lecture talking about all his childhood dreams, which he did accomplish in his lifetime in one way or another. There are so many things I could say about this lecture, and I encourage everyone to watch it. It is a little over an hour long, but totally worth it, and the time goes by very fast! Dr. Pausch was so very passionate about education, learning and teaching. He really genuinely cared about his students and wanted to help them achieve their dreams, no matter how big or small. A lot of his quotations, or ones that he had heard, were so inspiring. Two of my favorites were, "When people stop correcting you or telling you what you're doing wrong it means they have given up" and "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." Dr. Pausch talked a lot about brick walls (things that people run into that can either slow dreams down  or keep you out completely). He stated, "Brick walls are there for a reason: They let us prove how badly we want it." I totally agree with that statement. If you want something badly enough, you will make it happen.

I really liked how he talked about "head fake learnings". "Head fakes" are something that make people think they are learning something else. For example, when children make games or movies they are really learning how to program, but they just think their having fun! I also liked how at the end of the lecture he gave the audience two "head fakes". 1) This lecture really wasn't about achieving your childhood dreams, it was about being a better person and 2) This lecture wasn't for us, it was for his three children. Wow!

Dr. Pausch was such a brilliant man. He basically made up a degree for students to receive at Carnegie Mellon University. This degree was about make virtual worlds. He achieved so much in his lifetime and impacted so many lives. He had such a positive outlook on life (no matter how long he had). He also came up with The Alice Project. The Alice Project is a teaching tool to help teach and learn introductory program concepts. Students learn how to make video games, movies, etc. I love when Dr. Pausch says, "Millions of kids are having fun while learning something hard!" That is another thing that Dr. Pausch was passionate about: FUN. He had fun all the time, everyday and even when he was dying. What an amazing man!

I can not tell you everything Dr. Pausch discussed in his lecture and what I thought about it. Therefore,  I encourage you to watch his lecture on YouTube. There are a few things I would like to add before finishing  up this blog post. Dr. Randy Pausch stated a few things before ending his lecture. Here are some of them:
1) Decide if you are a Tigger or an Eeyore.
2) Never lose the child-like wonder. It is too important, and it is what drives us.
3) Help others
4) Loyalty is a two-way street.
5) Get feedback and LISTEN to it.
6) Show gratitude
7) Don't complain-- just work harder!

Dr. Randy Pausch was a brilliant man who will continue to live on through his students, family, colleagues, friends and many projects. We all need to strive to be more like him. What a gift he was! I am so glad Dr. Strange assigned this video. It was so inspirational.