Sunday, July 27, 2008

RIP - A Tribute to Randy Pausch

While surfing the net today a headline just jumped at me : 'Last Lecture' Professor, Randy Pausch, Dies! I felt a lump form in my throat, as if I had just lost my best friend but then I remembered his lecture and realized he lived every moment of his life as if it was a lifetime, something I can only hope to do and haven’t succeeded so far. He played hard and not complaining at all at the cards that was dealt to him. May God bless his soul!


The name Randy Pausch has become a part of my life in ways that I can’t explain surprisingly though it meant nothing to me till March 16, 2008. That was the day a friend of mine sent me a forward. And when I clicked on the link to see the video I never expected to see what I did. It was a forward of the Last Lecture that Randy gave on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Just eleven and half minutes of lecture were there in that video. But believe me I don’t think anything has touched me so deeply as it did. By the end of that video I was crying and at the same time it made me click replay button. Once that finished it made me feel the need to watch the original, which made me wish to be able to see him someday. That original video had so much effect on me that it made me make my way to Randy's own site that he updated regularly. And believe me after that day every once in a way I would check that site to make sure everything was ok in his world.


That talk of his still brings so many feelings in me, it keeps repeating in my mind. Of the many things that did touch me I would like to share a few like the importance of people versus things in our life. We all are running behind material things at the cost of people who mean more in life. His stress on the importance of dreaming but at the same time he says to live life right and if you do your dreams would come to you. And how we must live like tiggers and not eeyores. Most importantly for me every time now I feel annoyed at something my daughter does or breaks I feel the need to push that annoyance or anger back because I hear Randy's voice in my head saying 'it is just a thing!' How very true.


Finally before I end, I pray to God to give his family the strength to be strong and go through this time in life where Randy is no more in their lives but still very much a part of their hearts. I hope when the time is right and his kids (or whom he had originally written this lecture for) watch it, that they are really proud of their father and hope they do follow the path in life he has shown.