Link to Video: https://youtu.be/ji5_MqicxSo
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Watching The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch Randy had a lot of great points within his video there are 4 lessons that I think contributed to thoughts about my current life assessment and senior thesis. The four lessons are accomplished mundane goals, actively following your dreams, having fun, and focusing on other people, not yourself. One of the points he makes at the end when he talks about his parents and their decision to let him paint his room. When I was growing up I had a lot of different interests. Whether it was Paleontologist, Military, CIA, or an Artist. My mom supported me by letting me figure out what I wanted and choose how I was going to get there. When it comes down to it for my senior thesis, one of the personal struggles I have been grappling with is how do I create a thesis that serves others while still maintaining the freedom I am given to be as conceptual and creative as I would like to be. Without treating my project is an obligation because of the world we are currently experiencing events where it needs to be addressed. What helped me finalize this debate this is a famous quote from The movie Robots “See a need fill a need” and throughout the summer I thought about ways that I could help people of all ages learn something new while reimagining something they have thought about in the way that I initially envisioned it and want to share it.
This is where Randy’s ideas about fun come into play, he says “I don’t know how to not have fun I am dying and I am having fun, and I am going to keep having fun every day I have left because s no other way to play it ” The creative process is one of my favorite parts of any project why? because it’s fun to brainstorm what an idea could look, how something could be arranged, and eventually come to life based on how you or a group of people envisioned it. Once you have an idea that is something manageable and feels finished or ready for the next step is a great feeling. Mundane goals are something that I didn’t consider to be accomplishments that were big or well known. Seeing how happy it made Randy accomplish something so simple and childlike forced me to think about how childhood or childhood dreams are a very important source of inspiration that we should never let of. Finally actively following your dreams, through this list of things he aimed to accomplish becoming an Imagineering. While he did have to jump through a few hoops, mentally prepare himself, and talk to the right people. I always wondered what it would be like to to be able to say the right thing or do the right project and put it out into the world that would launch my career in the right direction and the majority of the time you don’t know what that will be until you actually decide to seize the opportunity.