If you haven't checked out my Inspirations page, I suggest you do so. Especially since today's post features one inspiration that I have revisited again and again over the past few years.
The Last Lecture is a speech that was given by Randy Pausch, a man with pancreatic cancer who knew he was going to die, and soon. He created the Last Lecture: the lecture you would hypothetically give to your students if you knew you were going to die.
You can watch the ten minute version of the speech he gave on the Oprah Winfrey show here, or you can watch the full length speech (which I totally suggest because it is beyond worth the hour and forty-five minutes) here.
There are a lot of things that Randy talks about that are really moving, eye-opening, and thought-provoking. It is truly inspirational. But I have come to realize that this blog is sort of my Last Lecture. All of these things that I have been writing about are the things I would share with the people I know and love if I knew I was going to die. Love yourself. You are beautiful. I love each and everyone one of you. You are important to me. Find the beauty in yourself. Take baby steps, and be proud of yourself when you are successful. Be independent. Ask for help when you are struggling. Don't let others define you.
Originally, I was going to write about Randy's Last Lecture, but instead I'll take one piece of his advice and make that another part of my Last Lecture.
"The brick walls in our life are there for a reason."
I believe in this 100%. The struggles we face aren't for nothing. They have a purpose. Maybe it is to show others, or ourselves, how strong or competent we really are. Maybe it is to protect us from another brick wall. Maybe we won't know the purpose for years. This is the hardest part to deal with.
Recently, I have been dealing with a brick wall. And I have no idea what the purpose of it is. But I have renewed faith that there is a purpose to this wall. One day I will discover what the purpose of this brick wall is. And I will be stronger for having dealt with it, and stronger for finally knowing why the wall was built in the first place.
Embrace your brick walls. Climb them, take them down brick by brick, blow it over with a bulldozer. But understand that the wall is there for a reason.
I feel like the purpose for many of my brick walls has been this blog. Because of brick walls I have knocked down, I created this blog. And I couldn't be happier. I am glad to have dealt with some difficult things if this is what the purpose was. Because helping myself, my friends, people I may not even know, is worth any brick wall no matter how high or how thick.
Again, feel free to contact me on Twitter, via email, or by commenting below.
Spread the word, and spread the beauty.
Shannon
The Last Lecture is a speech that was given by Randy Pausch, a man with pancreatic cancer who knew he was going to die, and soon. He created the Last Lecture: the lecture you would hypothetically give to your students if you knew you were going to die.
You can watch the ten minute version of the speech he gave on the Oprah Winfrey show here, or you can watch the full length speech (which I totally suggest because it is beyond worth the hour and forty-five minutes) here.
There are a lot of things that Randy talks about that are really moving, eye-opening, and thought-provoking. It is truly inspirational. But I have come to realize that this blog is sort of my Last Lecture. All of these things that I have been writing about are the things I would share with the people I know and love if I knew I was going to die. Love yourself. You are beautiful. I love each and everyone one of you. You are important to me. Find the beauty in yourself. Take baby steps, and be proud of yourself when you are successful. Be independent. Ask for help when you are struggling. Don't let others define you.
Originally, I was going to write about Randy's Last Lecture, but instead I'll take one piece of his advice and make that another part of my Last Lecture.
"The brick walls in our life are there for a reason."
I believe in this 100%. The struggles we face aren't for nothing. They have a purpose. Maybe it is to show others, or ourselves, how strong or competent we really are. Maybe it is to protect us from another brick wall. Maybe we won't know the purpose for years. This is the hardest part to deal with.
Recently, I have been dealing with a brick wall. And I have no idea what the purpose of it is. But I have renewed faith that there is a purpose to this wall. One day I will discover what the purpose of this brick wall is. And I will be stronger for having dealt with it, and stronger for finally knowing why the wall was built in the first place.
Embrace your brick walls. Climb them, take them down brick by brick, blow it over with a bulldozer. But understand that the wall is there for a reason.
I feel like the purpose for many of my brick walls has been this blog. Because of brick walls I have knocked down, I created this blog. And I couldn't be happier. I am glad to have dealt with some difficult things if this is what the purpose was. Because helping myself, my friends, people I may not even know, is worth any brick wall no matter how high or how thick.
Again, feel free to contact me on Twitter, via email, or by commenting below.
Spread the word, and spread the beauty.
Shannon
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