The Last Lecture was a book authored by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow in 2008. Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy was asked to give "The Last Lecture." Professors were asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. However, Randy didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Randy's lecture entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" was given on September 18, 2007. In this book, Randy wrote about not facing death but living life.
"Time is what everyone has, and we may find one day that we have less than we think." Randy Pausch said in the book. When I read the book, a question popped out: What will I do if I only have a few months left to live? After thinking seriously for minutes, here I make a list. First, choose a photo of myself. I want to use a picture of my smiley face at the funeral. Although it's not a happy day for those who come to see me, I still want to use a smile to finish my last existence in this world and tell my loved ones that I will go to a good place and rest in peace. Second, a box of my belongings. There are some things that I want to take away, but I have to leave some for my family and friends to miss me, so I allow myself only to take one box. Those things are photos, idols' merch, and birthday cards. That's pretty much about it. I try to choose some items that can be burned without causing too much pollution. Third, visit my friends or whoever I want as much as possible. I think that's what people usually do before dying and leave some messages to their friends. All right! I'll stop here because the rest of my list is too personal to share.
I also think of the discussion in the multiliteracy class last week. People tend to take what they have now for granted. In recent years, there have been some bad things happening worldwide. They seem to stop us from taking everything for granted. We should value freedom, safety, and even the tiny things we have. Otherwise, we may regret when those wonderful things disappear, just like Randy Pausch said in the book: This cancer keeps offering a reminder of the preciousness of time. We should live in the moment and cherish everything we have now because we never know what is tomorrow be like.
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ReplyDeleteHi, Heny, I was really impressed by your reflection this time. And this time, you asked a question: “What will I do if I only have a few months left?” This question got me thinking too. If I were in high school, my answer would be, "I would like to meet my idol and go to a concert," or "I would like to experience many interesting things with my lover and spend the last time with my family." However, my answer now is "accompanying my family." My father works in China; however, because of the epidemic, App is the only communication tool for my family to have a connection in the past two years; in other words, we haven't seen each other physically for more than a year.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, when I haven't left our hometown, I often think that home is a kind of bondage. My soul and freedom seem bound by my family, and I hate being locked in a " care " cage. However, after I left my hometown, I understood my parents' concerns. When I was in university, I would start worrying about my mother's health, my father's work, etc. There were too many accidental incidents that always popped up in my mind. Maybe many people will say that I overthink, but it's really not something we can decide between "tomorrow" and "accident," so if I were in this situation, I would choose to stay with my family.
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ReplyDeleteHello Heny, This is Joyceline.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about what I would do before I only had a few months to live. Hence, humans are usually afraid of talking to death; for instance, the Chinese seldom use four in the hotel. However, you use humor to express what we should cherish before we pass away. This reminds me of Steve Jobs's quote, "Now or Never," a sentence that reveals the true meaning of humans life. Induvial often consider there will always be tomorrow, but they forget that unexpected occasions usually occur in our lives. It is better to live in the moment you don't regret after your death.
All in all, this perspective inspires me a lot because I always hesitate to do what I am eager to achieve. Brave and confidence are the two components that everyone should pursue. Hence, life is short, but we should live extraordinary as if the firework.