Randy Pausch

I happened to pick up his book called "The Last Lecture" at the Seattle airport in August. I ended up reading the whole book in one sitting(well yes, it was a long flight), along with another book I picked up. Wow, what can I say? It was so inspirational. After I got back to Japan, I found his last lecture online and was mesmerized. It really made to think about how I'm living my life and how I want to live my life.

I've always had this philosophy of wanting to live my life in a way that I won't have regrets when I die, which usually means jumping at the chance to take the road less traveled. Watching Randy Paush's last lecture reconfirmed that's how I want to live my life. Here's a man who knew death was approaching, but was so brave and stood firm in his beliefs, and did all he could for his family before he went. I think it's true, what he said, "It's not the things you DID that you'll regret, it's the things you DIDN'T do that you'll regret."

I sent links to a bunch of my friends recommending the video to them. I also bought the Japanese book with the DVD too, 'cause I wanted my Japanese friends to see/read it too. After reading a bit of the book in Japanese though, I realized the humor Randy brought into his talk didn't translate into JP too well, so that was too bad 'cause his humor is a big part of him being so inspirational. I mean, he's dying and he's making people laugh. That's amazing.

I only hope that when my time comes, I'll be able to look back and be able to say "Yup, it was a good life. I did everything I wanted to." One thing I'll definitely be happy about is to having gone to the Marshall Islands to volunteer for a year. It was an amazing experience I wouldn't trade for anything.

I read that Randy passed away on July 25. My heart goes out to his wife, Jai, and his three kids that he absolutely loved with every bit of his heart.