I went to Salt Lake City last weekend to celebrate my
sister’s baby shower with our Utah family, and it was so nice to be in the
mountains again.
I couldn’t help but snap a photo as the plane made its
descent over the glowing city lights. The phrase, “This is the place,” popped
into my head—what Brigham Young is said to have remarked when he led the
pioneers into the land surrounding the Great Salt Lake. With its geography
encompassing the beauty of both mountain and desert, I can’t say that I blame
him.
Aside from enjoying Utah for its scenery, the main reason I
love to visit of course is to spend time with my grandparents, uncles, aunts,
and cousins. And as a special bonus, it has become somewhat of a tradition for
me to meet up with my friend Lucy whenever I’m in town. We’ve known each other
since 6th grade and I’m so thankful that we’ve kept in touch since I
moved from California to Utah in 10th grade. Somehow, during these
once or twice a year meetings, we always end up at Coffee Garden, a café in the
hip retail neighborhood of 9th and 9th.
As we were sipping our drinks and catching up, we got to
talking about the importance of figuring out what we’re passionate about and
then doing it, and doing it often.
Lucy asked me whether I had ever seen the video
of professor Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon. Randy taught computer
science and became well known for his lecture (and book) on achieving childhood
dreams. He gave his lecture after receiving a diagnosis of cancer that only
allowed him a few months left to live. I had heard of the book and had even
seen his interviews on TV, but had never actually watched the video.
After returning home to Venice, I decided to sit down and
watch the hour and 15-minute talk on YouTube (it currently has over 15 million
views.) As I’m sure countless other people have, I found Randy and his lecture
to be truly inspirational and thought provoking. Here was a man who had not
only achieved his dreams, but had inspired his students to pursue their
passions, too. And with his lecture, he was able to share with millions his
advice on how to really live.
A few of Randy’s main points that resonated with me were:
·
Anything is possible.
·
Criticism is good—it means people still care
enough to say something.
·
You have to decide if you’re going to be a
Tigger or an Eyeore.
·
When you do what’s right, good things will
happen. (Karma!)
·
Obstacles, or “brick walls,” are there to help
you figure out how bad you want something.
·
Find the best in everyone.
·
Be good at something; it makes you valuable.
·
Work hard and don’t complain.
·
Help others.
·
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get
what you wanted.
·
You’ll need help from others to achieve your
dreams.
These points make up a good philosophy to live by, but what
if you don’t remember what your childhood dreams were? Or what if you no longer
want to be “a rodeo queen”? Then what do you do? This is what I was left to
wonder, and I still don’t know the answer.
But this is what I do know: I’m lucky enough to have people
in my life that fulfill that last bullet point. People like Danielle and Lucy
(and many more) who encourage me. I may not know precisely what I’m meant to be
doing, but there are people willing to help me figure it out.
Before leaving our coffee date, Lucy and I made a promise to
work on pursuing our dreams, she with her photography and me with my writing.
She is such an amazing photographer and I’m glad she’ll be posting her work
more often at LucyCall.com
And as for me, I’ll be trying to post more often, too. Here,
as a contributor on AndBubblegum, and here, as often as I can
manage.
Here’s to pursuing your dreams, whether childhood or not!
