Last semester (yes I’m a college student) I took a class called Blogging as a Social Force. I know, I took a blogging class in college which counts as 4 credits towards my bachelor’s degree and I still suck at blogging. Anyway, in this class we were shown an online video of something that has come to be known as “Last Lecture”, a lecture given by Randy Pausch, a computer science professor. It had absolutely nothing to do with blogging, but my professor felt it was important enough that we should spend a class and a half watching it. She was absolutely right.

In September 2006 Professor Randy Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was given 3 to 6 months to live (he blew that out of the water!). Now in the education industry the idea of the “last lecture” is basically, if you knew you were dying and you only had one lecture left, what would it be? Most professors give the lecture as a hypothetical “what if I were about to die, this is what I’d tell you about” but for Professor Pausch the opportunity to lecture about the most important thing in his life before he passed on became a reality.

A month after his diagnosis at Carnegie Mellon University where he taught Professor Pausch gave his “Last Lecture”. Most of the audience wasn’t aware he had cancer until he announced it at the beginning of the lecture and then proceeded to do push-ups on the stage to show just how strong and healthy he was, no sympathy for him!

The words that he spoke after the announcement were insightful, funny, thought-provoking ones that have been an inspiration to millions. It was about his journey through life, his experiences, how he over came walls, made friends and achieved what he wanted in life and he was trying to show people how to do it too. In the end though, he revealed this “Last Lecture” wasn’t for the audience in front of him at all, but was intended as a legacy for his kids.

Now I don’t usually get too serious on the Daily Brew but Randy Pausch was an amazing guy whose lecture really touched me. Sadly Professor Randy Pausch died early this morning in Virginia. He leaves behind a beautiful wife and three adorable kids, as well as a legacy that has been and no doubt will be still inspiring millions of people, including his own family for years to come.

“The Last Lecture” is a little over an hour but it’s really worth taking a look at. Check it out.