The Last Lecture
By Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow
By: Sophelia Martinez
Summary of Book
Most Memorable Thing
Most important word
It's important because sometimes people get so caught up in their own world trying to accomplish something, that they forget to appreciate the things that they already have. It is important to set goals for yourself, but you can't forget that you already have things in your life that also matter. People sometimes forget to appreciate the fact that they have people who care, a house, and even good health. Nothing is ever guaranteed in life, so you should always remember to appreciate everything you have in your life before you complain about what you don't have or can't have.
Most important phrase
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
I believe that this is the most important phrase because I feel like this whole book sort of revolved around the idea of not giving up. He shared stories from his childhood all the way to his life before passing, and it was all about how hard he tried. He always had his parents motivate him in a way and that made him want to achieve his dreams. Some people say they want to do something, but stop when times get difficult. If someone truly wants something, they will find a way to fix the problem and they will knock over this "brick wall."
Most important quote
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
This basically says you can't change some things in life, so you have to learn how to adapt to the situation and make the best of it. Sometimes things that suck will happen and you will want to complain about it, but it's not going to change anything. You have to make the best of the worst. That is very true in most cases and it is something that I will always remember. A lot of people, including myself, complain about things that we can't change, so we should just learn to accept it and make the best of it.
Questions I still have
Who would i recommend this book to?
Vocabulary
- Bravado: bold; kind of like showing off
- Gallows: in this context it meant humor that is about something unpleasant, serious, painful, etc.
- Roused: wake up
- Tinkering: adjusting
- Palliative: soothing