-Randy Pausch’s last lecture is a couple of years old, but never gets old. I re-watched it this week – in the course of the “excellent teaching on film” movie series – and I think it is one of the most inspiring things you can find on youtube. If you haven’t seen it (or haven’t seen it in a while) then why don’t you invest in an hour well spent now? Also, it got me thinking about my childhood dreams and whether I achieved them:

• Be in the jungle as a biologist
  Biology as a major in high school killed that for me, but I still enjoy being in the jungle every once in a while.
• Win the Olympics
  Obviously did not achieve that, but sometimes I try to imagine in fencing that it’s the Olympic final and see whether that makes me fence better. Also, I wonder whether winning is really that important.
• Write a book
  I guess being a PhD student brings you pretty close to this.
• Own a dog or a horse
  Maybe one day – but also I also re-thought the concept of “owning” an animal.
• Be on stage as a comedian
  Again – maybe one day. However, I managed to be on stage with my drumming class.
• Never get married and live with my best friends and lots of dogs in a house in the woods.
  Happily ditched that one and rather make plans on where to put a house to live in with my husband.

Randy Pausch died 8 years ago today from pancreatic cancer.