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Dr. Randy Pausch, diagnosed with terminal cancer, delivered a last lecture on life lessons that has been viewed online over a million times.  What would be in your life lessons lecture?

1. In the end, everything will be all right. (Someone died while I held their hand, so I know this to be true from witnessing the end happening in front of me.)

2. The best ways to stay young:

a. Don't lose all of your childlike enthusiasm for the little things. Remember when an ice cream cone or a spotting a salamander could make you excited.

b. Stay active. Play and jump. Just keep moving.

c. Never stop trying to improve your education. Learn and think.

d. Use unscreen and consume antioxidants. Don't smoke.

3. Stop taking things for granted, especially your relatives and close friends. Accidents can happen at any age, so take the time to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you now.

4. Although our country might be flawed, most of us Americans will get to eat dinner tonight, and most of us get to live in relative peace, and these are great gifts. Most of us will never know how it feels to be a war zone refugee, for example. And that's something to be grateful about.

5. Try not to yell at your kids. All they hear is hurt; they won't hear the lesson you are trying to teach them. (But don't be too hard on yourself if you slip sometimes--we all end up yelling at our kids once in awhile.)

6. Just because someone contributes genetic material to the generation of a new child, it does not automatically make them a parent.

7. Reuse, recycle, have a yard sale, donate to thrift.

8. Everyone needs some "alone time" once in awhile--it doesn't mean you are antisocial or ungrateful for your family or friends. But everyone also needs some "social time" making connections with other people once in awhile, too. Otherwise you just end up hoarding cats in your house and piling newspapers eight feel deep in your hallways. (Or, in the case of a relative of mine, stockpiling toilet paper, paper towels, socks, and tissues to the extent that when you die, these stockpiled items supply 4 households with paper goods for 6+ months.) 

9. Americans get less vacation time than nearly any other group of workers in the world. No one ever died saying "I wish I had spent more time sitting in my beige cubicle in the office park!" Take your vacation. Demand time off.

10. Time moves way too fast, so don't feel guilty if you skip out on cleaning the bathtub in favor of frolicking outside instead.

I know, these observations of mine are pretty cliche, but nonetheless this is some of the big stuff life that has taught me so far.