#4 Sophs Journal--Jim Valvano--Laugh, Think, and Cry
Jim Valvano coached the North Carolina State Wolfpack to an upset victory in the 1983 NCAA men's basketball championship game. Valvano parlayed this victory with his gift of public speaking to become one of the most likable and recognizable coaches in the land. I had the pleasure of listening to Valvano speak to a group of Delaware high school basketball coaches and All Stars. Leaving the Dover banquet hall that night, I thought to myself, "This guy is going to be a world shaker." Or something like that.His North Carolina State teams would never come close to matching the success of the 1983 season. Then came the news that Valvano had developed cancer.
Only ten years after his national championship, his body ravaged with cancerous tumors, Valvano was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY's (ESPN's annual BESTS). Valvano, an inspirational coach, was probably even a better public speaker. This speech will make you laugh, think, and cry, three things, that according to Valvano, you should do every day.
The Jimmy V Foundation was founded in his honor. It's still active and important today, raising millions of dollars to fight cancer. Dick Vitale, a well-known television basketball broadcaster and once a close friend of Valvano, is a main P.T. (Prime Time) Player in the battle against the insidious disease.
Your assignment: listen to the speech again (click on this link) and read the words to the speech at this link. Write your journal by responding to one or more of the following prompts:
1. What are the best parts (lines) of the speech? Why?
2. Tell me about the best 'pep talk' that you've ever received. Make sure to discuss the speaker, the situation, the audience, and the speaker's technique. Cite lines from the speech if you can.
3. How do you laugh, think, and cry each day?
4. Relate a personal story to any topic discussed in the speech.
5. Analyze the speech according to pathos, ethos, and logos.
posted by JTF @ 8:01 PM
18 comments
18 Comments:
I think the two best lines of the speech are "To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." and "its motto is 'Don't give up, don't ever give up.' and that's what I'm going to try to do every minute that I have left. I will thank God for the day and the moment I have." I laugh, think and cry every day. Each day in school I laugh with my friends, I laugh with teachers, with my parents, at my dog. I also think every day. I get up, and I think about how little time I have until the bus comes. Once I get on the bus, I think about how impossible it is to fall asleep at 6:18 with blaring music. Once I get to school, I think all day about how I'm going to bring up some grades and pass my classes. When I get home, I think about what I have to do that night. But once I get back in bed, I think about the whole day. I think about my life. What I've done, what I've experienced, who I've met and who I've lost. Which brings me to crying. Each night, whether it be rare real tears, or just silent tears in my heart, I cry for all the people I've lost. Timmy, Fran, Joan, Jack, Butch, Deirdre and Mommom and more. But then I can start to laugh again when I think about the good times I've had with all of them, good and bad, laughing and crying. The endless cycle of laughing, Thinking and crying continues.
One of the best ‘pep talks’ I have ever received was when I was 9 years old. I do not remember the full detail of the story, but I remember the impact it put on me and others. This speech that was given was during my 9 year old all-star baseball game. We were down 6-0 and it was getting close to the end of the game. If we lost we could be out of the tournament. Our coach took us all in the dugout and told us about an old college basketball team that was in a championship and was losing. He told us how they came together as a team and worked hard and won! They were known as the Comeback Pack, and he said we could be the Comeback Pack too. Something in this pep talk he gave must have clicked in the heads of my team and me. We went back out there and were getting hits, stealing bases, making great plays. We had come back to Win the state finals, and were the new state champions! I pitched the winning strike. From there on out were the new Comeback Pack!
Some of the best parts of Jim Valvano's speech have to do with spending your life right. He says that the three things you have to do each day, to make it a full day, is to laugh, think, and cry. I completely agree with him. Some of the best days I've ever spent have included those three aspects of life. I love to laugh because I'm just a happy person. People make me laugh everyday because I tend to laugh at the stupidest things. I think everyday in school and outside of school just to get my mind moving. Even if what I'm thinking about is something that's happening next weekend. I cry sometimes just because someone makes me laugh so hard. They are three aspects of life that no one can ignore. They happen everyday for a reason and they should. It's called living your life to the fullest. Those three things are what make your days full. I also agree with Jim Valvano when he said "And I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. And you have to be willing to work for it." This statement is completely true in my eyes. You should know what you want to do with you life. You should have a passion for whatever it is and this passion should push you further and make your dream really come true. Life is very important and I think that Jim Valvano had a very good way of grasping and explaining life. His speech really opened my eyes to what life truly is.
It’s no doubt that Jim Valvano’s ESPY awards speech is one of the most inspirational speeches of modern times. Valvano, with not long left in his life, his body crawling with cancerous tumors, gave a powerful speech that night, both meaningful and enjoyable. In my opinion the most important part of the speech is when Valvano stresses that it is important to enjoy your life, and to live every moment. When you think of this in the context of Valvano’s condition, you can only feel its true meaning even stronger. He had come to accept his fate. He knew that the cancer was going to take his life at some point, and how much time he had left was unclear. If anybody knows the importance of living life to the fullest, it would be him. He quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson’s saying that nothing can be accomplished without enthusiasm, and he’s absolutely right. He also stresses that nothing you have can deter you from living. This is especially prominent at the end of the speech, where he delivers the incredibly powerful line that his sickness can harm him physically, but cannot touch his mind, his heart, or his soul. Valvano did not see cancer as a handicap in this respect, and he let everyone know that he would be fine, as long as he had the three things that truly made him himself. I first watched the Jim Valvano speech with my Dad a long time ago, and I can remember just how much it impacted me then. Even now, years later, its message has not lost its meaning.
I just want to start off by saying that this speech really meant a lot to me and it really touched me. My pop-pop suffered from lung caner, and he was the greatest man you'll ever meet. I loved him so much and it was such a shame that cancer had to take his life at the young age of 62. He was always doing good things for other people, and lived with no regrets. Some parts that really stood out when I heard and read Jim Valvano's speech was when he said, "To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." This means so much to me because I think that Jim really understands what everyone’s life should be like. We shouldn't be wasting our days in drama or in anger, in regret or in hatred. We should be spending each day smiling and laughing at jokes, or just at anything, don't ever hold back. Everyone should think and put thought into their life, don't waste it while you still have it. Finally, we should have emotion in our lives each day. We should cry, from either laughing so hard we fall off our chair, or just from sadness, let it out. Another great part of Jim Valvano’s speech is when he is closing it out, and says, "I got one last thing and I said it before, and I'm gonna say it again: Cancer can take away all my physical ability. It cannot touch my mind; it cannot touch my heart; and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever." I love that part of his speech because it is so true. Just from watching this speech I can tell that he is such a great man. He needed help getting up and down the stairs to make his speech, but when he was delivering his speech, you would never know he was suffering from cancer. He had such humor and honesty, and such a great heart when he was saying his speech. It doesn't matter if cancer can take your physical abilities away because the person is still the same. My pop-pop also couldn't walk well, and had oxygen, and toward the end of his life, he was in a hospital bed that was brought to his house. This never stopped him from giving everyone big hugs, and saying he loved us. Cancer takes away so many lives, and Jim Valvano's speech should really open up everyone's eyes that we have to help, we have to pitch in, in order to save lives everywhere.
The whole speech Jimmy Valvano gave was very inspirational. He had some amazing parts that really stood out to me. One of the lines I liked was, “It's so important to know where you are. And I know where I am right now. How do you go from where you are to where you wanna be? And I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. And you have to be willing to work for it.” This means a lot to me because everybody has a future but not everyone knows how to get there. If you live life with such emotion and energy to work for something you love, than you will never be lost. The reason this line is definitely one of the best is because it relates to all people. Near the end of Jimmy Valvano’s inspiring speech he said, “I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you're emotions going.” This is a perfect ending to a perfect speech. I love this part because it shows people that life is very important and should be spent with three aspects in mind: laughter, thought, and emotion. This is what Jimmy kept in head everyday and followed with great care. His speech really opened a lot of doors for so many people. It expanded everyone’s way of thinking and not one part of his speech wasn’t inspirational.
The best pep talk I have ever received was from my older brother, Corey Olsen. One day he was teasing me like usual and I got really upset over something he jokingly said. He could tell I had tears in my eyes immediately after he said it. He knew he done wrong and he realized he had to fix the situation. At that moment he stopped tickling me, calling me names, and teasing me. Corey picked me up and set me on the counter in my kitchen and told me to look him in the eyes. I reluctantly obeyed and listened to what he had to say. I was expecting just a simple apology but I received a sort of “pep-talk”. Corey’s face was serious when he told me this, he said “Haley, don’t you know you should never take to heart the names people call you? You are better then any of those names and 100 times better then the people who say that about you. Listen to me when I tell you to never doubt yourself, continue believing in yourself, and most importantly always love yourself. You are so young but you already have developed a winning personality that you shouldn’t take for granted. You know I love you and the things I was saying were meaningless words. I’m your brother and even though we fight always remember that I will never lose faith in you and I will always love you no matter what. So keep your head held high and never let others put you down.” I was immediately shocked when I heard these words and the only thing I could manage to do was give my brother a huge hug. I will never forget that day when he told me these things and made me feel so good about myself.
The best pep talk I ever received was only a week or so ago after football practice. We were going up against a team that was five and one and we were also five and one and after coach was done talking one of the players got up to talk to us. We were all sweaty and tired and wanted to go home on one knee in a big circle and I can only speak for myself but I didn’t think about anything else when he started talking. It sounded rehearsed it was so focused he didn’t ramble or stutter or anything that people would normally do he just said it and I probably will never forget it. He talked about how we needed to have respect for the other team and that if we go in there expecting a win that we will not get it. He talked about how they were a team and how they worked together and supported each other and how we weren’t being like that and that’s how we need to be. But it wasn’t serious the whole time he started joking around after he got through all that stuff and that’s what I think made it memorable. I won’t go in to the details of that but it was a great speech, we thought, we laughed, and we didn’t cry. That’s not how we roll.
During the course of each day my emotions tend to change with the environment around me. Different events and activities change my mood and allow me to feel differently. Everyday I make sure I have the opportunity to laugh and think and I try to avoid crying. Many different things make me laugh because I generally am a pretty happy person. My friends are what keep me happiest and when I’m with them they can always cheer me up. My family also makes me laugh because they are always doing stupid things. I always try to be happy and am always laughing. During the day I have a lot of free time to just think. I’m always thinking about what people are saying to me, and actions that happen over the day. Before I go to bed I reflect on what occurred that day and other past events. One emotion that I find hard to do every day is cry. Although I am a very emotional person I try not to have bad thoughts cross my mind. However, crying is inevitable so when something sad happens I do cry. Like in the video, I also cry from being very happy or when something really funny happens and I can’t stop laughing. I think Jim Valvano is very inspirational and the things he said are very influential.
There are many great lines in this speech from Jim Valvano. One of these that I particularly that humorous was when Valvano was talking about giving his giving his first speech to his first coaching job, "Gentlemen, we'll be successful this year if you can focus on three things, and three things only: Your family, your religion, and the Green Bay Packers," Valvano was trying to give an inspirational speech that he based off of Lombardi but he ended up saying the same exact line that Lombardi gave to his players. This line really stood out to me. "I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have." This made me really realize how much people should treasure their lives because you only get to live one life. Overall, the line really touched was this "We need your help. I need your help. We need money for research. It may not save my life. It may save my children's life. It may save someone you love. And it's very important." Cancer is a very serious disease that can ruin the lives of your loved ones. Right now my grandfather is battling with lung cancer and one of my aunts had a serious case of breast cancer. This was a very good point that Valvano and the Jimmy V Foundation helped to save my family survive this terrible disease. All together, Valvano's speech was very inspirational and had life lessons that has actually helped me to love and appreciate life a bit more.
The best ‘pep talk’ I’ve ever received had to be a few weeks ago at my first soccer game in the season. My coach, Heather had just gotten back from Texas where the Texas Longhorns were playing. She started talking about how she was getting laughed at for not wearing anything orange, or with horns and how she saw that every single person was wearing a Texas Longhorn item. Fitting in with the crowd, she bought a car keychain, and a bright orange sweatshirt so she could fit in. Adding horns to her head, and a southern accent to her voice, we watched as she really got into what she was saying. The whole point of the talk was to emphasize how people in Texas were proud to be from Texas. They showed more spirit and put more heart into everything they did, and the state could feel a difference sense of comfort and that community bonds were being brought together. After comparing us to be Texas inhabitants for the day, we took all that pride and added it to our game. We were currently in Pennsylvania and she began saying that we should be proud to be from Delaware, and how we should represent our state. Just hearing those words coming from her mouth made me realize she was making complete sense. As my teammates listened with full ears, we were drenched with pride and within seconds, our confidence level boosting a level or two. Heather ended her speech with this, “Now c’mon y’all, go out there and show those Flyers’ fans to get the Blue Hens Sweatshirt.” That was honesty the best ‘pep talk’ I’ve ever received and until now, I still think and recall that moment before every game I play.
The best “pep talk” I have received was from my mom when I was 8 years old. My sister was 10 and we went from being best friends to fighting over things that were not important. At the time it seemed like the end of the world and we both got really mad. My mom would always say “your sister is your best friend.” I remember the first time she said this to us and I have never forgotten how important a sister is. The first time I remember her saying this was when we were fighting, and my mom sat us both down and told us that no matter what the only person who you can always trust is your sister. Although I have some great friends I still believe that what she said is true and I hope we will always stay as close as we are now. Megan and I went through times when we were not as close as now. When I was in lower school and she was in high school we seemed to grow apart. My freshmen year was her senior year at St. Marks and that was when we became as close as we are now. We would have long talks while driving to school and coming home every day. Although this “pep talk” is not related to Jim Valvano’s speech I will always remember what my mom said because of the impact it made on me.
The best pep talk I have ever recieved was from my mom. She was talking to me about how Iwas having touble in school at te time. What she told me was that I could'nt give up. Just like running a marathon when you are exhausted and tired and thinking that you couldn't do it eventualy you just have to pull through and keep going. I now apply that speach to everyday life and think about that so that I never give up and I always ty my hardest. That speech also applies to the thing that makes me laugh,think abd cry everyday becase it was such a powerful and strong speech. That speech matters so much to me and is probably why I am where I am today.
2. Looking back onto my past and trying to find a memory of when I was ever given a pep talk was pretty difficult. Normally when people say pep talks I think of sports and how the coaches always build up their players with positive things to say. Well, considering the fact that I don’t play any sports makes this assignment a lot harder. But for some reason when I thought of this topic, I thought of the one time I was really lifted up out of a horrible mood and put into a positive and carefree outlook on life. This amazing pep talk was given to me from my best friend Emily. It was on a day when I was just really feeling hopeless all because of, what else in a girl’s life, a boy. I felt so horrible that day that I just couldn’t allow myself to stop crying and even though it felt good, I had to be relieved of some of the pain. Looking back onto that day, I see myself sitting on my friend’s bed, not even trying to put on a good show, concluding to myself that my life sucks. I was texting my friend Emily and telling her about my issue and what she said in response to my problem was so helpful it should be written into a book. She said that we don’t need to worry about this kind of stuff in life because it honestly isn’t worth all of the sadness you go through. She said that I have nothing to be sad about in my life, even though it was harsh but true, and that a boy should not be able to control my moods at that much of a level. That line right there is what relieved me of the hopelessness I was feeling and I thank her everyday for those powerful words of wisdom that bring me back to reality ready to take on the world with a positive, worry-free attitude. And it wasn’t just at that moment, but every time I am faced with a pothole on the road I call my life. Thanks Emily. J
3. If laughing, thinking, and crying everyday make someone’s life good, then I am walking on sunshine. I absolutely love to laugh and I take every opportunity I’m given to do it (but only under the right circumstances, of course). Laughing is how I classify my days. If I laughed a lot one day then I conclude that it was a pretty awesome day filled with quality happiness. When I don’t laugh so much one day, then it wasn’t the best of days, and I can honestly say I have never gone one day without genuinely laughing so that rules all of the possible horrible days out. Thinking is a whole other story. The problem with thinking is that I do too much of it. Too much to the point that my problem is diagnosed, so as you can see I have thinking pretty much covered. I think about everything: friends, friendships, life, the universe, my parents, my family, myself, nature… the list is endless. Now, crying is the most I am lacking in. I can’t say that I cry everyday, and I don’t know if I want to. To me crying used to be something that happens when you get sad or just when you’re emotional. If I cried one day I thought to myself, “Gosh, now my day stinks.” But I’ve realized that it doesn’t have to be like that. You can just cry for the heck of it and still feel fine afterwards. It doesn’t have to be an earth-shattering situation and I like to think of it that way so if I do ever cry, then I have an excuse to still be okay afterwards.
2. Normally when people say pep talks I think of sports and how the coaches always build up their players with positive things to say. Well, considering the fact that I don’t play any sports makes this assignment a lot harder. But for some reason when I thought of this topic, I thought of the one time I was really lifted up out of a horrible mood and put into a positive and carefree outlook on life. This amazing pep talk was given to me from my best friend Emily. It was on a day when I was just really feeling hopeless all because of, what else in a girl’s life, a boy. Looking back onto that day, I see myself sitting on my friend’s bed, not even trying to put on a good show, concluding to myself that my life sucks. I was texting my friend Emily and telling her about my issue and what she said in response to my problem was so helpful it should be written into a book. She said that we don’t need to worry about this kind of stuff in life because it honestly isn’t worth all of the sadness you go through. She said that I have nothing to be sad about in my life, even though it was harsh but true, and that a boy should not be able to control my moods at that much of a level. That line right there is what relieved me of the hopelessness I was feeling and I thank her everyday for those powerful words of wisdom that bring me back to reality ready to take on the world with a positive, worry-free attitude. And it wasn’t just at that moment, but every time I am faced with a pothole on the road I call my life. Thanks Emily. J
3. If laughing, thinking, and crying everyday make someone’s life good, then I am walking on sunshine. I absolutely love to laugh and I take every opportunity I’m given to do it (but only under the right circumstances, of course). Laughing is how I classify my days. If I laughed a lot one day then I conclude that it was a pretty awesome day filled with quality happiness. When I don’t laugh so much one day, then it wasn’t the best of days, and I can honestly say I have never gone one day without genuinely laughing so that rules all of the possible horrible days out. Thinking is a whole other story. The problem with thinking is that I do too much of it. Too much to the point that my problem is diagnosed, so as you can see I have thinking pretty much covered. I think about everything: friends, friendships, life, the universe, my parents, my family, myself, nature… the list is endless. Now, crying is the most I am lacking in. I can’t say that I cry everyday, and I don’t know if I want to. To me crying used to be something that happens when you get sad or just when you’re emotional. If I cried one day I thought to myself, “Gosh, now my day stinks.” But I’ve realized that it doesn’t have to be like that. You can just cry for the heck of it and still feel fine afterwards. It doesn’t have to be an earth-shattering situation and I like to think of it that way so if I do ever cry, then I have an excuse to still be okay afterwards.
2. Normally when people say pep talks I think of sports and how the coaches always build up their players with positive things to say. Well, considering the fact that I don’t play any sports makes this assignment a lot harder. But for some reason when I thought of this topic, I thought of the one time I was really lifted up out of a horrible mood and put into a positive and carefree outlook on life. This amazing pep talk was given to me from my best friend Emily. It was on a day when I was just really feeling hopeless all because of, what else in a girl’s life, a boy. Looking back onto that day, I see myself sitting on my friend’s bed, not even trying to put on a good show, concluding to myself that my life sucks. I was texting my friend Emily and telling her about my issue and what she said in response to my problem was so helpful it should be written into a book. She said that I have nothing to be sad about in my life, even though it was harsh but true, and that a boy should not be able to control my moods at that much of a level. That line right there is what relieved me of the hopelessness I was feeling and I thank her everyday for those powerful words of wisdom that bring me back to reality ready to take on the world with a positive, worry-free attitude. And it wasn’t just at that moment, but every time I am faced with a pothole on the road I call my life. Thanks Emily. :)
3. If laughing, thinking, and crying everyday make someone’s life good, then I am walking on sunshine. I absolutely love to laugh and I take every opportunity I’m given to do it (but only under the right circumstances, of course). Laughing is how I classify my days. If I laughed a lot one day then I conclude that it was a pretty awesome day filled with quality happiness. On the other hand, thinking is a whole other story. The problem with thinking is that I do too much of it. Too much to the point that my problem is diagnosed, so as you can see I have thinking pretty much covered. Now, crying is the most I am lacking in. I can’t say that I cry everyday, and I don’t know if I want to. To me crying used to be something that happens when you get sad or just when you’re emotional. If I cried one day I thought to myself, “Gosh, now my day stinks.” But I’ve realized that it doesn’t have to be like that. You can just cry for the heck of it and still feel fine afterwards. It doesn’t have to be an earth-shattering situation and I like to think of it that way so if I do ever cry, then I have an excuse to still be okay afterwards.
Part 1
2. Looking back onto my past and trying to find a memory of when I was ever given a pep talk was pretty difficult. Normally when people say pep talks I think of sports and how the coaches always build up their players with positive things to say. Well, considering the fact that I don’t play any sports makes this assignment a lot harder. But for some reason when I thought of this topic, I thought of the one time I was really lifted up out of a horrible mood and put into a positive and carefree outlook on life. This amazing pep talk was given to me from my best friend Emily. It was on a day when I was just really feeling hopeless all because of, what else in a girl’s life, a boy. I felt so horrible that day that I just couldn’t allow myself to stop crying and even though it felt good, I had to be relieved of some of the pain. Looking back onto that day, I see myself sitting on my friend’s bed, not even trying to put on a good show, concluding to myself that my life sucks. I was texting my friend Emily and telling her about my issue and what she said in response to my problem was so helpful it should be written into a book. She said that we don’t need to worry about this kind of stuff in life because it honestly isn’t worth all of the sadness you go through. She said that I have nothing to be sad about in my life, even though it was harsh but true, and that a boy should not be able to control my moods at that much of a level. That line right there is what relieved me of the hopelessness I was feeling and I thank her everyday for those powerful words of wisdom that bring me back to reality ready to take on the world with a positive, worry-free attitude. And it wasn’t just at that moment, but every time I am faced with a pothole on the road I call my life. Thanks Emily.
Part 2
3. If laughing, thinking, and crying everyday make someone’s life good, then I am walking on sunshine. I absolutely love to laugh and I take every opportunity I’m given to do it (but only under the right circumstances, of course). Laughing is how I classify my days. If I laughed a lot one day then I conclude that it was a pretty awesome day filled with quality happiness. When I don’t laugh so much one day, then it wasn’t the best of days, and I can honestly say I have never gone one day without genuinely laughing so that rules all of the possible horrible days out. Thinking is a whole other story. The problem with thinking is that I do too much of it. Too much to the point that my problem is diagnosed, so as you can see I have thinking pretty much covered. I think about everything: friends, friendships, life, the universe, my parents, my family, myself, nature… the list is endless. Now, crying is the most I am lacking in. I can’t say that I cry everyday, and I don’t know if I want to. To me crying used to be something that happens when you get sad or just when you’re emotional. If I cried one day I thought to myself, “Gosh, now my day stinks.” But I’ve realized that it doesn’t have to be like that. You can just cry for the heck of it and still feel fine afterwards. It doesn’t have to be an earth-shattering situation and I like to think of it that way so if I do ever cry, then I have an excuse to still be okay afterwards.
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