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Valvano's last words are required reading

School's stresses might be getting the best of students, but they should think about how fortunate they really are.

Grant Tunkel

Media Credit: Bryan Young | Daily Trojan

Slow down.

I know that's an impossible request these days. The mid-semester cycle of classes, midterms, homework, showering and sleeping - repeated Monday through Wednesday, plus partying to celebrate finishing midterms Thursday night and all of Friday and Saturday - is indeed difficult and seemingly endless.

But try to take a minute out of your busy day and just enjoy some peaceful moments. Enjoy life. If you won't take it from me, then take it from him.

Him being the man whose life was tragically cut short; the man whose coaching exploits are legendary in college basketball; the man who knew how to get the most out of life and enjoy it, too.

He is Jim Valvano, former head basketball coach at North Carolina State, among other schools.

He died on April 28, 1993, after a battle with cancer.

Valvano gave a speech at the ESPY Awards on March 4, 1993, 14 years ago Sunday.

You may not hear anything about that speech this month. You'll probably hear his famous mantra, "Survive and advance, survive and advance," as teams win close games during the NCAA March Madness tournament. You'll probably see video of Valvano running around wildly after his Wolfpack won the 1983 NCAA Title.

But the most important of his March memories is the speech.

It's a speech that should be required reading for everyone - required viewing, too. When you're done reading this, look for a video of his speech. I'm sure you can find it anywhere. But watch it. And listen to it. And take its words to heart.

Pay close attention to his emphatic plea, "Don't give up, don't ever give up." It's usually around that point where I choke up, and tears begin rolling down my face. It is that kind of speech, the one that moves and saddens you, as well as inspires you.

But I'm not writing this to get you feel for his plight or write a motivational speech of sorts, or even to donate money to the Jimmy V Foundation.

I'm writing this because the part of his speech that many people do forget is the part that needs to be remembered and taken to heart.

He offered advice to everyone. He said, "To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives."

"No. 1 one is laugh. You should laugh every day," he began.

That doesn't seem so hard, does it? Stop for a second and just laugh. Laugh about your midterms when you say, "I'm going to fail this for sure" and then study like a madman. Then laugh again when you get back your "A" and say, "That wasn't that hard." Make sure you laugh every day, at least once, about something. Even if you get back a "C," find something that makes you happy. Laugh at your friend's funny joke. Just find a reason to laugh.

"No. 2 two is think. You should spend some time in thought," Valvano said.

He didn't mean "think about school or your economics homework or that paper due tomorrow." He meant think about life. Think about what truly is amazing. Think about the great times you spend with your friends and family. Just stop and think.

"No. 3 three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy," he continued.

Yes, cry a little. Cry tears of sadness or tears of joy. Laugh so hard that you start to cry. Heck, that even kills two birds with one stone. But find a reason to cry.

He finished with, "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 he's right. If every day of every week you laugh, think and cry, you will have something special.

But even if you don't cry every day, you can still practice what Valvano preaches.

What he's really saying is, slow down. Take a step back. You'll realize that life is too short to constantly be moving that quickly and constantly be stressing over everything.

He's not advocating forgetting about school and partying all the time. He's advocating getting the most out of life. By laughing, by thinking, by crying - by slowing down and really enjoying every single moment.

It's something we all don't do enough of.

-

Grant Tunkel is a broadcast journalism freshman from Oceanside, N.Y.

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