"Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May" - "Carpe Diem" - "Seize the Day!"
Inspiring but unorthodox Welton Academy English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) spoke to his male prep school students after taking them out of the classroom into the main entranceway or hallway. He had them first discuss the phrase "Carpe Diem" (or "Seize the Day") from a hymnal (page 542), then had them approach glass display cases filled with trophies, footballs, and team pictures. He emphasized that they should make the most of their short lives:
'O Captain, my Captain.' Who knows where that comes from? Anybody? Not a clue? It's from a poem by Walt Whitman about Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Now in this class, you can either call me Mr. Keating, or if you're slightly more daring, O Captain, my Captain. Now let me dispel a few rumors so they don't fester into facts. Yes, I too attended Hell-ton and survived. And no, at that time I was not the mental giant you see before you. I was the intellectual equivalent of a ninety-eight pound weakling. I would go to the beach and people would kick copies of Byron in my face....
'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.' The Latin term for that sentiment is Carpe Diem. Now who knows what that means?...Seize the day. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Why does the writer use these lines?...Because we are food for worms, lads. Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is one day gonna stop breathing, turn cold, and die.
Now I would like you to step forward over here and peruse some of the faces from the past. You've walked past them many times. I don't think you've really looked at them. They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen. Do you hear it? (whispering in a gruff voice) Carpe. Hear it? (whispering) Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the day boys. Make your lives extraordinary.
Where there's a will, there's a way
That's what they'll say
A friend in need is a friend indeed
He'll be there every day
And if it's trouble that's in store
You know they'll tell you even more
Where there's a will, there's a way
That's what they'll say
When the writing is on the wall
And if you could fall
When your best ain't good enough
And life's tough
When the lad of hope and dreams
Isn't always what it seems
Where there's a will, there's a way
They always say
You may be sorry, you may be sad, you may be blue
You think you'll never see the sun come breaking thru
You struggle morning noon and night
And you still I can't get it right
But where there's a will, there's a way
Just say it every day
Well so much for trouble, so much for heartache
so much for pain
You just gotta get up, you just gotta reach out
You gotta try and try again
You think you'll never see it thru
But what the hell you gonna do
Where there's a will, there's a way
You've heard'em say
Well I don't no nothing 'bout this world
and all it's wrong
I can tell you now,
why we all can't get along
But after all is said and done
We gotta keep on, keepin' on
'Cos where there's a will, there's a way
I don't know what to say
Thru all your sorrows
all your dreams, and all your joys
In times of sadness,
in time of grief
and even times that you enjoy
As your life you live it through
You know it all depends on you
And if where there's a will, there's a way
You better get down and pray
From the cradle to the grave
You better say it every day
When the crime's above the law
When the plane's about to fall
When the mighty oceans roar
When tomorrow's at your door
Where there's a will, there's a way
That's what they'll say
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