33. Spurred On By Tragedy

33. Spurred On By Tragedy

This tale is sad and beautiful at the same time. The man on the left was a drinker, an over-eater, and a heavy smoker. He knew he shouldn't have been doing any of those things, but he never got around to doing anything about it. He was always going to start a diet or kick the smoking habit 'tomorrow' or 'next month.' Tomorrow never arrived, and so he just carried on getting bigger, hitting 330 pounds. Then, struck down by a sudden and deadly illness, his wife passed away without warning. He was alone.

Although he could easily have given up on life in those circumstances, the lesson he took from it is that tomorrow is promised to nobody, and that if he wanted to change is life, he had to start immediately. He no longer smokes or drinks. He eats sensibly, and looks after himself. Now aged 45, he's in the best shape of his life. He found his strength in the worst of situations.

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Did You Know...

I

Most of your favorite celebrities either studied acting in college or went straight from high school into a life of the arts. But, hey, not all of them. Some celebrities actually have advanced college degrees.

II

Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as much of a genius as the one she plays on The Big Bang Theory. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.

III

Little known fact: Natalie Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Phantom Menace because she was studying for her high school exams. She had two papers published in scientific journals while she was still in high school, and graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Psychology.

IV

Before he was looking for answers on X-Files, David Duchovny was just trying to find the answers for English finals at Princeton University90. David graduated from Princeton in 1982 with a B.A in English. He continued to feed his love of literature by receiving a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale University. David was an excellent writer and poet. His work consistently received praise by his fellow classmates and teachers at Yale. His writing was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets.

V

Sigourney Weaver graduated from Stanford University in 1971 with a bachelor’s in Literature. It was while studying at Stanford that Sigourney realized her true passion in life was to become an actress. Shortly after graduation, she attended Yale for their well-known drama program. She would go on to receive a master’s in Acting from Yale University and become friends with fellow famous actress Meryl Streep.

VI

Meryl Streep is considered one of the most successful actresses of all time. She is also one of the most highly educated. Before collecting an array of Oscars, Meryl collected diplomas. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1971. Meryl has a habit of being unsatisfied with impressive accomplishments as her acting career has shown, so she attended Yale University and earned a master’s degree in Acting.

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