Christopher Kennedy Lawford stops by Northwood!

New York Times best-seller and author of two books, Christopher Kennedy Lawford stopped by the Northwood campus last Wednesday, the 20^th of October. This speech was part of our new Values Emphasis program on campus.

I wasn’t sure what to expect out of his speech, and I was actually planning on working during the time he’d be on campus. At the last minute, one of my good friends Rosa asked if I wanted to attend. I decided to see what this guy was all about, so we both went to the Hopkins Building Rotunda.

A Santa Monica, California native, Mr. Lawford has traveled the country most of his life. He is the nephew of Ted Kennedy and John F. Kennedy… yes, John F. Kennedy.

(As in this man right here!)

Mr. Lawford's goals were to go to Harvard, write a book, and ultimately become the President. Unfortunately, that all went downhill after his first time doing drugs. This led to a 17-year addiction, with 10 of those years being a medicated addiction.

Now, I know what you’re thinking… “What is he preaching about? Who cares? That won’t ever happen to me.”

Mr. Lawford wasn’t preaching at us. He was telling us his story. We could either choose to learn from it, or just take it as another presentation. I chose to learn from it.

I got the chance to speak with Mr. Lawford after his presentation. (He was actually twenty-minutes late to his Luncheon on campus by this time, but he still stopped to talk to me!) I got some great advice, and an autograph. :P

After being in jail on three separate occasions and surviving being in hospital Intensive Care Units the same amount of times, he knows what it’s like to appreciate being alive even though he shouldn’t be. (These are his own words.)

I learned a lot from Mr. Lawford; the main thing being that life is too short to not enjoy it. It’s okay to have a hard time or to be sad, as long as you know you will get up at the end of the day and keep going. (Count that as my advice to you as well!)

The bookstore is now selling one of his books, and I can’t wait to go buy it. Miguel, who works in the bookstore, sent me this wonderful picture of their display!

I hope you all enjoyed the blog! I have a lot more fun stuff to talk about, so look for another update within the week! Have a great Halloween weekend! (And if you haven’t already… check out Melissa’s blog about Boo at the Zoo! Her Lego costume? Epic!)

*Erica