po – My Geek Wisdom

“Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn’t make you who you are. It is the rest of your story. Who you choose to be.”

From: Kung-Fu Panda 2

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: The Soothsayer

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the animated film, Kung-Fu Panda 2. It is the sequel to the 2008 DreamWorks animated film and has Po face off against a dictator hellbent on taking over the country with his discovery of gunpowder.

The quote comes near the end of the film. Po (voiced once again by Jack Black) is badly hurt and is rescued by the soothsayer (voiced by Michelle Yeoh). Po starts to recall his past and how his parents gave up their lives to save him when he was very young. Po is initially distraught by this memory but the soothsayer delivers the quote. This makes him realize that, because of his parents’ sacrifice, he was able to live on and make new friends and live a happy and fruitful life.

Geek wisdom: While we may not have any control of our initial circumstances, we do have control of what we do with the rest of our lives. We have the power to change a bad situation as long as we put the necessary effort into overcoming it.

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”

From: Kung-Fu Panda

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Master Oogway

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote was suggested by our good friend, DJ Miller. He has contributed several quotes from Regular Show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, King of the Hill, Forrest Gump and Arthur. The quote comes from the animated film, Kung-Fu Panda. Kung-Fu Panda is the story of Po, a large and clumsy panda who dreams of being a great martial artist. He is announced as the next Dragon Warrior, much to the chagrin of the great master Shifu and the Furious Five. Throughout his training, it seems like there has been a mistake as Po’s clumsy and lazy attitude makes him virtually untrainable.

The quote comes from middle of the film as Po starts his training with Master Shifu and the Furious Five. Po does not do well with the training and decides to take refuge away from the temple. Po (voiced by Jack Black) meets up with Master Oogway and he tells him about how much he sucked at training and the others hate him. He thinks about quitting as he does not seem to have the mettle to be the legendary Dragon Warrior. Master Oogway tells him he’s too concerned about the past and the future then delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We all have a bad day from time to time. But we shouldn’t worry about what happens next. We should focus on the present situation instead of worrying about the failures of the past or future and concentrate on the now.

“There is no secret ingredient”

From: Kung-Fu Panda

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Po (and his father)

The story behind the quote: Kung-Fu Panda is the story of Po, a large and clumsy panda who dreams of being a great martial artist. He is announced as the next Dragon Warrior, much to the chagrin of the great master Shifu and the Furious Five. Throughout his training, it seems like there has been a mistake as Po’s clumsy and lazy attitude makes him virtually untrainable.

The quote comes from the climax of the film. Po receives the Dragon Scroll, which is supposed to unlock unlimitless power within someone. However, the scroll appears to be blank and only has a reflective surface inside. Distressed, Po decides to return to being a noodle soup vendor. Po asks his father the secret ingredient to his fantastic soup. And his father makes the startling revelation…

Geek wisdom: It’s incredibly easy to think you’re nobody special and actually talk yourself out of being the best you can be. The truth is, as long as you believe in yourself, you can do fantastic and amazing things! All you have to do is think and believe you are exceptional in your own way!

Thanks to his father, Po realized that the scroll was telling him that he was special and can do anything; all he had to do was to believe that he was special and he could do anything. And, because of that, he did become the legendary Dragon Warrior.