Surfing the Net. . .Finding True Inspiration. . .

. . . I have just finished reading this year's commencement address from Harvard University. The speaker was J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. Although I have NEVER read a single Harry Potter book (can you believe it?????), I found her speech to be incredibly inspirational.

If you don't choose to read the speech, or listen to the video tape, then here are two awesome quotes that are so very meaningful.

***** "You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity."

***** "Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes. "

So that you don't have to look up the word in a dictionary, and being the constant teacher that I am, even when on vacation, I am giving you the definition of vicissitude: a. a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance, b. a difficulty or hardship on a way of life, a career, or a course of action.

Her speech is entitled "The Fringe Benefit of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination." The link is below.

J.K. Rowlings, Harvard Address