J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potterseries, is not only one of my favorite authors but one of the most inspirational people in my life. Her books were the foundation of my love for reading and gave me hope when I was experiencing the darkest point in my life. Her words continue to inspire and motivate me today, but rather than rereading Harry Potter every time I need a boost, I listen to her 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech. Rowling discusses the benefits of failure, the importance of imagination, and the necessity for humans to experience both. In 2015 a book version was released, titled Very Good Lives, but below is a video of the speech and I highly recommend watching it:
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Benefits of Failure
J.K. Rowling begins by discussing how her parents, who both grew up in poverty, wanted her to get a vocational degree but how she knew what she wanted to do was write novels, so she decided to study Classics instead. She doesn't blame her parents for this as their only hope was for her to never experience poverty, but during that time she was only worried about failure.
"I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiration date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you."
Before continuing her discussion, Rowling tells the graduates that she doesn't think that just because they are young they haven't experienced failure, but seeing as they are graduating from Harvard it is likely they haven't experienced much of it. To give them an example of great failure, she explains how just seven years after her graduation her marriage she was a unemployed single mother living in the poverty her parents had feared for her. Rowling states how she didn't know that her life would end up having a fairy-tale twist and that this time in her life was very dark and hopeless. But failure, while painful, gave her the ability to set anything not needed aside and focus on writing and rebuilding her life. Rowling finishes by explaining failure, then, was the best lesson she had ever received as it tested both her and her relationships to see what could withstand hardships, and this was all the knowledge she ever needed.
"So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."
Importance of Imagination
Rowling begins her new topic by saying how imagination is more than creativity; rather it is the force behind every discovery and invention as well as what enables humans to empathize. She then goes on to narrate her time at the African research department of Amnesty International's headquarters in London where she received letters and pictures from people living under authoritarian governments. Through working with people who were forever affected by the turmoil of these places, she was able to see how truly evil humans can be when power is at stake, but also the goodness of humans. Through their capacity to empathize, Rowling and her coworkers were inspired to save the people they would never meet. She continues to explain that this ability could also be used for manipulation, and that some people choose to ignore their imagination instead of acting on it.
"What is more, those who choose not to empathize enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy."
Rowling concludes her discussion of imagination with conveying to the graduates that if they choose to also work on the behalf of the others, they won't only be celebrated by their loved ones but also by those who they help. She finishes her speech by saying how the friendships they have found throughout their time at Harvard are truly valuable, and wishes them to have very good lives.
"We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."
