J K Rowling: "I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination"

Rowling is such a beautiful writer. Here are a few quotes from her 2008 Commencement Speech at Harvard.

"Talent and intelligence never yet innoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates..." 

"And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." 

"Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes." 

"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."

I love her choice of words. An exquisite speech and masterpiece of writing. A transcript of her speech can be found here: http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/06/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination