Not food, but really cool nonetheless...

I found a link to the Harvard University commencement speech given by J.K. Rowling. As a more than avid Harry Potter fan, I had to listen. She is such an intelligent person. All my fan-gushing aside (and for the record my celebrity freebie would be Alan Rickman in character as Severus Snape - oh, his sexy slippery voice! his snarky sarcasm! his dungeon!), there is so much written into the simple syntax of her stories.

Anyone who is struggling with anything - finding him/herself, graduate school, body image, a clash with a family member(s) - should give Rowling a listen. No stranger to struggling herself, she very eloquently differentiates between often confused concepts; for instance, she says to simply be poor is not enobling, and in fact, it's degrading and stressful. But finding the strength to rise above it is what makes it a worthwhile experience, because had you not been poor, perhaps you may never have discovered the inner strength you do in fact have.

(Heck, I've impressed plenty of people by not dropping out of grad school after failing candidacy... although I didn't think about it until they told me. It was nice being told, though. :) )

It made me think about Harry Potter's beginnings. He was conceived in a station while Rowling waited for a late train. Think what she's done. She went from working in cafes on the public dole to speaking at Harvard commencement. Imagine if the next time we were stuck in traffic, waiting for a train, or sitting in a doctor's office we started letting our imaginations work, carry us off like hers did instead of letting ourselves sit and fume over the time that was being wasted. How much more productive and enjoyable it would be!

Ultimately, Rowling told a story of hope, tenacity, and love. We may not all be storytellers, and I'm no wordsmith myself, but we can still take note. And who knows what can be conjured out of a 45 minute delay and the right cocktail of events?

Bottom line? Listen to the speech. It's intelligent, interesting, and funny.