Very Good Lives

Very Good Lives

YA/adult nonfiction
"Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility, or
so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The
commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British
philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has
helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I
can't remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery
enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertantly
influence you to abandon promising careers in business, the law, or
politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard."
If you guess that the author of the above quote is J. K.
Rowling, congratulate yourself. This writer, best known for her Harry
Potter series, delivered a Harvard commencement speech. She
concentrated on two topics that are very close to her heart: failure
and imagination. Luckily those of us who weren't present can read her
narration, beautifully illustrated, in Very Good Lives.
Rowling wanted the newly minted grads to know that failure is
not the end of the world. It had figured prominently in her life.
Seven years after her own graduation she was a very poor, jobless
single parent. She found poverty very challenging. But she found
that she could survive failure.
"The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from
setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to
survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your
relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such
knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has
been worth more than any qualification I've ever earned."
I can second that idea. I've failed twice big time. In
undergrad college I was headed toward vet school when I flunked
organic chemistry. No problem. I could get my PhD and become a
college professor. I did just fine in grad school until I got one
grade too low on a required statistics class. I survived both times.
Thirty-one years after that grad school fiasco I am starting the
masters program of my dreams and believing that this time I will
prevail. Oh, yeah, the dark cloud had a shiny silver lining for me.
I met and married the love of my life and had three amazing children
who never would have been born if I'd "succeeded."
When Rowling discusses the importance of imagination she is not
just alluding to the ability to create enchanted kingdoms. She means
it more in the sense of empathy: "...the power that enables us to
empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared." One of
Rowling's first day jobs was with Amnesty International's London
headquarters. She learned about the depths of evil people are capable
of. She also learned how a committed organization can harness
people's empathy to fight that evil. One of her last paragraphs sums
up the concept beautifully.
"If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your
voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify
not only with the powerful but with the powerless; if you retain the
ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have
your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who
celebrate your existence but thousands and millions of people whose
reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to transform our
world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we
have the power to imagine better."
Amen to that!
On a personal note, this summer is all about getting ready for my
fall grad school adventure on three fronts. The first is financial.
I have a part time cafeteria job on campus. I'm looking for side gigs
like animal companion and child sitting and odd jobs to supplement.
I'm even crocheting scarves (from yard sale/thrift shop/repurposed
yarn) to sell while I sit in church or meetings. All I earn goes for
tuition and books because I'm only using bottle and can recycle money
for personal expenses. Second is getting ready for the time demands.
I'm quitting Peace & Justice Steering Committee. I'm writing my
opinion pieces for the paper and my reviews ahead of time. (See,
readers, I'm thinking of you.). And I'm cleaning the house and shed to
make them easy to maintain. Third is getting ready for the course
work by reading and reflecting.
A great big shout out goes out to you, my readers, who won't have to
do without my reviews at least fall semester.
jules hathaway


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