魏文彬在哈弗上的讲话j.k.罗琳2008哈佛毕业典礼演讲presidentfaust，membersoftheharvardcorporationandtheboardofoverseers，membersofthefaculty，proudparents，and，aboveall，graduates.thefirstthingiwouldliketosayis‘thankyou.’notonlyhasharvardgivenmeanextraordinaryhonour，buttheweeksoffearandnauseaihaveenduredatthethoughtofgivingthiscommencementaddresshavemademeloseweight.awin-winsituation。nowallihavetodoistakedeepbreaths，squintattheredbannersandconvincemyselfthatiamattheworld’slargestgryffindorreunion.deliveringacommencementaddressisagreatresponsibility;orsoithoughtuntilicastmymindbacktomyowngraduation.thecommencementspeakerthatdaywasthedistinguishedbritishphilosopherbaronessmarywarnock.reflectingonherspeechhashelpedmeenormouslyinwritingthisone，becauseitturnsoutthatican’trememberasinglewordshesaid.thisliberatingdiscoveryenablesmetoproceedwithoutanyfearthatimightinadvertentlyinfluenceyoutoabandonpromisingcareersinbusiness，thelaworpoliticsforthegiddydelightsofbecomingagaywizard.yousee。ifallyourememberinyearstocomeisthe‘gaywizard’joke，i’vecomeoutaheadofbaronessmarywarnock.achievablegoals：thefirststeptoselfimprovement.actually，ihavewrackedmymindandheartforwhatioughttosaytoyoutoday.ihaveaskedmyselfwhatiwishihadknownatmyowngraduation，andwhatimportantlessonsihavelearnedinthe21yearsthathaveexpiredbetweenthatdayandthis.ihavecomeupwithtwoanswers.onthiswonderfuldaywhenwearegatheredtogethertocelebrateyouracademicsuccess，ihavedecidedtotalktoyouaboutthebenefitsoffailure.andasyoustandonthethresholdofwhatissometimescalled‘reallife’，iw第1页共9页anttoextolthecrucialimportanceofimagination.thesemayseemquixoticorparadoxicalchoices，butpleasebearwithme.lookingbackatthe21-year-oldthatiwasatgraduation，isaslightlyuncomfortableexperienceforthe42-year-oldthatshehasbecome.halfmylifetimeago，iwasstrikinganuneasybalancebetweentheambitionihadformyself，andwhatthoseclosesttomeexpectedofme.iwasconvincedthattheonlythingiwantedtodo，ever，wastowritenovels.however，myparents，bothofwhomcamefromimpoverishedbackgroundsandneitherofwhomhadbeentocollege，tooktheviewthatmyoveractiveimaginationwasanamusingpersonalquirkthatwouldneverpayamortgage，orsecureapension.iknowthattheironystrikeswiththeforceofacartoonanvil，now.sotheyhopedthatiwouldtakeavocationaldegree;iwantedtostudyenglishliterature.acompromisewasreachedthatinretrospectsatisfiednobody，andiwentuptostudymodernlanguages.hardlyhadmyparents’carroundedthecornerattheendoftheroadthaniditchedgermanandscuttledoffdowntheclassicscorridor.icannotremembertellingmyparentsthatiwasstudyingclassics;theymightwellhavefoundoutforthefirsttimeongraduationday.ofallthesubjectsonthisplanet，ithinktheywouldhavebeenhardputtonameonelessusefulthangreekmythologywhenitcametosecuringthekeystoanexecutivebathroom.iwouldliketomakeitclear，inparenthesis，thatidonotblamemyparentsfortheirpointofview.thereisanexpirydateonblamingyourparentsforsteeringyouinthewrongdirection;themomentyouareoldenoughtotakethewheel，responsibilitylieswithyou.whatismore，icannotcriticisemyparentsforhopingthatiwouldneverexperiencepoverty.theyhadbeenpoorthemselves，andihavesincebeenpoor，andiquiteagreewiththemthatiti第2页共9页snotanennoblingexperience.povertyentailsfear，andstress，andsometimesdepression;itmeansathousandpettyhumiliationsandhardships.climbingoutofpovertybyyourownefforts，thatisindeed...
