Passage 1

I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years since I graduated. I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called "real life", I want to stress the crucial importance of imagination.
   So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. 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. Philosopher Seneca said: As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.