... some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations.

Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way.

I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.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 to me than any qualification I ever earned.

- an excerpt from J. K. Rowling's Harvard Commencement Address


I could not agree more, there are failures in my life that are more valuable than any winnings and triumphs. I have recognized that I would have been a different person otherwise...

And friends, yes, those friends that stay... they are those who will stay for the next 100 years (even if we all cease to live that long enough, at least they are willing to be there!).