From her convocation speech:
I mentioned before about being obsessive. Some see obsessiveness as only a negative trait. I see it in a positive light, as it goes hand in hand with passion and is an essential ingredient of the creative mind. My friends, the great Canadian songwriters Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot did not write their masterpieces by scribbling a line here and there in between a normal life. They fell in love with words and phrases and melodies, often staying up all night... writing...making mistakes... perfecting...rewriting... anguishing... until the magic happened and the song was born. I know about this as I do the same. Artists need to be loners. They have to be obsessive if they want to create something that resonates in the hearts and minds of others. Could Ludwig Von Beethoven have written such magnificent symphonies if he was a nice, sociable guy? Could Chopin have left us those immortal Nocturnes if he had not been so driven? Could Glenn Gould have recorded his Goldberg Variations if he wasn't consumed by his passion for the music of Bach?
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