Yes, it has made me happier. Finishing them has made me happier. Before I wrote the Potter books, I'd never finished a novel. I came close to finishing two.

What's life without a little risk?

It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.

We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.

It is our choices... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.

The world is full of wonderful things you haven't seen yet. Don't ever give up on the chance of seeing them.

There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.

Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!

Twilight fell: The sky turned to a light, dusky purple littered with tiny silver stars.

There are gifts and talents that have not yet been used and power which has not been applied

Life is full of chances, and today I hope you take each and every one of them.

Compassion for humanity begins with compassion and respect for all beings.

Idolatrous beliefs have eroded the foundations of truth. Whether ancient or modern, all have posed alternatives to the biblical way of approaching God.

Wisdom alone is true ambition's aim, wisdom is the source of virtue and of fame; obtained with labour, for mankind employed, and then, when most you share it, best enjoyed.

You don't know how it would have turned out if [kids] would grown up in Chicago instead, and a more normal environment.

I congratulate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton on her victory. But, I think, for us, that is about as bad as it's going to get.

Should each individual snowflake be held accountable for the avalanche?

Kids aren't going to understand single life in New York City

That we must all die, we always knew, I wish I had sooner remembred it.