【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 tivated just by imagining. Now granted these things donamp。rsquo。t necessarity help me answer the most mon question Iamp。rsquo。m asked: What designer are you wearing? Whatamp。rsquo。s your fitness regime? Any make up tips? But I have never since been embarrassed to myself as what I might previously have thought was stupid question. My Harvard degree and other awards are emblems of the experiences which led me to them. The wood paneled lecture halls, the colorful fall leaves, the hot vanilla Toscaninis, reading great novels in overstuffed library chairs, running through dining halls screaming: Ooh! Ah! City steps!City steps!City steps!City steps!
　　Itamp。rsquo。s easy now to romanticize my time here. But I had some very difficult times here to. Some bination of being 19, dealing with my first heartbreak, taking birth control pills that have since been taken off the market for their depressive side effects, and spending too much time missing day light during winter months, led me to some pretty dark moments. Particularly during sophomore year, there were several occasions where I started crying in meetings with professors. Overwhelmed with what I was supposed to pull off. When I could barely get myself out of bed in the when I took on the motto for my school work. Done. Not only I could finish my work, even if it took eating a jumbo pack of sour Patch Kids to get me through a single 10page paper. I felt that Iamp。rsquo。ve acplished a great feat. I repeat to myself. good.
　　A couple of years ago, I went to Tokyo with my husband, and I ate at the most remarkable sushi restaurant. I donamp。rsquo。t even eat fish. Iamp。rsquo。m vegan. So that tells you how good it was. Even with just vegetables, this sushi was the stuff you dreamed about. The restaurant has six seats. My husband and I marveled at how anyone can make rice so superior to all other rice. We wondered why they didnamp。rsquo。t make a bigger restaurant and be the most popular place in town. Our local friends explains to us that all the best restaurants in Tokyo are that small, and do only one type of dish: sushi or tempura or teriyaki. Because they want to do that thing well and beautifully. And itamp。rsquo。s not about quantity. Itamp。rsquo。s about taking pleasure in the perfection and beauty of the particular.
　　Iamp。rsquo。m still learning now that itamp。rsquo。s about good and maybe never done. And the joy and work ethic and virtuosity we bring to the particular can impart a singular type of enjoyment to those we give to, and of course,to ourselves.
　　In my professional life, it also took me time to find my own reasons for doing my work. The first film I was in came out in 1994. Again, appallingly, the year most of you were born. I was 13 years old upon the filmamp。rsquo。s release and I came still quote what the New York Time said about me Portman poses better than she acts. The film had a universally tepid eristic response and went on to bomb mercially. That film was called The Professional, or Leon in Europe. And today, 20 years and 35 films later, it is still the film people approach me about the most to tell me how much they loved it, how much it moved them, how itamp。rsquo。s their favourite movie. I feel lucky that my first experience of releasing a film was initially such a disaster by all standards and measures. I learned early that my meaning had to be from the experience of making the film and the possibility of connecting with individuals rather than the foremost trophies in my industry: financial and critical success. And also these initial reactions could be false predictors of your works ultimate legacy.
　　I started choosing only jobs that Iamp。rsquo。m passionate about and from which I knew I could glean meaningful experiences. This thoroughly confused everyone around me: agents, producers, and audiences alike. I made Goyaamp。rsquo。s Ghost, a foreign independent film and studied act history visiting the produce everyday for 4 months as I read about Goya and the Spanish Inquisition. I made V for Vendetta, s