This I Believe

I've been working for a few days now on a "This I Believe" essay. These are essays can be written by anyone, they are a personal essay showcasing a specific belief that one possess. If you want to see some examples of these essays, click here :) Without further ado...

          I believe in the simplicity of childhood. I believe that I will never stop learning, exploring, or growing.

          I believe in Disney movies. I am seventeen years old, too young to be an adult, too old to be a child, but I still love to indulge myself with the simple beauty and magic of Disney. On my iPod, I have the soundtrack to every Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, and all the others. I cry every time Mufasa dies and I am always delighted when the Sultan allows Aladdin and Jasmine to marry.

          I believe that a playground has the power to end my troubles and worries and that a swing is the perfect remedy to any problem. Even just the other day, when I was very upset about the events of the day, I found myself barefoot on a swing. I stayed at the playground for as long as I could, pretending to fly as the swing lifted me above the world.

          I believe in playing; going on adventures through corn fields with my neighbor. Once, during one of our expeditions, we discovered an old storm cellar, surrounded by trees and discretely located in the middle of an expansive corn field. That storm cellar provided hours of entertainment, as we concocted story after story explaining the purpose of the storm cellar.

          I believe that my imagination is my most valuable asset. My appearance is of an almost grown young woman, but secretly, I still believe in unicorns and fairy tales. I like to close my eyes and let my imagination take me to all sorts of new places, escaping me from reality. Without the freedom to pretend, I would have no interesting stories to tell. I would be an ordinary, regular, boring person.

          Sometimes people tell me to act my age, they tease me for watching Disney or for going to the playground, and they don’t want to hear of my explorations or of my vivid dream lands. But I don’t let them bring me down. I believe that I never have to grow up. A few days ago, I had to get a shot from the doctor and I insisted on a Popsicle afterwards. Not because I’m scared of shots, but because every child getting a shot receives a Popsicle after a shot. I believe that I will always be a child at heart.

          My dad is one of my greatest heroes partly because he acts as though he were eleven. It is because of his carefree persona and his youthful nature that my dad can always find a smile. I strive to be like my daddy, a successful person that still nurtures their inner child.