I believe . . .
The 2012 apocalypse was prevented by a group of teenagers and a wise librarian.
I believe . . .
There are things in the dark that are not there in the light.
I believe . . .
If I go into a coma I will wake up with super powers.
I believe . . .
Heaven is a giant library where every book that has ever been published has a spot on the shelves . . . Prove me wrong.
I believe in the power of the imagination. Without imagination there would be no music, no art, no books or poetry, movies, or even cartoons. Can you see going through life, stuck day in and day out firmly in reality? Terrifying! We become what we dream; we are what we believe.
When I was a little girl, I believed there were monsters under my bed, and if I put a sandwich and a glass of water on the floor they wouldn’t eat me. I also believed my teddy bear was magical and would keep the nightmares away.
A man stood looking at a barren desert landscape and imagined a gigantic structure that pointed to the heavens. Through that imagining, the great pyramids were built and those monuments have endured for more than 5,000 years.
The ability to think, “I wonder,” or “I wish,” or “what if,” have shaped our civilization since man first climbed down from the trees.
Albert Einstein, one of the greatest thinkers in the world once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world.”
Robert Fulghum said, “I believe imagination is stronger than knowledge, that myth is more potent than history, that dreams are more powerful that facts.”
Ancient man looked into the night sky and saw patterns in the stars. From these patterns they made up stories about Gods, heroes and monsters that so captured our imaginations. We still know the stories of Hercules and Zeus, Taurus the bull and Leo the lion. Ancient men looked at the moon and wondered what was up there. Later, other people were able to use their imagination to figure out a way to go up, finding out there wasn’t much.
What would the world be like if Steven King had never thought, “I wonder what would happen if the government created a super-flu and it escaped from the lab?” Or if J.K.Rowling had never imagined a small boy with a lightning scar and a heroic destiny?
Reality sucks; how wonderful is it that we have the awesome ability to escape from the reality of bills, jobs and homework to travel to distant worlds? The ability to travel to our own world in the distant past or future, to meet exciting people who have never existed and go on amazing adventures without leaving the comfort of your favorite easy chair?
We have the power see the landscapes and smell the smells and hear the sounds as clearly as you are seeing and hearing now. How many of you are in those worlds right now?
People ask “why are we here, what are we for, what is the meaning of life?” I believe the answer is to dream to imagine what could be. Shel Silverstein said it best — “If you are a dreamer come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper a prayer, a magic bean buyer — if you’re a pretender come sit by my fire.”
This is what I believe.
Students are welcome to submit their own “This I believe” writing pieces.
The Clarion is also open to other student-written opinion pieces that may have been written for a class.
If interested, submit your opinion piece to clarion@sinclair.edu.
If submitted, we reserve the right to edit the writing piece before it is published. Students should also keep in mind that submission does not guarantee publication.