“This I Believe” Essay – Your Turn to Write

Teachers, Students, Community Members, and People Afar,

I invite you to write an essay called “This I Believe” for the public to read and hear, in a tradition that began as a radio program in the 1950s hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow and has continued through the decades.

Each essay should be 500-600 words, and I will post all essays I receive here on my blog. In the “This I Believe” tradition, each essay needs to be accompanied by a photo of the author as well as a recording of the author reading their essay in a quiet, appropriate setting. To record yourself, simply go to online-voice-recorder.com, record yourself reading your essay, and save it. Email your text, photo, and audio file to me (edeekulper@gmail.com). If you don’t have access to a computer, I’m happy to photograph and record you.

In doing this project, each author inherently gives their permission to be publicly seen and heard. Any student participating in this as a class assignment must have their work seen by a teacher before submitting it to me.

So three things:

1. Essay
2. Photo
3. Audio recording of you reading your essay

It will be a gift and an honor to read and hear what you believe.

ESSAY GUIDELINES

(from https://thisibelieve.org/guidelines/):

Tell a story about you: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events that have shaped your core values. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 500 and 600 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.

Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief.

Be positive: Write about what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Avoid statements of religious dogma, preaching, or editorializing.

Be personal: Make your essay about you; speak in the first person. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Tell a story from your own life; this is not an opinion piece about social ideals. Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

EXAMPLES

To listen to “This I Believe” essays written by people – famous, prominent, and ordinary – click here. They are all fascinating.

WHY WRITE THIS ESSAY?

I love knowing people’s thoughts, motivations, fears, vulnerabilities, strengths, and experiences. If I do, I’m sure you do too. I also love when someone asks me to ponder and write about what matters to me. I’ve thought about what my essay would say for the past month, and I’m still formulating it.

I had never heard of the “This I Believe” essay until one day last month before heading to the airport, when I zipped into the library parking lot to grab some last-minute material for the car ride. I had about two minutes. I ran to the audiobooks, realized I had forgotten my glasses, and did my best to read the titles that I could somewhat see. The words “This I Believe” jumped out at me, and I immediately grabbed This I Believe I and This I Believe II. We listened to dozens of essays on the way to the airport, and came back from our travels to more essays on the way home. I knew right away that I wanted to solicit the people of all ages on this island and afar for your essays.

TAKE YOUR TIME

There’s no rush. Ponder it awhile. You may sit down and write your essay today, or you may think on it for months. Write it when you’re ready, and if you want to share it with the world, email it to me.