Once I Believed... | Teen Ink

Once I Believed...

August 29, 2010
By Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran


When I was a small child, I was the type of kid that believed wholeheartedly in magic. I would often take refuge from the stress of the ‘real world’ up in my room or outside brandishing a wand (a twig), sporting a wizard’s robe (blanket), and carrying one of the fabulous Harry Potter books. With these combined with my eager imagination, I could delve deeply into the depths of the wizarding world and explore my fantasies to the heart’s content.

Sad though it may seem, I really did believe in magic. I wasn’t ashamed of it though, for I was confident that I would soon receive my envelope admitting me into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I would be whisked away, with the scent of adventure filling my nose, from all of my petty problems and cruel peers to a wonderful world where my wildest dreams would take the place of harsh reality.

So I waited. I waited, sometimes planning what I would do with my life once I was unveiled to be a wizard. I waited, barely daring to imagine the bliss I would feel when the owl would swoop in with a letter of parchment tied to its leg. And I waited, starting to worry that maybe I wasn’t a wizard after all. And I waited, with the looming possibility that there was no magic peering around my wishes and imaginations.

As you’re probably predicting, the inevitable happened. The year came and went when I was supposed to receive the invitation. With the disappearance of that letter came the disappearance of all of my hope. Filled with a bit of fresh apathy, I continued my life leaving behind that dead dream that had lifted me up and then dropped me.

And soon, the dream was forgotten.

But as I grew up in a world with no spells or quidditch, as I was raised without wand or flying broomstick, as I became accustomed to there being no dragons or unicorns, I realized something. Magic did exist. Maybe it didn’t appear in the form that I had pictured while reading the Harry Potter series, but it was definitely there.

It sometimes showed itself when I was listening to a symphony of beautiful music. It surprised me every time I looked outside at night and saw the great moon and myriad of stars. It comforted me in the form of loyal friends or caring family. It said hello as I witnessed moments of extreme kindness or affection and twinkled in my tears as I dwelled on them. It resided in places of remotest nature and utmost sacredness. Magic was joy. Magic was love. Magic was music. Magic was hope. Magic was God.

So I became content once again. True, I did not live as I had imagined since I was so very young and wistful for a world that I would never reach. But I had found the world as it truly is, and found it to be a hundred times more fulfilling. For magic is real, and magic is here.


The author's comments:
I still love the Harry Potter series.

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This article has 42 comments.


Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Jul. 23 2011 at 1:38 pm
Aderes47 GOLD, Cambridge, Massachusetts
11 articles 0 photos 897 comments

Favorite Quote:
You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.
Henry Drummond

Well, J.K Rowling is an athetist(interview on Oprah).

But who cares? It's a great story about the forces of good and evil and with magic...etc

Well, at the time I was into it, I went to Islamic School and I would never bring it in because I knew someone would take the book from me and yell at me saying it's witchcraft..etc. Actually, my friend brought it in one day and she got yelled at for 20 minutes so whenever she brought it, she would use a book cover to make it look like a textbook. It worked. :)

And the carpooler said the book is a work of satan.

My family didn't care though. :) I would always talk to my mom about it.


on Jul. 23 2011 at 11:07 am
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

I know what you mean when you said it's part of your childhood. The last book was especially important to me and has a large place in my heart to this day. My aunt refused to take me to the midnight party at Barnes and Noble because she thinks Harry Potter is against God!

Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Jul. 23 2011 at 12:40 am
Aderes47 GOLD, Cambridge, Massachusetts
11 articles 0 photos 897 comments

Favorite Quote:
You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.
Henry Drummond

I LOVE HARRY POTTER TOO! 
I first started reaidng it when I was nine/ten. I love it, I feel like it's a part of my childhood. I still an't believed it ended. I haven't seen it yet.

When I read the last book the day after it came out(yes, I went to a midnight party) after I finished it I bauled like a baby. I cried for an hour.

And I think I'm going to cry after the last part ends too!

But I never believed that magic existed. Sometimes I would play it but never believed it.

I actually see J.K Rowling with my own eyes. I saw her speak at a Harvard graduation(I live near Harvard). Someone was nice neough to give me tickets. I went with a good freind of mine. And I also got a letter from her, an automated letter but still.


on Sep. 20 2010 at 6:39 pm
IamtheshyStargirl PLATINUM, Lothlorien, Utah
44 articles 16 photos 2206 comments

Favorite Quote:
Boredom instigates extreme creativity.
~Amoniel

"Bowing gratefully to all of my subjects, 'thank you. Thank you. The pleasure is mine." Nah, I'm just kidding. We're all kings together.'"
~Thesilentraven

I really only remembered that one because I love to create, everything. I wrote "This is magic" on my special creations blog. So that's really the biggest reason as to why I was even able to point that one out.

on Sep. 20 2010 at 5:28 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

I read your comments with an egotistical fervor and am (once again) grateful. Man, you're right. I did forget creation (and that's one of the big 'uns). Thanks for reading...

on Sep. 20 2010 at 3:58 pm
IamtheshyStargirl PLATINUM, Lothlorien, Utah
44 articles 16 photos 2206 comments

Favorite Quote:
Boredom instigates extreme creativity.
~Amoniel

"Bowing gratefully to all of my subjects, 'thank you. Thank you. The pleasure is mine." Nah, I'm just kidding. We're all kings together.'"
~Thesilentraven

This is so beautiful, and I can really relate to your experience. I too waited for my Hogwarts letter to arrive when I turned the magical age of eleven. And, I too, was crushed when it never arrived.

You are right about the everyday magic that people are sometimes blinded to by fantasy books or stories, but you forgot one more magic; that is magic of creation.

Thanks for writing this :)


on Sep. 18 2010 at 7:25 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

Finally! Someone who loves Harry Potter too. I'm not alone!

Thanks for commenting...


on Sep. 18 2010 at 5:39 pm
Felicity13 BRONZE, Somewhere, New Hampshire
1 article 0 photos 31 comments
Oh this is great!!!  I'm a fellow HP fan too!  :)

on Sep. 17 2010 at 10:52 am
DreamWriter17 PLATINUM, Marengo, Indiana
34 articles 1 photo 682 comments

Favorite Quote:
learn from your past to live for the future.

Hm, never heard it.  Haha, I'm not one to listen to songs about food, it makes me want that food, and I usually don't have it in hand...haha

on Sep. 15 2010 at 7:51 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

I think, concerning Rowling's novels, you have to get through the relatively corny plot. The first book is quite simple and accordingly corny. The last is, to say the least, a masterpiece of fantasy literature.

on Sep. 15 2010 at 7:49 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

Thank you for your sympathy (regarding an anti-sympathy for Twilight fans). To get that bad taste out of your mouth, try a lollipop. Maybe while listening to the Julius Dixson and Beverly Ross song 'Lollipop.'

on Sep. 15 2010 at 2:15 pm
LoriBird BRONZE, Bathurst, Other
4 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I'm seventeen and I'm Crazy."

I havn't read harry potter, but you're kind of making me wish I did

on Sep. 14 2010 at 9:30 pm
DreamWriter17 PLATINUM, Marengo, Indiana
34 articles 1 photo 682 comments

Favorite Quote:
learn from your past to live for the future.

Haha, I'm right there with you, bud, I HATE Twilight!  It is possibly the most over-rated movie/book series of our time, and I shudder to think that it will still be big and being remade when our kids are our age.  [convulses]  Eugh, leaves a bad taste in my mouth...

on Sep. 9 2010 at 9:52 am
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

Sorry, I just detest Twilight.

on Sep. 9 2010 at 9:51 am
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

Sorry, I just detest Twilight and am not a fan of Mr. King. I admit, Harry Potter involves magic, and yet J. K. Rowling is utterly brilliant. Shouldn't even be compared to Twilight. If you read through to the end, you'll understand.

on Sep. 9 2010 at 9:49 am
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

No. No. No. No. NO!

on Sep. 8 2010 at 10:48 pm
DreamWriter17 PLATINUM, Marengo, Indiana
34 articles 1 photo 682 comments

Favorite Quote:
learn from your past to live for the future.

Uh, haha, NO.  They're down there in the realm of Twilight and Stephen King that I do not read.  I'll read anything but horror, vampires, and intense sorcery.

on Sep. 7 2010 at 8:19 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

I appreciate your compliment! Just curious, have you read the Harry Potter books?

on Sep. 6 2010 at 11:53 pm
DreamWriter17 PLATINUM, Marengo, Indiana
34 articles 1 photo 682 comments

Favorite Quote:
learn from your past to live for the future.

Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful!  I absolutely LOVE the last two paragraphs.  You have amazing tallent! 

on Sep. 3 2010 at 6:56 pm
Inherinerd GOLD, Ashland, Ohio
16 articles 9 photos 302 comments

Favorite Quote:
A word to the wise ain't nessecary it's the stupid ones that need the advise

Ur welcome.. were ther really thirty exclamation points?