Dear




,

Someone once told me to tell them what I’m for, and when you say there’s no such thing as magic, I realized that there is. Do I believe in magic? Well, I believe in a lot of things that are somewhat “magical,” though some common ones like God and leprechauns make me nervous. I’m a strong believer in purity, for one thing. I believe in innocence, and children, and I believe in the things that destroy them. I believe there is something that exists within us only in summer, and though it never dies, it is born again each June. I believe in the greatness of books, and the incredibleness of music. I believe in beauty, and I see it everywhere. I believe there are some things in the world that take people so firmly by the shoulders that they can’t help jumping in with everything they’ve got, and I believe that is called passion. As in Franny and Zooey, I shall spare you the new paragraph . Passion used to confuse me, because I associated it with talent. On the television, there are always professional singers and actors and athletes, telling us it is simply their passion to do what they do, and that is how they got where they are. Therefore, if you are good at something, you must have passion, and if you have a passion for something, you are good at it. I slowly realized the untruthfulness of these concepts starting around fourth grade , and by the age I have now reached, I can confidently state its converse. Passion is not, in fact, related to ability. Indeed, in the state of mind this letter has got me in, I don’t think passion is related to anything at all! The more I think about it the more surely I believe that only you know when there is passion in your life, and it can be about anything at all. There don’t have to be ties from your likes and dislikes and talents and beliefs to passion. I think that’s what I meant when I said I believe in so much (for I didn’t really know what I meant at the time; it just felt right, and now I know why). I believe I have a passion for the innocence of children, and the oneness of your soul and body and thoughts that summer brings to you. I believe I have a passion for books, and for music, though I’m not particularly talented in any related areas. I believe in the passion these things bring, because I know it, I feel it, I have it within me! And I know it exists within others! The passion these things bring me is so strong, I cannot even comprehend how immense it seems to others with like passions.

And I think that is what magic feels like. I believe in the magic of passion, and I believe passion can be anywhere, within anyone about anything. So yes, I suppose I do believe in magic. Just because you can’t see leprechauns and Santa Claus, that doesn’t mean there isn’t magic (for future reference, however, I do still hold a strong belief in fairies – completely different from God and leprechauns).


Passionately,