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.


YoBoyRemi said...
on Jan. 13 2023 at 3:15 pm
YoBoyRemi, Holton, Kansas
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
“Magic was God.”

wopwapwup said...
on Sep. 18 2018 at 11:49 am
wopwapwup, Houston, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
this is really good. Nice job!

bob2 said...
on Sep. 11 2017 at 9:45 pm
hello my name is jeff

AlyssaFavela said...
on Aug. 20 2017 at 5:41 pm
AlyssaFavela, Dalton, Georgia
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Ur so good!

leafy said...
on Dec. 22 2011 at 9:42 am
leafy, City, Other
0 articles 0 photos 682 comments

Favorite Quote:
Gil: I would like you to read my novel and get your opinion. 
Ernest Hemingway: I hate it. 
Gil: You haven't even read it yet. 
Ernest Hemingway: If it's bad, I'll hate it. If it's good, then I'll be envious and hate it even more. You don't want the opinion of another writer. 

I'm with you on this one, I too, one believed that I would be getting a letter form Hogwarts, as nerdy as that seems...As for your piece, to my unsurprise, it is extraordinary.

Rayne GOLD said...
on Nov. 25 2011 at 12:34 am
Rayne GOLD, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
17 articles 0 photos 46 comments
You're a wizard of words, and God is defintely magic.

on Aug. 15 2011 at 8:20 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

Awww, thanks :) 

Let me know when you do, that sounds like fun :D


on Aug. 15 2011 at 4:25 pm
savetheplanet PLATINUM, Anaheim, California
45 articles 9 photos 564 comments

Favorite Quote:
It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

I'm Harry Potter fan too!  IN YOUR FACE HARRY-HATERS!

Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Aug. 15 2011 at 2:08 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, you should be!(Just as confident as your book counterpart) because you are just as kind and sweet and witty as her! :)

You know, I want to hear Raven's and Izzy-Bard's ideas about the new Harry Potter movie so let me make a forum and then we can talk more! 


on Aug. 15 2011 at 11:55 am
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

Yeah, I saw the movie, much better than the first part. 

on Aug. 15 2011 at 11:54 am
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 don't feel that I'm as confident as my book counterpart.  

Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Aug. 14 2011 at 5:53 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

And stargirl, why did you change part of your username? Just noticed. 

Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Aug. 14 2011 at 5:52 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

Hey guys, 

have you seen the new Harry Potter movie? 


Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Jul. 25 2011 at 10:57 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

You got closer to Morgan Freeman than I ever could of J.K Rowling. :)

Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Jul. 24 2011 at 11:59 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

My parents LOVED                           The Shashenk Redemption but I've never seen it but I'll put it on my to-do list..

Never seen or heard those two but I'll watch them too! :)

Aww, that sucks. :(

But that's still cool though and you could still see him and get something out of it. It was actually kinda hard to see J.K Rowling. I was eleven back then so I was super-short and in order for me to get a good look of her, I had to stand on my tippy toes. :)


on Jul. 24 2011 at 7:33 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've seen those, and they were all pretty great. But I've liked him best in The Shawshenk Redemption. Also, in Deep Impact. He came to speak at our school about his film, Prom Night in Mississippi. Sadly enough, he didn't say anything, except for answering one or two questions. But I got to be within five feet of him, as he was leaving; and my friend said he looked her in the eye once. His expression seemed quite enlightened... :)

Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Jul. 24 2011 at 1:58 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

That's so cool! I myself am a big fan of Morgan Freeman                       (The Bucket List,                              The Dark Knight,Invictus...etc). He always plays in very good movies and he's a very good actor. He plays in most of my favorite movies. Invictus and The Dark Knight are some of my favorite movies. :)

You've ever seen them?

So what is he like? Is he as wise and perspective as the characters he plays?


on Jul. 24 2011 at 10:32 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

That sounds like an incredible experience. I don't know much about Rowling, only that she's my idol for creating the Harry Potter series. It's wonderful that you got to see her.

The only famous person I've actually seen is Morgan Freeman, which was pretty cool, though.


Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Jul. 23 2011 at 6:28 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

I totally thought she was an Christian and I think people who see Harry Potter as evil are a bit misguided, to say the least.

Yep! She spoke at a Harvard Graduation and a customer of my mom's a professor at Harvard and he gave us tickets so I saw her speech. By the way, I live super-close to Harvard.It was wonderful. Unfortunately, I don't remember much because that was three years ago but I remember two things

1. She's very beautiful, with gorgeous blond hair and blue eyes.

2. She said she got a degree in English Literature and a year after she graduated, she worked with Ammesty International, an organization that helps free prisoners from around the world(prisoners that protest for human rights), I'd think you'd like that. :)

Anyway, she said it was a very depressing job, she said stuff from that job helped her with all the scary, evil stuff in Harry Potter. She was working with this African man, who was trying to free his mother. And when he herad she'd be killed, the scream of pure agony.. she says she often goes to that moment for the dementor's kiss and stuff...

I was trying to get an autograph, no luck. BUT I STILL SAW HER! :)


on Jul. 23 2011 at 5:41 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

Really? I was almost certain she's a Christian...

It's ridiculous that so many religious fanatics can condemn Harry Potter for how evil it is, when they're totally misinformed about how 'anti-evil' it is. It has a lot of moral and spiritual themes, I thought when I read it.

You saw J. K. Rowling?!?!?!