This I Believe

Beliefs build a person from the inside out; they form a core that holds a body together with the mind and soul. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius” (Self-Reliance). I think the power we have to create our own opinions and our own beliefs is amazing. However, I have been raised with values along the same lines as those that Atticus Finch taught his children when he told Scout: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Harper Lee). With many issues, I have often found it difficult to believe 100 percent one way or the other because I see both sides, both arguments. I suppose this makes me a fairly indecisive person, but that fact does not bother me. I am confident in who I am and what is right and what is wrong, therefore I do not worry so much about my inability to make an outright decision.

There may be many issues I do not have strong beliefs about, but there are also a few things about which I feel very passionately. Hope, for example, I believe is essential to life. Hope is a burning light that leads a person through a path of darkness; it is a fuel. Hope builds a brighter future for a bad beginning. There have been many times in my life where the only thing getting me through the day was the hope for a better tomorrow. When I was ten years old I was diagnosed with type one juvenile diabetes. Ever since then I have lived with daily injections and blood sugar testing, along with many more hassles that come with being a diabetic. I try my hardest to live with this and make the best out of the situation God has given me. However, there are some days that I just cannot stand to think about counting one more carb or giving myself one more shot. Then I remind myself that there is always hope. One day, there might be a cure. Not only do I hope for a cure, but I also hope to be able to reach others through my disease. There is a reason God gave me this challenge and I hope that maybe one day I can turn it into a gift and use it to benefit those around me.

Although I do not see clearly on many of the beliefs shared by society and the world around us, I do have my core beliefs, with hope being one of them. I am not perfect; I am nowhere close and I do not try to be. However, I do believe that searching inside yourself is just as important as keeping an open mind and listening to the world around you. Follow your beliefs with everything you have, and live a life not with regrets, but with wisdom. This I believe.