Not all presents are wrapped in pretty paper with bows and ribbons. Some are gifts of knowledge or wisdom that are passed from one person to another. Click the links below to read what these essayists have learned from family and friends.

1. A Kind and Generous Heart
2. The Power of Hello
3. Everyone Is Included
4. Peace Can Happen
5. Make It Do

It’s nearly the end of basketball season, and baseball season is in full swing. But you don’t have to play sports in front of a national audience to learn life lessons that come from physical activity and competition. Click the links below to read the beliefs of these essayists who have a passion for sports.

1. The Perfect Rebound
2. You May Say I’m a Dreamer
3. Be a Good Teammate
4. Finding Out What’s Under Second Base
5. Old Socks and Bits of String

The long road of recovery can include deep and thoughtful introspection by those battling addiction. Through their essays, several contributors share their inspiring beliefs and experiences.  Click the links below to read their statements.

1. Living in Manageable Moments
2. The Serenity to Change the Things I Can
3. I Will Take My Voice Back
4. Twice I Sought Death
5. There Is No Blame, There Is Only Love

The wedding vows encourage the couple to remain faithful through good times and bad, in sickness and in health. The bonds of love between spouses can offer strength and hope regardless of the challenge a marriage may face. Click the links below to read how these couples are inspired by their love for each other.

1. Semper Fidelis
2. God Knows About Sacrifice
3. The Value of Your Life
4. A Walk in the Woods Together
5. Staying Close

It’s amazing the effect that one simple act of kindness can have both on the giver and the receiver. Greeting a stranger with “hello” or letting a fellow driver merge ahead of you may not change the world, but it can make living in that particular moment more pleasant.

1. The Power of Hello
2. Grace Is a Gift
3. Opening the Door of Mercy
4. The Triumph of Kindness
5. The Perfect Merge

At times of loss, feelings of grief can be overwhelming. But from the crucible of that pain, we can learn more about ourselves, and about how we want to continue living in the world. Click the links below to read what these essayists discovered about the grief they experienced.

1. A Way to Honor Life
2. Motherhood Is a Sacred Gift
3. The Hardest Work You Will Ever Do
4. The Give-and-Take of Grief
5. Peaceful in My Grief

Thousands of teachers across America have asked their students to write This I Believe essays. In the process, many of those teachers have written their own statements of belief. In spite of the challenges, these educators say teaching is more than a job: it is a calling, a gift and the source of unwavering belief. Click the links below to read what they believe.

1. Life Is A Spiritual Struggle
2. Teenagers Matter
3. To Know We Are Not Alone
4. The Best Generation
5. The Courage To Strive

They work long hours performing tasks many of us wouldn’t want to do. They are present during moments of tragedy and joy. And, when we need medical care, they are often the first and last people we see. Click the links below to explore the beliefs of nurses in hospitals, in battle, and at school.

1. I Can Make Things Better
2. To Care For Those In Battle
3. Nurses Represent The Best Of Humankind
4. A Moment Of Admirable Strength
5. A Punk-Rocking Nurse

For thousands of years, men and women have chosen to become healers. Some of them have chosen to take the Hippocratic Oath and become physicians. Below, you will find essays from several of them, including some from the 1950s This I Believe series.

1. Connecting with My Patients
2. Why Pain?
3. Listening Is Powerful Medicine
4. A Goal of Service to Humankind
5. Every Person Is Precious
6. A Doctor’s Concern

Spring is here and all over the country, gardeners are beginning to start planting their gardens, or at very least start planning what they are going to plant. But more than flowers and vegetables emerge from the soil. Beliefs can grow there, too. Click the links below to read how gardening has inspired these essayists.

1. Tending Gardens And Cultivating Humanity
2. The Simple Joys of Life
3. Comfort Food
4. The Fruit Is Sweet
5. The Church of the Garden