When Chicago journalist Mary Mrugalski was unmarried and pregnant, she baked bread. When her daughter fought a long illness, they worked the dough together. Mrugalski believes in the comfort and peace she gets from making bread with those she loves.
The Vagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler believes in speaking up. She says when we name the things that make us uncomfortable or afraid, then demons are faced, silences are broken, and freedom is won.
Nobel Prize–winning chemist Roald Hoffmann believes the middle is a good place to be. It reminds the Cornell professor of the choices we can make in life and helps him see the possibility for change.
Mountain climbers learn how to rest-step – that is, to pause between each step to catch one’s breath at high altitudes. Climber Phil Powers believes this technique of pacing is valuable in everyday life.
To be “The Greatest of All Time,” boxing legend Muhammad Ali said you have to believe in yourself. It’s something Ali’s parents taught him as a child, and it’s helped him through the biggest challenge of his life: fighting Parkinson’s disease.
As a teenager more than 50 years ago, Elizabeth Deutsch Earle wrote an essay for the original This I Believe series. Now, she reflects on her life as a scientist, wife, and mother to see how her beliefs have evolved.
I believe in Heavy Metal. Not in a subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties such as iron and cobalt, though I acknowledge their existence as well. I'm talking about the Heavy Metal of Black Sabbath, Pantera, Iron Maiden, and...
When James T. Harris was a young man, he had a summer job as a janitor, cleaning restrooms in local factories. Harris was surprised—and even angry—when people ignored him and made him feel "invisible" because of his uniform and his position. Now, as a university president, he believes all young people should get out of their comfort zones and see the world from other people's perspectives.
“Whatever you do in life is insignificant. But it is important that you do it because you can’t know; you can’t ever really know the meaning of your life...” Things do work out in strange ways at times, but we...
