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Issue Date: August 28, 2005
Inspired to speak out
NPR's This I Believe asks Americans to consider the notions that shaped them.
Chris Larson of Shalimar, Fla., always asks for something unusual for her birthday. Forget jewelry or clothes, says husband Robert, 68. "One year she asked for a huge dumpster so we could clear out this area for a wildlife sanctuary. Another year we had a tree planting."
For her 51st birthday this year, she asked friends and family to write essays for This I Believe, a weekly radio program on most NPR member stations, inviting listeners to share their beliefs. Robert Larson wrote an essay about their son. His wife, he says, "is happy with a present like that." And he happily continues to work on it. "It's better now than when I sent it in," he says.
Since the program's April premiere, as of press time, about 4,500 listeners have submitted essays. Seattle banker Elizabeth Romney, 54, plans to make her essay an annual tradition. "Like making New Year's resolutions, stating my beliefs can give shape to my life," she says. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Romney and a group of women founded a non-profit that raises money to educate women in countries where education for them is limited. "Instead of saying, 'I want to lose 15 pounds,' I want to look at what was meaningful and what I achieved," Romney says. "Then I can think about how I can expand on that in the coming year."
For others, inspiration struck at odd moments, according to Jay Allison, the program's host and curator. One woman composed her essay on her Palm Pilot during her morning commute. Another wrote while baking bread. A third penned it at a laundromat. "For many people, the point is not to get on the air, but to have gone through the exercise itself," Allison says. "The rewards have been more personal than public."
New York attorney Deirdre Sullivan, 33, has experienced both. Her essay, on the importance her father placed on funerals and how his death made her understand that lesson, aired this month. Sharing her grief with a national audience was not only cathartic, she says, "it was beyond humbling."
By Kelly DiNardo
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At least 1 "USA WEEKEND" reader will be chosen to read his or her essay on the air.
To submit your essay, follow these tips:
-- Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether; ground it in your life. Your story need not be heartwarming or gut-wrenching -- it can even be funny -- but it should be real. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own work and family -- things you know.
-- This is for radio. Write in a way that's comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and keep editing and simplifying until you find the words, tone and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.
-- Write 350 to 500 words. That comes to about three minutes when read aloud.
-- If you can't name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Rather than write a list of beliefs, focus on a core belief -- three minutes go by quickly!
-- Please don't preach or editorialize. Refrain from saying what you do not believe. Write about yourself; speak in first person ("I").
For more information
Read "This I Believe" essays from the '50s and today, find out where to hear the series on your local NPR member station, or submit an essay by visiting npr.org/thisibelieve. For teacher resources, click on "Get Involved."
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