I believe in the make-believe: Christmas, wishing stars and –yes- even magic. Weird, huh? Not necessarily. Unique? Absolutely. I am proud to count myself among the countless other Harry Potter fans. Since the age of 8, I always carried a spark of hope that Hagrid would come and whisk me away to Hogwarts. The instant I took in the first word of that enchanting series, I knew it was beckoning me to join the spell-binding rollercoaster ride. Sadly, my 11th birthday passed without much significance; nonetheless, I still wait to this day. It has always been my core belief that no dreams –no matter how absurd-should be abandoned for their lack of credibility. You can never have too many when they motivate, encourage, and shape who you are and will become.

Adults, especially those with a certain creed like Christianity detest the word “magic”; they call it blasphemy. Myself, a devoted Christian, I cannot blame them for having that perspective but why can’t they just co-exist? Even my friends who have an unwavering faith in god love to indulge themselves with theses amazing books. Aware of how far spread Christianity is today, I am positive some muggles at Hogwarts are Christians as well. “No-nonsense-down-to-the-fact” adults are not exactly my favorite type of people and I would not want to become one. People usually have the wrong notion that these people are the sensible folks. But that’s not the destiny I would choose. Because I –dear readers-want to be…a dreamer.

Bong-Bong-Bong! The old grandfather sprang into life and stroke midnight. Squirming with anticipation, I listened for my door to rip out; a chaos of owl mails; and the like. For the next few watchful moments not a board creaked. Bong-Bong-Bong! A whirling cyclone inside my eleven-year-old self was blending anxiety, disbelief, and shock into a blob of something horrible that stuck in my throat like rice cake. Bong-Bong-Bong! Will Hagrid come? Or had I been pursuing a lie for all these years? I hated the sound now which seemed to be taunting me. Bong-Bong-Bong! The tired clock fell silent once more. Stunned, I fell back into my pillow. Soon my eyelids transformed into bricks-probably the closest thing to magic that happened that night-and I let slumber carry me away on an enchanted broom. There, my dreams came true exactly as I had planned. Which was just as good as reality could grope for. Perhaps even better; and I still believed.

I delight in being involved: try-out for the Quiddich team, join Gryffindor, and even break a few school regulations by brewing some Polyjuice potion-basically, I wanted to follow Harry’s footsteps. If I cannot do it at Hogwarts; why not here? Except-cough*-maybe the illegal parts. Therefore, I occupied myself with my world magical in its own way through participation of activities such as: Soccer, MUN, Student Council, talent show and other social events. Overly concerned with the “magykal” world, I had forgotten mine; coughing mothballs in the back of a dusty broom cupboard. The time had come to polish it and set it back on display. You may think I was getting involved to comfort myself; as a matter of fact, I was getting prepared. Who knows? J.K Rowling might have gotten the age limit wrong. Someday, I can still become a part of Harry’s magical and mysterious world; my dreams could still come true. Well…you never know.

I am not a least bit disheartened with my fruitless wait for Hagrid. Just a little offended that I am not “magykal” enough to qualify. However, that does not matter so much to me anymore. I am content in the world I live in with my friends and it will be selfish to want more. Anyways, who needs reality when I can always drag myself into Diagon Alley or Hogwarts? Not by flu powder, of course, but just by poring over the books of Harry’s adventures. Truth be told, although my aspirations didn’t exactly come true, my strivings brought me other valuable experiences and results. I mean…soccer? Where did my bookworm self get that from? In the distant past I would cringe from the ball and shut my eyes waiting for stars to appear. But look at me now; a girl who thinks heading is awesome wicked. I’m so glad I had a motivation willing me to try new things and become the daring girl I am today.

Struggling to believe the so-called “make believe”- as some would put it-has been the soul motive of my life. Have faith and do not let go of you most fantastical dreams even if common logic lashes at your fragile bonds with it. If you let go, your life will be forced onto a path of unending dullness. Fabulous and impossible goals inside you will reflect outside; people will look at you and see a wonderful person who can believe and achieve the impossible. If by chance your hopes don’t turn out the way you see fit, relax. Accept it like I did and instead of giving up your dreams, find another way to make it come true. Note that this is not cheating but an essential part of the ethos optimists like me, live by. It’s easy. Just recall the three stated Bs: Be happy, Be stubborn, and Be“lieve”. I doubt the majority follow my theory and share my sentiments but I believe it is right. A sense of optimism, and faith in your dreams; it sure is a relatively small price to pay for a promising future. This I believe-how about you?