This I Believe

The Reverend Charles L. Howard was a student at the University of Pennsylvania, and now he is a chaplain there. In his first year, he was given just three small words of advice, but those words had a large impact on how Howard offers guidance to others, as well as how he looks at life.

When Natasha Sajé was a young college student, she asked a poetry professor if she had any talent. He kindly told her no; however, she was not dissuaded. After attending other poetry workshops and writing groups, Ms. Sajé has come to believe that everyone has talent—and everyone should pursue their passions.

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we will let you hear the first 10 This I Believe essays that aired on NPR back in 2005. Essayists include Isabel Allende, John Updike, Colin Powell, Brian Greene, and Kay Redfield Jamison.

Emily Schmitt Lavin has made a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches in her life, and she admits that a majority of them had one burned side. When she realized it was because she didn't always give the task her full attention, a deeper philosophy for living was born.

James Downey has heard the adage "forgive and forget." But when it comes to the man who killed his father, Downey believes it's easier for him to deny this man's existence and forget his name.

Famed actress and drama teacher Uta Hagen turned to great artists from Michelangelo and Rembrandt to Shaw and Shakespeare to find inspiration and direction in her life.

When he was a child, Howard White’s mother taught him the importance of greeting people. Now an executive at Nike, White believes everyone he meets deserves to have their presence and their humanity acknowledged. For him that begins with “hello.”

A series of tragedies during his youth left Gregory Orr confused and disillusioned. Now, the University of Virginia professor believes poetry – and the making of poems – has helped him live and heal.

As a child Deirdre Sullivan’s father told her to always pay her respects at funerals. Now, the Brooklyn attorney believes those simple acts of human kindness are as important as the grand heroic gestures.

Josh Stein believes that when people come together, it’s a beautiful thing. He's seen it happen on the Little League field, in a most unexpected way.