(30. December 2008, 16:07 by Daniel Blue) ~ Do You Believe?DB: I Believe

Today I had the extreme pleasure of running into a dear friend and teacher at the Tacoma School of The Arts, Kelly Doran. Always a bright and inspiring influence, she is continually supporting the artistic soul of this city both in her work and the arts based projects of her exterior life. Today she explained to me the fleshing out of an idea that I found to be worthy of bringing to your attention, I hope you are inspired as much as I am to participate in this simple statement of belief.

Kelly wants to know what Tacoma believes in, and give us all the opportunity to share and hear the common voice. It’s easy to complain, and its easy to criticize, but you may find it surprising the amount of courage it takes to make a statement about your personal conviction.

The Essays will be compiled and reviewed, Kelly will contact and invite a handful of authors to read their essays on the radio and at live theater style venue this spring. She also hopes to print excerpts on posters that will be distributed throughout Tacoma, all of which done only at the express permission of the author, of course.

The following is taken from Kelly’s web page in hopes of enticing and coaching you fine and articulate readers to write your thoughts in response. If you feel super bold, leave your statement as a comment as well as emailing it to Kelly at the address provided at the bottom of the page.

Tacoma, we want to hear from you.
We are inviting people from all walks of life in Tacoma, Washington to write a personal essay titled, “this I believe” to be reviewed and possibly chosen to be read on radio and performed on May 1, 2009. We want to hear from the rich, the poor, the powerful and the weak. We are interested in having everyone in Tacoma heard.

What is This I Believe?
This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives. These short statements of belief, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here and featured on public radio in the United States and Canada, as well as in regular broadcasts on NPR. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow.

This I Believe Essay-Writing Instructions
We invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this is—it requires such intimacy that no one else can do it for you. To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:

• Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.
• Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.
• Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.
• Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.
• Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

For this project, we are also guided by the original This I Believe series and the producers’ invitation to those who wrote essays in the 1950s. Their advice holds up well and we are abiding by it. Please consider it carefully in writing your piece.

In introducing the original series, host Edward R. Murrow said, “Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent.” We would argue that the need is as great now as it was 50 years ago. We are eager for your contribution.

Contribute Your Essay to kdoran.tacoma@gmail.com