This I Believe by Jeneane Amin

The "This I believe" NPR contest has taken place for many years. Some of the most famous writers have submitted entries but I was thrilled to see that Jeneane is entering the contest this year. This is her entry:

Jeneane Amin
7/21/10

I Believe in Peter Pan
Peter Pan. The source of all childish beliefs like pixies, flying ships, and a boy that never grows up. Never growing, never dying. Just saying his name makes you smile. From the day the Author, JM Barrie, wrote Peter Pan, he gave people, young and old all different hopes.
You can look at movies, especially newer ones, and see how some who have been touched by him see. This is all his work. Peter is in everything, and if you look close enough you’ll always find him. Peter has taken what little we saw, and opened our eyes to the creativity. Then, and only then, do we see the pixies. Younger people, who were blessed with that broader perspective, sit and think; they then turn into adults who make things like books, movies, music and art of all kind. Even if they don’t accomplish these actions, Peter will pass on the child-like hopes to their children.
My mom helped provide this hope. She would tell me stories about how she used to hang out with Peter. They would glue Hook’s toes together, and blast fireworks on the ships. Sometimes she would tell me that Tinker Bell snuggled with me one night, or maybe my mom would come into my room and see a trail of silver pixie dust left behind.
Once I could’ve sworn I saw the shadow of a flying boy out my window. My mom told me it was Peter and that he had dropped me back off after spending the night in Neverland. After that I was sure that Peter Pan was real. When I was bored I would think about him taking me away, my imagination running wild, as it still does today.
It was a sleepy day and my head was resting on my arms. What could anyone do, but start to dream? In my dream Peter visited me, and took me away as he would when I was younger. We had a marvelous time, and when I woke up I realized that he may not be physically real, but he is in all of our hearts and minds.
Peter definitely expanded my mind, as he did with other children my age. I don’t pick up a book without thinking about kids younger than me, who don’t know what they’re missing out on. They take advantage of technology, using without pause. I remember how I learned how to read and write; I would listen to the words my mom spoke as she read, and I would memorize them. I'm not saying this is the way children should learn. I'm saying children should broaden their minds, not be stuck to video games and computers. They should think out of the box, and maybe some of them will grow to be the next JM Barrie, fueling our imaginations and allowing them to be even greater than before.
I believe in these children and their future. I believe that Peter Pan can stir up the Lost Boy in every person out there, child or not. He can enter our dreams without hesitation and fill them with ideas, taking us places we’ve never known. I believe in Peter Pan, and I know that he can help us see, even if he’s only in our minds.