When I was about ten years old, I received a wonderful book for Christmas. It was called “Fairyopolis: A Flower Fairies Journal,” a book written designed by Cicely Mary Barker. This book was a rather important part of my childhood, and largely why I believed in fairies. The book is beautiful, full of a story about a woman who discovers and paints fairies. There are tiny books inside about fairies, and about their culture. On one page, there was a small piece of a fairy wing. Thinking back, this was slightly morbid, but I remember believing that this was the only proof I needed to know that fairies existed.
I loved learning more about fairies, and my friends and I wondered what we would do if we ever saw a fairy in real life. I made “fairy food,” which was a combination of grass, clovers, and other greenery I could find in my yard. I would mix it with a stick, and leave it in the sun for it to “bake.” I kept it in an empty butter tub, and it would typically be gone the next morning. Even though I knew that my mom played a part in making sure it was gone the next morning as I grew up, it still made me a little sad to know this was the case. I watched for fairies everywhere I went, hoping that if I believed in them enough, I would discover them for myself.
I’ll be honest, I never did see a fairy, but that did not stop me from believing in them. I loved the feeling it gave me to just believe that fairies are real, and I could see one. As I grow older, I feel this happiness less and less. I miss the magic. I miss hoping I would see a mermaid at the beach, or that a fairy might live in our garden. It saddens me to know that some people never did have that magical time in their lives when they believed that anything was possible. I believe that more people should believe in magic. I don’t mean that they should believe in evil witches, or in elves necessarily. I think that more people should believe that dreams can come true.
More people should believe in themselves, and believe that they will achieve everything they want to one day. I know that everyone doubts themselves at some point, or fears their skills are not going to be useful. This can be solved by simply having faith that everything will work out in the end. We all deserve happiness, so let’s put a little bit of faith back into ourselves, and the world around us. You may not ever see the fairytale magic that is so common in our stories, but who knows what we can all achieve if we believe in ourselves and each other.