A Christmas movie taught me to believe in myself. Yes, you heard that right. Not a motivational speech, not a self-help book, but an hour and forty minutes filled with snow, magic and the sound of sleigh bells.
My dad and I have watched the same Christmas movie together every year for as long as I can remember. And no, it’s not “Home Alone” or “A Christmas Story," it’s “The Polar Express.”
It has become our father-daughter tradition. The tradition, then, turned into a life lesson.
Released in 2004, the film follows a young boy known only as “Hero Boy,” who doesn’t believe in the spirit of Christmas. On Christmas Eve, he embarks on a magical journey to the North Pole aboard the Polar Express, where he discovers the true meaning of friendship, courage, and the Christmas spirit.
Aboard the Polar Express, each kid receives a golden ticket, which the conductor punches with a special word symbolizing the lesson they learned during the journey, such as “LEAD,” “LEARN,” or “DEPEND.” For Hero Boy, his ticket read “BELIEVE.”
“Believe” is a word scattered throughout the movie and a theme that prevails like no other.
As the hobo, the spirit of a man who rides the Polar Express, said to the boy, “Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things you can't see.”
I have watched this movie about 21 times and counting, and every time my dad points out key parts. One of the most prominent parts of the movie, the one that speaks to me the most, is the end.
After facing challenges while travelling to the North Pole, Hero Boy and the other children finally arrive at Santa’s headquarters. As Santa prepares for his Christmas Eve journey, he chooses the Hero Boy to receive the first gift of Christmas.
Earlier, the boy couldn’t hear the ringing of the sleigh bells, a sound only believers could hear, but after finding faith in the magic of Christmas, the bells’ clear, beautiful ring became audible to him.
As his gift, he asks Santa for one of the bells, symbolizing his newfound belief. Later, the boy loses it through a hole in his pocket.
On Christmas day, the bell miraculously reappeared under his tree the next morning as a gift with a note inside the present that said, “Found this in the seat of my sleigh. Better fix that hole in your pocket.”
The boy rang the bell and heard its tune; however, his parents couldn't hear it, proving that the spirit of Christmas remains alive for those who truly believe.
On my Christmas Day in 2020, a small square box sat under the tree for me, like it did for the boy.
I remember unwrapping the box, seeing “The Polar Express” on it, thinking, "No, he didn’t."
He did.
Under the red wrapping paper lay an Alex and Ani Polar Express box, with a silver bracelet inside.
The bracelet has three rhinestone charms: one blue, one yellow, and one white. It also has a conductor hat charm and a charm that says “believe” on it.
With my gift, there was a note inside the box…. sound familiar?
“I love you and always believe in you,” my dad wrote. “But the greatest gift is when you believe in yourself.”
This was not just any charm bangle but a reminder that believing is the most magical gift of all.
The bracelet called my wrist home for about two years, and I never took it off. Now, the bracelet has a brown tint. It’s tarnished, but it shows how much I wore it. To protect the bracelet, I decided to put it back in the box.
Once I left for my freshman year at Temple University in August 2022, the bracelet came with me. I was nervous about the new chapter ahead, but this bracelet reminded me of my strength. I kept it in the box in my dorm desk as a good luck charm. I kept it as a reminder to believe in myself.
Four years later, I am at a different school than where I started, but the bracelet is still with me. This time, at home, in my desk drawer.
I urge anyone reading this to watch this movie, for the first or millionth time, with a more critical eye. Think about what you believe in, and what makes it so special. Most importantly, think about how you can believe in yourself.
For me, what began as an annual movie night has turned into a lasting reminder that sometimes, the greatest gift we can receive is the confidence to believe in who we are.
Sofia Kasbo is the Managing Editor of The Setonian. She can be reached at sofia.kasbo@student.shu.edu.
