ABSTRACT
In the classic fi lm A Streetcar Named Desire , Blanche cries out, “I don’t want reality, I want magic!” After watching the fi lm, Blanche’s words haunted me-I want magic, too. I’ve always loved magic. However, for both Blanche and me, our pursuit of magic hasn’t always been healthy. Perhaps that is why Ann Masten’s (2001) article, Ordinary Magic , had such an effect on me. Masten writes about resilience in children. She is combating the idea that at-risk children who survive are somehow extraordinary. Instead, she proposes the concept of “ordinary magic.” Masten states that, “The most surprising conclusion emerging from studies of these [at-risk] children is the ordinariness of resilience” (p. 227). Masten’s perspective gives us hope.
