"Hope" By: Bianca Reforma and Vim Rivera What is hope? Hope is not just an emotion, it is something that can greatly affect our outlooks and actions. It is significant because it gives each individual the strength to pursue their dreams. Hope emerges every time we need it. Without it, we wouldn't have the capacity to find a way out of our problems. Just like Emily Dickinson's poem "Hope is the thing with Feathers" states, hope is found everywhere, even in the darkest of our times. Hope can be very powerful, and only giving in to despair could abash the hope in one's heart. Hope is the expectation of a positive outcome, despite difficult circumstances. All over the world, many people suffer from poverty. Not being able to feed themselves and their families thrice a day and support their needs, they continue to find ways to survive. For some of them, hope is the thing that drives them, and keeps them determined. Even for some of us that don't experience poverty, we go through problems in life and hope is what drives us to find a way to solve them. Hope is a powerful thing. It is not just a state of mind but it also acts as a force that pushes people to continue to persevere to achieve any goal they may have. Many people however, give up and lose hope, succumbing to their problems at hand. As students we are taught to care for our neighbors. We are taught to show love and give help to those in need. Sharing hope to others is not just a way of showing love and practicing the values taught to us, it is also a way of giving people a purpose. It either restores or ignites a belief that they will find a way to overcome the obstacles that they face in life. Robert Frost, an American poet once stated that "The best way out is always through." Many people nowadays tend to run away from their problems, giving up without even trying. This is the reason why it is imperative for us to share hope to others. Instilling hope in people is easily done by setting an example of optimism. People forget that there will always be a way to solve problems and this is the reason many of us dread these obstacles in our lives. Positivity passes on to each other. Hope is also shared through the simple way of letting others know that we are willing to help. The mere presence of a person that is willing to accompany us and does so in an optimistic way lightens everything. As people are assured that there is someone willing to help them carry the load, hope is sparked within them. There are many more ways to share hope amongst other people, aside from letting them know we will journey with them, pass on the optimism or restore hope in their hearts. The most effective way however, is to be the hope in their lives, to be the light that guides them and leads them through their problems. The best way to help people hold onto hope as they try to overcome problems, is to be there for them all the way until they get through, offering unconditional help, sharing their load, and showing our love for one another. Another way of sharing hope is doing what Jesus does. Whenever others are presented with challenges that are difficult to overcome, we must be there to help them. When darkness comes and one finds it difficult to carry on, we must be there to shine light into his world. Jesus is the best example of sharing hope. He was sent when the people lost hope but he was able to successfully restore that hope and keep them going. We must do what he does. We must be able to assure that the hope lives within each and every person we encounter. May it be a stranger on the sidewalk, or maybe even a close friend, it is our duty to reignite the hope that was once there. Paying it forward is another method of spreading hope. Paying random acts of kindness to strangers is a great way of
sharing hope. Whenever a stranger looks like they need light in their life, you can do a random act of kindness that will renew their hope and give them the strength to go on with life. Little things can bring a great impact on a strangers life. A smile can go a long way. A simple gesture is all it takes to change a persons life. Hope is the only thing stronger than fear. It is essential in life as it is what keeps people from giving up. Hope can me shared in many ways such as passing the optimism through our actions, following the footsteps of Jesus and paying it forward. It is our responsibility as humans, to help and restore hope in the hopeless, to bring light back to those lost in the darkness and to help up those who have fallen.