I Believe In Hope by Vanessa Fortenberry

There are times when I look at people as they go through hard situations and wonder just how they have the energy to go on. With so much pain going on in a person’s life, how do you find the strength to move forward? There is one word that plays a huge part in this, hope. It is as bright and beautiful as the rising sun. Hope can lead people into a completely new direction. It’s power and force is bedazzling. No one can deny the love of hope.
Hope means to look forward to something with confidence or explanation. Deep down there is hope in every human being’s heart. It’s something that keeps us going through the good and bad times. Hope can act as a motivational tool for progress. Hope is the one thing that can unite the entire country, or world if possible.
I’ve experienced hope last year during the 2008 presidential election. There was an anticipation with everyone throughout the entire year. Senator(at the time) Barack Obama was the candidate for the Democratic Party. He was running against Senator John McCain from the Republican Party. Even though things weren’t always on the positive note for Obama’s campaign, I never gave up hope. There was still something inside of me that was saying, “Don’t give up, don’t give up.” Just because things don’t always go well, doesn’t mean that they stay the same. When Obama won the presidential election, I was absolutely ecstatic. Obama gave myself and a whole new generation of people a sense of hope. Barack Obama is like the Dr. King of our time. Times may not have been so great, but both Barack Obama and Dr. King wanted to lead people to a brighter future. Whenever I heard Obama speak, it’s like I had no other choice but to believe him. He speaks with such eloquence and assertiveness, it’s easy for him to catch anyone’s attention. Barack Obama has been my personal symbol for hope ever since last year’s election.
I am a person that strongly believes in hope. Because of this, I have faith in everything I do. There is a music line that relates to this topic. It goes, “There’s hope, it doesn’t cost a thing to smile, you don’t have to pay to laugh, you better thank God for that, there’s hope.” It’s sung by R&B singer India Arie. This line is saying because there is hope, you should be grateful for the things you overlook in life. Things may not go as fast as you want them to or the way you planned, but just continue to have hope and leave the rest up to God. That’s the problem with some people now, they try to take matters into their own hands or give up altogether. And when it happens, all hope is lost. Hope and believing go hand and hand. So if you have hope and just believe, everything will be fine.
In conclusion, hope is a connection to a dream that you wish to come true. It is way more than just a thought or an idea. Having hope can change things tremendously. No matter what the problem may be, hope can solve them and put them into your past. Without having hope, I would not have made it to the point where I’m at today. I strongly believe in it and there will always be a place for hope in my heart.