The South African clerk and theologian, Desmond Tutu, once said that “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” I see hope as everything being calm and knowing that I can go to sleep at night without worry about what will come next. I have hope that my family and loved ones will be safe, healthy, and happy. In the difficult times I have faced recently, I have hope that my father, my little brother, and my grandma will remain strong and positive while we fight for a better future. Hope is also knowing that I have emotional peace in my life, and knowing that I will not allow myself to let my family down. Having a good enough education where I can become a productive member of society and provide for my family the way I am provided for by my father is hope. Being able to lean on my friends at a time that is the most difficult for me and knowing that they will not turn their backs on me or make fun of me if I do something out of the ordinary gives me hope.

Hope is knowing that the people who have betrayed and abandoned me will be forgiven. The biggest hope for me is knowing that my little brother will always be close to me, and we can always protect each other as a team against any harm that comes to either one of us.

A few years ago, I remember watching a movie about children growing up in Nazi Germany. In this movie, the children as well as the adults were living in constant fear of the consequences they would have to face while stating their opinions, practicing their religion, or acting in a way that wasn’t deemed to be proper by the Nazi Party. I was sitting and wondering how frightening and unfair it must have been to be alive at that time and face what those people were facing.

In today’s world, as I watch television, listen to the media, overhear the opinions of others, and see people’s disgusting and racist social media posts, it shows me that despite the fact that we are light years away from that period of Nazi Germany, people have not changed much. I have hope that today’s world will not spin out of control where color, religious beliefs, or other qualities that make us unique, become a factor on how we interact or treat each other. Even though I believe that I am still too young to have any political views, one thing is clear to me, and that is this country and the world, as a whole, are extremely divided on many if not all of the important issues we face. I hope that people will find the compassion in themselves to put this fire out before it gets out of control, and they choose to create a brighter and more positive future without bigotry and judgment.

I hope that during our eighth grade Washington, D.C trip we will all be reminded of the principles this country was built on, about the lives that were sacrificed for our freedom, and the genius of people who came before us and have created the financial foundation which separates this country from the rest of the world. As a product of a hard-working immigrant father, I can truly appreciate the economic potential and opportunities that this country provides. I have hope that the new generation of politicians will continue to come up with better ways to create jobs and education for generations. I hope that we will have more creative young innovators who will continue to bring new ideas and technology to create billion-dollar companies that will be able to employ people for years to come. I hope that I can be one of those future innovators who impacts this world.  

After I told my father that I was writing an essay about the meaning of hope, we had a discussion during which he said to me that no matter how difficult life may seem today, I should always remember the words of one of his favorite authors, Michael Morpurgo. “Wherever my story takes me, “he said, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart. I know the sun will rise in the morning, that there is a light at the end of every tunnel.”