What gives me hope?

Sometimes the world seems bleak.

There are so many things going wrong. It’s easy to feel despair.

Often I look around me and feel trapped on all sides. I’m stuck, caged in a world full of injustice, prejudice, and fear.

Sometimes I think I’m alone and that no one cares the world is burning. I spend so much time looking out at the world and not enough at what’s around me.

If I looked to my left, I would see my friend fervently discussing politics. If I looked to my right, I would see another friend planning his research on parasitic pathogens. If I talked to the girl in my government class, she would tell me how she plans to change the world.

I am not alone.

There are people all around me that are motivated for change. We all want to do something.

The reminder that there are people like me who want to learn and act for progress gives me hope that the world is not lost.

We do not have to fight by ourselves. There are millions of allies across the world that we need to reach out to. Together, we would be an unstoppable force of change.

While there is despair in loneliness, there is hope in a team.