“The amazing thing is that we’re right to hold onto hope. The world may be broken but hope is not crazy.” – John Green
Ten summers ago, I sowed a seed in the labyrinth of a forest — my mind. Her name was Hope. She grew into a young sapling in a forest filled with tall and rather intimidating trees. I didn’t think she would make it, but I had faith in her.
The weather changed with time. Sometimes, the clouds turned dark, and it rained enough to flood the forest. But through the dark and stormy weather, I clung tightly and held on to Hope like never before.
When the storms passed and the sun returned, she grew — in fact, the storms made her even more resilient. She soon became tall enough to support life in many forms. Birds and bees made her their home. She grew taller and taller, and every shift in weather strengthened her. With each trial, she emerged even more resilient.
I held on to her so dearly and believed in her so deeply that she eventually became the tallest tree in the forest. Over the years, she became the anchor of it all — the tallest and strongest tree standing was Hope.
When the weather turned bad, the forest looked up to her. She symbolized a feeling of expectation — a promise that better days were on their way. And that the horizon would look bright again, if only you held on strong enough, and long enough.
Shivani Arvind 