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A Little Hope Goes a Long Way
This morning, I lost my phone. We all know how stressful that is… but part of me knows I'll find it sooner or later, because there’s a part of me that wants to believe.
In a weird way, I felt kind of lucky. I only lost my phone. I could have lost something way more important. Some people lose their reputation, their friends, or even their family.
The only thing I wouldn’t want to lose is hope.
I’m aware that hope isn’t going to find my phone, but it changes how I view the situation.
Last year, when I was new to the Stanstead experience, I felt very homesick. I missed my parents, my dog, my bed. I was so focused on the things I missed, I started to neglect the good around me. And it’s hard to get out of that trap. Hard, but not impossible.
Nevertheless, I remember how I tried to find comfort in the little things, like seeing a butterfly or eating a snack from back home. It seemed silly at first, but it worked.
Day after day, these little things made me hopeful that I could find happiness here. Slowly but surely and with a lot of optimism, I found comfort in all of the little things Stanstead had to offer. While I still missed home, I enjoyed being here.
That’s what hope is about. It’s acknowledging the problems but believing that there’s a way to get through it, believing that things can get better. Hope doesn’t solve your problems, it doesn’t fix what’s broken, and it doesn’t bring back what’s gone. But it does something just as important: it keeps you going.
Whenever life feels heavy and offbeat, let the little things remind you that there’s always something to cherish ahead. Because even at your lowest, you’re never truly lost, as long as you still have hope. 
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