Chloe Rowe
Hope is what you believe. Hope is trust. Trusting those around you to take action, to stand by your side. Stand by your side through joy, through despair. Hope is the little piece in your heart that knows everything is going to be okay. Hope is knowing tough times happen in everyone’s lives, knowing you have to fight for a happy ending. Fight, even if there are bumps in the road. Hope is the light at the end of the tunnel.
I trust those above me, under me, and equal to me will all put in their part to defeat COVID-19. Although COVID-19 is exponentially increasing both in deaths and in positive tests, I am beginning to see the light. I can see the sun shining at the end of the coronavirus. I can feel the hope in those around me. I see citizens in my community choosing to work from home to stop the spread. I see businesses shutting down even if they qualify under “essential” because the owners know how continuing activity is not mandatory. Companies are putting other’s health before profit. I watch the news and see hospitals preparing for patients. People around the world are rising and joining together by staying apart. Creators on social media are actively encouraging fans to stay home. Communities are making masks for hospitals. Volunteers are rolling carts around the hospitals supplying food for the day shift workers while the hospital cafeterias close.
What especially gives me hope is neighborhoods creating ideas for each other to take part in. For example, families are decorating the sidewalks with activities and inspirational notes and quotes for both children and adults, and houses are putting stuffed animals in windows for neighborhood scavenger hunts. The reason the neighborhoods are giving me hope is that I see people coming together by keeping the joy high. The houses participating in similar activities are keeping their community delightful and energized.
Hope is the growing faith in those around you. Hope is the ability to see the luminous shine peeking through the dark. COVID-19 may be expeditiously growing, but hope has the capability to expand even quicker.
Chloe Rowe is a student in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Her goal in life is to attend University of Wisconsin- Madison to become either a pediatrician or a family doctor.