Hope

Hope, faith and imagination; what do these words have in common? They carry positive connotations and fuel our dreams. But what they really have in common is an abundance of during our youth, and a steady decrease of as we progress in life.

Concepts like hope, faith and imagination were what we fed on and utilized to accomplish our goals in our youth. Success was relative, and opportunities were copious. But as we grew older, we began to realize one thing: success became absolute (you either succeed, or you don’t.) and opportunities to experience success became few and far in between. Ideals such as hope, faith and imagination were no longer enough to be the primary source of our success. Instead, tools and resources such as intelligence, good looks and money became the fundamental pillars in determining one’s success. This separates the haves and have-nots, closes doors to more individuals, and creates a funnel effect where only a few reach the top.

Sidenote: This does not apply to the entertainment and athletic industries, as the public loves an underdog and feel-good story. But think about the team owners and record label CEO’s, who are they? Generally privileged and expensively raised Caucasian males.

Now, I understand that genuine hard work and motivation can negate and overcome these obstacles. But the reality is that these individuals must work disproportionately harder to reach the level that most everyone strives for. Is this really fair?

Think about how many freshmen go into college trying to be Medical students, Pharmacists, Engineers and Lawyers. Then think about how many of them actually succeeded. Due to the structure of the system, most of them do not. And for good reason – there’s no room in society for everyone to be a Wall Street Lawyer or an Astronaut.

But why even bother preaching the possibilities and potential when all the elders know, deep down, that most of the youth will never ascend the peak of their dreams? Most of us won’t drive the Aston Martin’s, own beachfront houses or be Chief Executive of anything successful, so why give the hope?

By crushing hopes once reality sets in, people lose spirit and imagination. Some people rebound from failures and achieve success later on; it’s a part of life. It’s too bad this process isn’t explained when our mentors and seniors encourage us in our youth to reach for the stars.

Hope, faith and imagination can’t be taught and gained, but they can be lost or forgotten when we fail. The best we can do is not let that happen when we do stumble – it’s one of the only things in life we have complete control of.