Reasons to be alive

Hope.

I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Whoever is happy will make others happy too. - Anne Frank.

Humanity has all but lost the very thing that was stitched into our minds from the moment we were born. Compassion. In a world now that we see as being filled with hate, we also see lacking love. All around us there is the news of:

'More terrorist attacks hit France'

'Many people dead after a shooting in a Gay club'

'Shootings in ________.'

'Suicide bombing in _________.'

'More attacks in __________.'

More. More. More.

In times when we are uncertain of what the future holds, when we are scared. Hope is the only thing that makes us want to wake up every morning, to face this world once more and ask: "what have you got for me this time?"

Hold everything you have close to your heart. Time will be cruel, it will take away the people that you love and the things that make you happy. Of course, those thing will be replaced, but cherish the present. Tomorrow has enough worry of it's own. It is important that we are always loving towards those we care about, we never know when it will be the last time we see one another. Find a hope, find your own personal ball of sunshine. The things that make you happy, go and do them! Don't listen to the people that bring you down or the voices telling you that you can't do something because of this, that and the other. You must pursue the things that you love and live the life you love. Life is temporary, and people are even more so.

The quote I chose to begin this chapter was from Anne Frank's diary. For those who are unfamiliar with this remarkable young lady, she was a young Jewish girl that was forced into hiding after Nazis began to murder innocent Jewish people in the Holocaust. This young lady was living in one of the most desperate times in the history of the world. Death was always staring her in the face, it was inevitable. Yet, in her diary she stated her hope and optimism that people in this world are truly good people overall. Anne died in a concentration camp two weeks before it was liberated. However, in her death, she is one of the most recognised victims of the Holocaust. Her thoughts and attitude towards life have been read by millions worldwide in as many languages as was needed. This beautiful girl knew in her heart that things would get better, and they did. Although she perished, allies liberated all camps and the Jewish were free once again. The war finally ended, people celebrated and rejoiced. In the darkest of times, one girls hope outshone her fear.

So what is your hope? What do you love more than anything in this world? What is your reason to live? Find it, and hold on with all of your might. Life will get better. The world will constantly be plagued with cruelty and pain, however, it will always have things that make it beautiful. The way the leaves change colour in autumn, the water against the sand of a beach. Every sunset and sunrise, a new opportunity to change your life. If you are not happy, make yourself happy. Do what makes you happy.

Our world is a scary place to live in at the moment. We don't know what the future holds, so live in the present. It is called the present because each day is a gift. Use your gift.