This is a speech I wrote for a contest on optmism.
Optimism, a word that means so many things to so many different people. Some people might even say there is no such thing as this evolved hope, that it's just an illusion. Others say that optimism shines through the clouds of despair and hopelessness while showing you a better path to follow. People in poverty, who are sick, and citizens who are getting into financial despair have only one thing that can make hope come to life and solve the unsolvable, that one thing is optimism.
Throughout history the United States of America has ridden on the train of optimism. Great Americans among others include; Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, and Ronald Reagan who helped to keep peace and the power of justice in our land. Florence Nightingale who fought for improved medical care, and Bill Gates who gave us a window into the future. Even now we add a new person to our lists of shining stars, Barack Obama who has risen to the task of taking on the economical struggle. The aspect that links all of these great people together is that they inspired us, drove us to become better, and kept our hope up when it seemed impossible to get out of bed. But what they had the most in common was the fact that they all used a strong tool that kept them going proud and strong with confidence, their strength, hard work and optimism that one day their own struggle would make the life of at least one person better.
Hard work fits along side optimism and determination just like paper and pencils. Without one it won't work out. If you work hard but don't believe that you can do it there is a chance of not succeeding. And same goes with the other way around. You can't just hope that it will get accomplished and when you open your eyes it will be there. It doesn't work that way, you need both. If you keep sanguinity that whatever you're working towards will turn out fine, then your confidence will never fail. A person's character is well defined if that person has a strong sense of optimism and is less discouraged by any obstacle, no matter what measure. Determination, the key to make sure that best abilities are always put to the job, with determination you make sure that you do everything possible to achieve your goal. Without hope, your determination is severely damaged, because then you don't carry a can-do attitude and then you simply become malicious in trying to achieve your goal. Without determination and optimism, you don't have that personal x-factor in you.
A quote I recently found that inspired me a lot used words to describe something hard to capture in speech. Vaclav Havel, once the president of Czechoslovakia declared "I can hardly imagine living without hope. As for the future of the world, there is a colorful spectrum of possibilities, from the worst to the best. What will happen, I do not know. Hope forces me to believe that those better alternatives will prevail, and above all it forces me to do something to make them happen." What he said stated something truly more than what it seems. To me he pronounces that without hope there is no future and that you do not know what is coming but you should hope for the best and try for the best.
Only you can change your world with a handful of determination, a scoop of hard work and a pinch of optimism. Pessimists continually drown you in their worries and complaints eventually making you believe there can be something wrong with everything in the universe. There are also realists. The two can be very similar but realists are people who don't push the limits and only stick to the things they can put trust in. When you stick to what you know for sure, nothing special can happen. But when you keep your hopes up and try to make them exist then you can expect to have the best. Even if you don't succeed in what you're trying to do, one way or another, something else that's great happens too. By being an optimist you brighten more than just your life, you brighten others too.
Among the many people that optimism has helped through the ages I can proudly say that I am one of them too. Optimism has helped me many times and continually surprises me in the miracles it manages to create. I am a writer and am currently working on a book. I have lost my work many times during computer crashes or just by losing my notebook. But one of the bigger losses was a computer crash that I call "The great crash of" I lost one of my favorite pieces of writing. At first I was devastated for losing something that I had worked so hard on. I didn't pick up a pencil or sit down at a computer for at least a month after that. I was fuming too much so I decided to consult myself on the matter. I realized with the help of optimism that there will always be more ideas and that I could take the piece out of memory and try to rewrite it and even make it better. So now every time I lose something I just use optimism and I feel much better. Optimism has helped me many other times too. When I lost a grandpa that meant a lot to me I felt distraught and gloomy but I eventually realized that he was somewhere better and would watch over me as I continued my life. The biggest thing in my life is that my parents are divorced. I was under a year old when they divorced so I didn't understand it and therefore didn't need optimism to get through it. But year after year it gets harder in a way and easier in another but I use optimism and remind myself that it could be worse. Besides using optimism for myself I have used it for friends too. In 5th grade one of my friend's Mom died due to cancer. It was a very hard time for everyone that knew her because she was such a kind and gentle person. The day I found out I was angry above all things. I didn't think it was fair, for a person like her to have to have her life taken away. I stayed home from school along with a couple of other friends. We all went over to my friend's house and stayed with her. After crying for what seemed hours we tried to cheer her up. With friends surrounding her we eventually got a smile on her face. If optimism hadn't prevailed, pain would've dominated over everything. I am grateful for a thing like optimism that can do so many things for us. It pushes us forward while giving you a better aspect on all things and can create smiles and joy when sadness threatens to take over. I've realized that in so many ways through my small bit of existence and hope that I will continue to. As long as the sun and moon shine so will I.