Give Hope

"We all hope. It's what keeps us alive."

-David Mamet, Speed-the-Plow

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible."

-Christopher Reeve

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.

Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."

-Helen Keller

"You've gotta have hope.

Without hope, life is meaningless.

Without hope, life is meaning less and less."

-Unknown

I am sure that everyone has heard about hope. Heard about how important it is. Or maybe, how useless it is. Hope and despair seem to be talked about often. I even found a quote linking the two, "He who has never hoped, can never despair." And at first glance that seems like a great idea! No despair, hurt, or pain. But what about hope being the breath of life? Is there a life without hope?

Personally, I believe in the importance of hope (as you may have guessed by the fact that I only shared positive quotes). But that is not what I really want to focus on. About a year ago, one of my closest friends was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy or Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome. RSD is a neurological condition that affects the skin, muscles, joints, and bones. It usually develops in an inured limb or after surgery. The symptoms include chronic, burning pain, inflammation, spasms, and insomnia/emotional disturbances. RSD can go into remission but it is very unlikely. Current treatments for the physical symptoms include physical therapy, nerve blocks, spinal cord stimulations, and a host of other medications. But in the end, there is not true cure for RSD.

My friend went into remission, but a few months later, she had a relapse that scared all of us. This made me want to do something, and so I started this Give Hope: RSD foundation. I sold around 250 wristbands and collected donations to raise over $650. You may have read in a previous post, but I also happened to get Will Anderson, the lead singer of the band Parachute, to wear one for a month (he has it on in the music video for their song What I Know and mentions it in this interview).

Last week, I went to a 21st Century Leaders camp that completely changed the course of my foundation. I had been struggling to sell the wristbands since February and had raised about $300, over halfway to my $500 goal. I went to camp, hoping to announce my fundraiser and sell maybe 10 or 20. But as soon as I got back to my seat, I was swarmed with people and sold out the 30 wristbands I had brought in less than 10 minutes. I was utterly amazed and could not believe this response. All week, I could not help but smile every time I saw a lime green, blue, or purple band on the wrists around me. The second to last day of camp, we had a talent show. One of the acts was actually the whole Alpha class (we split into three groups for activities Alpha, Beta, and Gamma). These 19 students got up and announced that they had raised over $130 to donate to GiveHope: RSD. I was in absolute shock and had to struggle not to cry (sadly, I will admit that I lost that battle). By the end of the week, the 21st Century Leaders and their families donated over $290 to the cause.

Before last week, I was starting to doubt the future of GiveHope: RSD and whether or not I would continue with any further ventures. But these other high school kids that knew me for less than a week came together to fight for a cause and give someone else hope. In the end, they truly inspired me more than I could have imagined. The fact that random strangers could come together out of the blue and give so much will never cease to amaze me.

These people are unbelievable and beautiful. They gave me so much hope and it felt amazing. If for no other reason, hope for yourself. Hope because you have nothing without it. But most importantly: give hope. To the world around you. To just one person. A smile could give someone more hope than you may think.

So let that be your challenge! Just one person. Give them something, anything, to believe in. To hope for.