Hope is one of those things you take for granted until it doesn’t exist for you anymore.
I find that hope is tied to several things. When someone says they don’t have hope or the situation is hopeless, what they are really saying is they have lost the confidence in their ability to see past the bad, their resilience to rise above and know that no matter what they will be ok.
In medicine, I often felt hopeless. I felt that I wasn’t making a difference. I feared the future.
Now I am full of hope, dreams, and aspirations for the future. I think part of it comes from autonomy and feeling that I have control of my life. But it also comes from a change in mindset as well despite my external circumstances.
I have definitely still felt trapped and hopeless at times—trapped by what feels like crushing student debt on occasion, but being able to shift these thoughts is so important. Mindset is crucial. I am grateful for the life I lead now. I wouldn’t change it for the world. Were they expensive lessons learned that will be paid back over time—yes, but I have hope. And when I start to feel like I am losing hope, I have life experiences to fall back on that remind me that perspective is everything.
(Thanks for joining me in my “30 days to 30” journey as I shared life lessons and stories in order to celebrate my birthday—hoping to break stigmas and stereotypes about what 30 means and looks like)
