It Should Be Important

Rounding out our first round of student blogs, here are the final five stories from our Community Listener/Creative Writing crew from Ánimo High School in South Los Angeles.

Take a look at how these incredible students have been changed by the simple act of listening to the people around them.

Irma’s Story

Before my first interview, before I even started this amazing project, I never really took the time to wonder what the word “hope” meant to me or to anyone for that matter. It was merely a simple, useless word. Ha, was I wrong! Yes, I was completely wrong!

When I asked myself, what do you hope for? I debated on the answer for several minutes because I never thought about what I hope for in life. I never stopped to think about the millions of possibilities in the world that I could want. That I could have. So before I answered the question, I thought about the word hope, alone. I then asked my older sister, who I thought was wiser than me for some reason, but she did not know what it was either.

In the end, we were like “Oh, yeah, to hope is to want something you will never have! Or to want something that may be impossible to get.”

I did not like this answer, though. It was too harsh (haha), very untrue, and very simple. I debated on the answer for quite a while before I wrote it in my journal. “I hope for the truth.” There is obviously more to it, but this is what I long for. The word hope does not mean what I cannot have, but what I can give and what I would like to receive. For me, honesty is my biggest hope because a lot of people all around the world lie everyday. Sometimes unconsciously, but the lie is still there. I’ve had a great experience with my best friend. He did something horrible, which hurt me, but he was honest about it and he told me, which made me look up to him even more than I ever have. He knew his mistakes, and admitted it. If everyone was honest, the mistake would not be washed away, but instead razed and confronted.

While I interviewed people, they looked at me, when I ask them the question ‘What do you hope for?’, like if I was going to laugh at them at any time. At first, they were not sure of what to say. I was extremely content with this because they took their time to answer the question. It seemed like the really cared about the answer, and they did not want to say anything less important to them. I was excited to know that I was not the only person who debated on what their hope was. I was also surprised that some people hope for the simplest things, even if it’s just some guitar. These things are really important to them. Somehow, I felt it should be important to me too. Just because I know them.

Click below for more student stories…

Carolina’s Story

The first few days that I have been asking people what they hope for, it has been tough. They had no idea why I was asking them to do this. Once I told them that it was a school project and we wanted to hear other people’s voices, they were delighted that I had given them the chance to write in my Hope Journal. People that I had no relationship with were excited to know that other people actually care about their hopes and dreams in life.

I was at my house one day, and my aunt had come over with her family. I gave my Hope Journal to my uncle and his quote stood out to me. He said “I hope that one day I don’t have to hope for anything”.  This was a significant quote because I would have never imagined that he would say something like it. He took approximately 10 minutes to write it down, but it was worth the wait. Then, we started to have a conversation about why he had written it. He chose not to write it down, but he gave a reasonable explanation. He was tired of asking people for favors, so thinking about what he hoped for made him change the way that he looked at the world.

[Read Carolina's Hope Journal]

Selvin’s Story

The first time I heard about The Hope Chronicles, I thought it was going to be an interesting project. I imagined myself asking ONE question that is hardly asked: “What do you hope for?”

I did not like the idea of asking my classmates, but I asked a few. I wanted to go out there, and see what was going to happen. How would people respond? What I was going to learn from this experience. I believe that when you ask that question, and every time someone responds, they give you a little something about them. People share their feelings, thoughts, ideas, and some cry.

Hope for me was just an illusion. Something you don’t even know. I used to ask myself “What difference can you do by hoping?” I have learned that when you hope for something, you expect a change. I have changed.

Thanks to The Hope Chronicles, I learned something. If you truly hope for something don’t wait and be like “when I grown up I am going to do…” Take actions right now, and make a change. Make your “hope” a reality, so when you’re grown up, you can have the satisfaction that you have accomplished your hope. Don’t wait. Just make it happen.

Juan’s Story

Hope: the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. Hope was just a single lonely foolish word, a dream, a desire, a belief, something that was unlikely to happen. I didn’t believe in hope.

What is hope? Is it a drug that keeps you going, moving one self forward so you won’t give up until you reach it? Nothing is hope, everything is hope, and can anything be hope? Can YOU help me find my hope?

I didn’t realize the word hope was in everyone’s mind. I assumed I was the only immature kid to struggle to find there hope, there inner self or even what they simply wanted. It seemed like people had a hope since the beginning of time, that they didn’t need to think about such a question. Was I different OR was my mind just different from theirs?

Usually, I see people moving all around me and even if I’m walking the same direction I feel distant like I’m there, unseen as if I’m watching this crowd move from some different perspective. I didn’t know what to think.

What should I expect from such a word?

Itzel’s Story

I hope to help people in need and young kids left alone, and there are things I can do. When I go out on rainy days, I always see poor people living under freeways. It’s very cold, and some of them don’t even have sweaters on. When it’s not cold, all day they walk around with their market cart behind them looking for bottles to recycle. They go to sell them and at least get a loaf of bread at the bakery. My hope for them is to find a place for them to live. Somewhere where it can be warm on winter and rainy days. Somewhere where they can eat healthy food and start a new life.

Another thing I can do differently is help those kids who are left alone as orphans. It’s very sad to know that some parents don’t want their kids. Some actually throw their unwanted kids into the trash.  As soon as I can, I am planning to buy things like clothes and toys whenever I can for those poor kids at the orphanage. This will not only make me feel proud of myself, but the kids will now know that someone does care for them.

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Tags: animo, california, high school, los angeles