How The World Gains From Optimism

I want you all to feel how I feel, hear what I hear, and see what I see. As a child, I grew up with optimism revolving around me. There have been many instances in which I feel a person’s inner strength is capable of finding solutions to the world’s problems.

I have an older sister who once suffered a disease known as Purpura when she was just seven years old. This disease causes itchy sensation and large blood spots to swell up on the skin. The doctors lost hope and they said, “We’re sorry, we couldn’t find the cause for this illness.” My aunt was in tears and she didn’t know what to do. It was then that my sister held my aunt’s hand and said, “I will be fine, mom. You need to stay strong.” Over the course of the following week, her optimism gave her strength to fight the disease.

You see, optimism is a very powerful attribute. In this world, we are sometimes placed in unfavorable situations in which we lose hope. Our confidence would go down, and we tend to feel really weak. It is during these times that we must be optimistic. We must reach out to our positive self, because whether you believe it or not, the world gains a lot from just one positive thought.

We are none other than tiny specks in this world. But we are not just specks of dust, we are specks of change. As we unite together in a proud motion, these tiny specks combine, and they won’t just be those regular specks anymore. They will become a huge cloud, a colossal cloud. And in this cloud, we can rain pessimism or we can rain optimism. This optimistic rain will wash out all the negatives of the world. Not only will it be peaceful, but also, it will bring a great change.

BUT what exactly is optimism? Optimism is… the hope for a better future. How could this world gain from optimism when considering all of its problems? The miseries we face, the problems we hold, and our hopelessness which constantly arises. But that doesn’t mean we give up. As Eric Thomas once said, “You wanna shine like a diamond… you gotta get cut like a diamond.” So, life will tread on us, scrunch us, stomp us, but we get back up. As we hold our value, we keep fighting, this world keeps fighting the miseries, the hopelessness, but what keeps us going?

Optimism. As a child, I grew up with optimism revolving around me. Every year, on my birthday, I send part of my savings to India. There, my grandparents donated food and sponsored education for the young poor people. Not only is it me, my family wishes for the poor people to succeed in life. This action is a drop from that optimistic rain.

Also, we can thank Optimism for Disney, an entertaining TV show. Walt Disney, the founder of The Walt Disney Company, faced many problems throughout his life: he was put to work at the age of nine, he had only an eighth-grade education, he had no training in art, and suffered multiple business setbacks. Instead of thinking about these obstacles, he accepted his failures and learned from them, which helped him achieve great things in life. He’s also just another droplet of optimism.

Now, if just two droplets can make such an impact towards the world, optimists like you and me can also make a difference. More droplets, optimism spreads, spreads, and spreads, and when that sun comes out, an everlasting rainbow will emerge.

But even when the rainbow is hanging high, it does not always symbolize happiness. My grandma was very enthusiastic and she loved her grandchildren very much. The week before she passed away, I entered the room with a cascade of tears flowing from my eyes. As she laid there on the bed, all I saw was a simple smile. And she held my hand and told me, “You shouldn’t cry out of sadness, you should cry out of happiness.” Her last words to me changed my life, and still today, I keep a bright and humorous smile. Little did I know that the smile was changing my attitude. Rather than crying during my grandmother’s funeral, I smiled when I remembered her wise words. I guess optimism is inherited after all. And today, I pass down my optimism to all of you. Let’s make it a legacy and help the world gain a whole lot from optimism.