How do you tell a teenager that life isn’t over just because she didn’t get into the college she’d had her heart set on? How do you convince her that the future is still full of mystery and opportunity, that just because she is certain she knows what lies ahead, it isn’t necessarily–or even likely–the case?
About thirty years ago, a girl her age come to the decision that life was just too grey for hope. She thought that bringing a child into this world would be a cruel thing to do, what with crime, pollution, overpopulation, war, and hate so prevalent at the time. That girl’s mother sighed heavily at her daughter’s distress. She thought a long minute before responding, aware that too long of a pause might indicate to the girl her mother’s confirmation. Then she took a deep breath and told her daughter that hope was always there, and that to live without optimism was no way to live.
