High Hopes

      On January 12^th, I wrote “I have high hopes for 2010.” At the time, my only concern was making DC better this time around. Little did I know, DC would be the least of my concerns in a few hours. I mentioned this to my mom as we were driving around later that week, thinking about everyone that had survived or passed away, and those that still couldn’t be found. Her response surprised me: “I still have high hopes for 2010. I have high hopes for Haiti.” It’s a feeling that people have lost their lives, but things will be better. Haiti is back on the map. Everybody wants to help. Money is pouring in from everywhere.    

    I listened to her, all the while thinking of Marlene’s voice on the phone (“It’s hopeless”). Thinking of the people still terrified, Dad’s distant and sad voice, the rising death toll, the buildings collapsing.  I thought about the picture of Autoplaza, Mimi still stuck in the rubbles, Houda’s broken leg and inability to find a hospital. And I thought about the fact that the hype will die down soon and the aid might lessen.

     In light of this, I’m not sure which statement wins. Is it really hopeless? Or is it a time for renewed hope? In the name of positivity, for the sake of staying sane and calm for those who need it, and perhaps because I have not really seen or lived the horrors, I still have high hopes for 2010. I have hopes that this will bring the country together in a way never before seen and that with the support that it is getting now, it’ll reach levels it has never before reached.