The Theory of Hope (CC)

        For the poetry project in class, I'm analyzing "Hope is the Thing With Feathers" by Emily Dickinson - a poem that speaks out about the value of hope through many layers of symbolism and metaphors. Yes, I understand the collective frustration with Dickinson from our discussions in class and agree that most of her poetry is just too complicated - or in some senses way too simplistic. However, that doesn't mean I hate all of her poetry. In fact, I love some of the poems she wrote throughout her lifetime. Everyone has good works and some not-so-good works - it all depends on which the viewer is reading and their own personal opinion on the matter. So, I know I like at least one of Emily Dickinson's poems, and that's that.
        So, since I've been looking at this poem and researching it both at class and at home, I can't help thinking about hope. Just how important is hope, anyway? It seems like sometimes hope is all people have in life - it leads them through their darkest hours and guides them to better days. Everyone therefore has at least some sense of hope. Even those people who think that talking about hope is "too cheesy" or "lame" have their own personal hopes and wishes - it's something internal that we can't really shut off. Hope is pretty important then, wouldn't you say?
        Think of it like this: What if hope didn't exist? What would the world be like? All I know is that it would not be good. People would lose all of their ambition, all of their determination to find their dreams, because their hope would be replaced with despair. Everything that could have been accomplished would seem out of reach and impossible. No one would take the "leaps of faith" that they do today. Without taking chances, people never grow. It's something we just have to do. If we can't hope, we can't achieve those crazy goals we establish. Hope is what makes growth possible - it's what allows us to keep on pushing ourselves forward in life and refusing to give up. In a way, hope is what keeps us sane.
        So, this may just seem like a happy-go-lucky post about the value of faith in one's life, but hope really is an incredibly important part of the world. Hope and the will to live are tied together. They go hand in hand - if you lose one, you lose the other. Without hope we have nothing to live for - the will to live is something only reached through the power of hope. How does a young adult leave home and move towards the future? Hope. How does someone with an emotional disorder keep on going in life? Hope. How does a bird learn how to fly? Hope. It's something that just sticks with us through all of our days. Hope allows us to keep on trying, keep on racing towards new and brighter horizons. It's what makes us dreamers, and what gives us determination. Hope, faith, believing in even the most unrealistic dreams - it gives us something to ground us in this world - something to live for.