I Believe

I believe in optimism.

The special thing about optimism is how uplifting it is. Even those who find it irritating are brightened by it eventually. It can get anyone through the hardest situation. It can pull the worst experience into the best memory. Optimism is life’s medicine.

Every day I walk into an ordinary dull, brick high school, filled with teens that would pay to be elsewhere. I look around and see every terrible emotion there is in the world. It’s not surprising. After having creativity repressed and dreams squashed, adolescents don’t have much to be happy about.

 But I try to push through my days with a positive attitude. After all, I have a great family, a sound education, and food on the table. I get to spend eight hours a day with my friends. I’m not being tortured, too much.

Without optimism, I would fall into the depression of being a high school student. It’s my secret to almost everything I do. I keep my grades up, my schedule busy, and my stress to a minimum with a bright attitude. Optimism improves every aspect of my life.

My peers, however, struggle with being optimistic. That’s another reason I stay upbeat. Attitude rubs off on others. I love to see my friends brighten up after a long day when I talk to them. Optimism is infectious. After I spread it to others, I see them go and talk to other people, and it just spreads and spreads.

It’s not just other students that optimism can affect. When I get home, my parents are usually stressed out. My sister and I stay positive for their benefit and usually brighten their nights. Their optimism levels rocket, improving our home life and their lives at work.  

If my optimism, or anyone's, can be spread to just one other person in a day, imagine how far it could reach. Someone on the other side of the world may have the best day of their lives simply because I woke up and decided to be happy. Thoughts like that are what keep me cheerful. They’re why I choose to believe in optimism.