What does it take to hope?

It can take between 10-30 years for different seeds to grow into a tree. It is a lifetime enough to dream, hope and dare. How much time it takes for the seed is not of much importance,  the thing that matters most is that it grows. 

He held a plastic bottle in his hands, and nature was his audience. In this supposed microphone he talked of his dreams and expressed his passion for doing what is right. It didn't take much, just a bottle of water that was no longer of use to anyone. All the time, his quiet audience listened and smiled at his courage to dream. 

It takes not much to hope, dear reader, but hoping gives back plenty. It is the very premise of life.

The tale must go on: The little boy kept speaking, and he kept dreaming. Nature has ears that listen, that's what I said, but I believe some men possess them too. An uninvited audience, a traveler, overheard these enthusiastic statements that could  move a man despondent of life. He shook the hands of this promising child, and offered him an opportunity. This wise child knew better than to miss chances that nature so regularly hands out to us, yet we fail to recognize them. His ideas and words gained  respect gradually. He spoke of bringing change, speaking up for what's right, and all those things which a man with a healthy conscience often dwells upon.  

The little boy is not so little anymore. I heard him speak on a stage today, where he related this saga to a large audience, only this time the microphone really echoed and the audience cheered.

You being here, still trying and wishing is proof enough that within you is the desire and will to grow into a beautiful tree, it may take time but it will not be in vain. Remember, it takes not much to hope. 

So a seed may take 3 years or 10 to grow, but it will only grow when it realizes its own worth. 

-Amna Khurram

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This story has been inspired by a refugee student, whom I had the honor of witnessing while he spoke proudly  on a stage about his dream, and how he worked hard to achieve it. His story continuously reminds me that nothing is impossible.