One Word

Hope.

The task given to the class was to choose a word and cite instances, or rather explain, how the word could serve as a ray of sunshine or as a lethal arrow. The word I chose is cited above. One look at it usually instills a positive outlook upon it. Such a term though affects people differently. Everything serves different meanings to different people. This particular word leans more on to the insides rather than the intellect--or at least, at most cases.
Hope is something that builds up people when they are down but it strikes two ways. It all depends on how the term came about to what situation, and to whom. Take the ill for example. The hope of being healthy again plays a big role. Not only does it put a smile on the sick, but also to those who are concerned for that person, and the doctor/s who provide medication. For those who won't heal anymore, on the other hand, the mention of the term 'hope' brings pain. There was this one person who maintained a positive outlook in life even during her bed-ridden days. Many times she would write down her hopes and dreams in a journal and it hurt her so much for she knew that those things won't come to pass anymore. The hopes that others had and the future that lay ahead of them, the things that she once held were nowhere to be found. The pages she have written also brought pain to the people around her but those same words of hope and dreams brought life to others. There are lots of examples of such.
Hope is a big word when one takes a deep look into it. For one, what is hope to a person and what is that hope needed for? There are hopes to live and bring life to others. For some, there is hope to take revenge, to bring pain to others. Even more, there is the hope of death(for others what awaits them after), the only escape from this world. The hope for one may be essentially different to another.
The term 'hope' may mean little or a lot to the people walking this earth but it all comes to one point. It is inevitable that the future--hope of what lies ahead, or what may happen--is what keeps people to go on. Hope can take shapes and strike in many ways but it will always be what it is. The one word that keeps you and I to walk on.