When it comes to hope I find it to be a trap most of the time... Too many times I've either lacked it or had too much of it and it has always come back to haunt me. You need to believe in yourself, but also remember that life doesn't always turn out the way you want it to.

If you're not too sure what I'm talking about, let me break it down for you.

First off, hope can be the most powerful feeling in the world... It can pick you up when you're feeling sad, it can give you something to look forward to, as well as give you something to believe in. For example, if you've had a crush before (We all have, let's be real.) it gives you a potential relationship to look forward to-- whether the outcome is plausible or not is a different story.

Let's use another example... Let's say you hope to be a movie star. It's not that realistic, but it's still something to motivate you to try and achieve anything you put your mind to.

That's how I view hope. It's a motivator. It's something that helps you achieve your goals and maybe even your dreams. It's so powerful and without it, it's difficult to find a positive outcome.

There's nothing to motivate you to work hard, dream big, or take risks if you feel hopeless. It's a lifeless feeling, a life without purpose. Hope can pick you up from the darkest of times because things can always get better, things can always improve.

Having too much hope though can come back to bite you. Some people go off the deep end with what they hope for and then it just tears them down inside. Again, let's say you have a crush, but it didn't work out this time... If you had an abundance of hope, then wouldn't the despair be more overwhelming than if you had less?

Okay, take the other example. Someone hopes to be a movie star but just doesn't have the talent even though they try very hard and hope as much as they can. Does that mean that hope wasn't enough? Does that mean that too much hope let them down?

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't let hope blind you. It's important to have some and maybe even a large amount, but you don't want to set yourself up to be disappointed. Hope has the power to help you believe you can do anything, but remember there are always limits. As much as I hope to live in a cookie castle on an ice cream mountain it's just not going to happen (Yet).

Just try and keep a balanced mind. If you like someone, it's okay to hope that they like you too, but keep in mind that they might not. Or if you wanna be a movie star, you can hope that it will work out that way, but don't forget that maybe it won't.

Have hope that life will get better, and if it doesn't then hope again, but just change your mindset. It's okay to dream and have faith in something if you recognize that life has boundaries and edges that can't be crossed.

Don't give up the hope, stay positive. I truly believe you can accomplish a lot of things if you work hard for them. But at the same time, don't let the hope or desire overwhelm you and cause you to lose yourself.

Be yourself, dream big, have hope... Just remember taht life has a tendency to stand in the way, as much as we HOPE that it wouldn't.