Hope.

Hope- 1.wish or desire: something that somebody wants to have or do or wants to happen or be true 2.confident desire: a feeling that something desirable is likely to happen 3.trust: a feeling of trust


Tonight I left my grad school class with a sinking feeling. Each time I open up my cell phone it has a picture of two beautiful girls, Dekayla & Desiree. On the top of my phone it says "hope." I realized I hadn't seen these two girls in a year. Their family was evicted the apartment complex I lived in last year around this time.

Throughout the summer we would often go to Dairy Queen, or they would come over & play Uno. They also taught me the art of "ships across the ocean."

4 girls under the age of 12 were in this family. A humbling reality was that their mom was a year older than me.

Many of the kids I have gotten to know over the past few years have moved. I have also moved out of some of their lives.
( moving from St. Paul to Minneapolis)

Yet, I have seen several boys grow into young men in the past 3 years and become role models for their younger siblings. I have watched two girls who have been best friends throughout their entire life make solid life choices as teenagers. They even received a service leadership award this Fall. I've seen my neighbor stay home on the weekend, after many of his friends began to join gangs.

I can only have hope for Sha'liece, Desiree, Dekayla, & moody ( that is what we called the 3 year old). They were evicted from the apartment after only living in it for 5 months.

These girls were brilliant, full of childhood wonder and curiosity.. As much as I desire for so many kids to grow up and truly grasp who they are- this does not always happen. This notion spans beyond the urban environment to kids who grow up anywhere. Kids are full of dreams, and they have so much potential.

Chances are I may never see these 4 girls again. I pray that they will hold to truth... I pray that they will grow up to be young women who know their worth and use all of the amazing gifts that they have.

an excerpt from Still I Rise by Maya Angelou...

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou