The Hope Project
Shortly after the New Year, I stumbled upon a book I had read in middle school and decided to re-read it. That book has inspired me to begin the journey that has become The Hope Project.
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass, although a simple and easy read, changed my view on the world and life itself. Jeremy Fink and his best friend Lizzy go on an unexpected journey to find the meaning of life. Along their journey, they ask people they meet what they thinking the meaning of life is. In the end, Jeremy says this:
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass, although a simple and easy read, changed my view on the world and life itself. Jeremy Fink and his best friend Lizzy go on an unexpected journey to find the meaning of life. Along their journey, they ask people they meet what they thinking the meaning of life is. In the end, Jeremy says this:
“Until recently, I thought it was death that gave meaning to life--that having an endpoint is what spurred us on to embrace life while we had it. But I was wrong. It isn't death that gives meaning to life. Life gives meaning to life. The answer to the meaning of life is hidden right there inside the question.”
At the time when I was reading this book, I was going through an extreme rough patch, and had little hope for my life. My depression was getting the best of me, and I could see the end coming. However, when I read this quote, I began to think that maybe my idea of what life is was all wrong. What is the meaning of life? I had no idea, but I wanted to find out. What I did know, I knew from reading the book, and what I knew was this: there is no overarching meaning of life that will fit everybody. Everybody comes from a different background, and everyone has their own perspectives, therefore, everyone has their own meaning to life. With this in mind, it became difficult for me to wrap my head around how to go about finding hope in a place where I did not know how to fit in and find my place.
The more I thought about this idea in conjunction with what I was learning throughout the Human Services Program, I thought about others who might be feeling this way. My last year in the program, I completely focused on anxiety and depression in adolescents; I had a lot of experience with people my age who suffered from severe depression, and the more I learned about their story, the more I realized that their depression could have been prevented had they had the right treatment and support earlier in life. Jeremy Fink, my friend’s lives, my own life, and the concentration in my studies drove me to create The Hope Project.
The purpose of this project is to spread the message of hope and inspire readers to keep living. The Hope Project will be a photojournalism style blog where I interview people asking them what purpose they find in life, what gives them hope, and how they find their place in the community while depicting them in whatever manner they wish to be presented to the world. In this way, I believe people can learn from one another and can spread hope and knowledge. Learning the views of other people can open our minds to other ways of life, and I find that very valuable in fighting depression and finding hope. Along with creating this blog and it's content, I also have the wonderful joy of working with Farrah Greene-Palmer, Western's Suicide Prevention Grant Manager, and her team of students in order to create a video using the interviews from my blog to spread the message of hope and help on Western's campus.
*Release forms have been signed by each participant, click here to see a copy.
The more I thought about this idea in conjunction with what I was learning throughout the Human Services Program, I thought about others who might be feeling this way. My last year in the program, I completely focused on anxiety and depression in adolescents; I had a lot of experience with people my age who suffered from severe depression, and the more I learned about their story, the more I realized that their depression could have been prevented had they had the right treatment and support earlier in life. Jeremy Fink, my friend’s lives, my own life, and the concentration in my studies drove me to create The Hope Project.
The purpose of this project is to spread the message of hope and inspire readers to keep living. The Hope Project will be a photojournalism style blog where I interview people asking them what purpose they find in life, what gives them hope, and how they find their place in the community while depicting them in whatever manner they wish to be presented to the world. In this way, I believe people can learn from one another and can spread hope and knowledge. Learning the views of other people can open our minds to other ways of life, and I find that very valuable in fighting depression and finding hope. Along with creating this blog and it's content, I also have the wonderful joy of working with Farrah Greene-Palmer, Western's Suicide Prevention Grant Manager, and her team of students in order to create a video using the interviews from my blog to spread the message of hope and help on Western's campus.
*Release forms have been signed by each participant, click here to see a copy.