_{Image source:}

Back when I was a bit younger and college hadn't eaten into the game-lovin' part of me, I lived for the thrill. I enjoyed watching football and one of the most frantic parts of the game was the injury time, where the players just have a few minutes to go. The pace of the game increases, and there's no telling how it would end at that point. Even with a few seconds to go, everyone's still working hard to outdo the opponent. It gets really funny at times when you see the goalkeeper of the other team rush forward to take his chance at the last set piece of the game. Basically, as long as there's time, - even as minimal as a few seconds-, no one rests on their oars until the referee blows the final whistle when the match comes to a close and nothing could be done anymore.

You could be at that stage when the most things around you start to look bleak. Suddenly, nothing seems to be making sense and it doesn't seem like things would ever get better in a long time. Perhaps you might find rest when you know there's such a thing as hope.

Hope is believing the possibility that the tides could change. It's like believing that your next attempt at ploughing could cause a gold rush. It's extreme. It's insane. It's last-minute, It's not the prettiest of options to rely on. But unlike expectations, hope rids you of the pain of disappointment. It doesn't take hold of, it doesn't push it, or set the standards too high. it's free.

Here's the little I know about hope

_{Image source: Pixabay, CCO.}

Hope doesn't know how to say it's over.

Unlike most things that i know, this one doesn't know how to quit. It really doesn't matter how deep you wallow, or whether there's any certainty at all that you'll survive the fall. Hell, you could die, but even at your last breathe, hope still wouldn't write you off. Why? It doesn't know how to do it. And If it so happens that you live till the next day, Hope only see reasons to be stronger.

Hope doesn't ever die.

Unlike most things that I know, this one doesn't just stay down for long. Pull it down with all you've got and it will get back up again twice as fast. Like air-filled plastic underwater, hope rises. and stays up till the end.

Hope is hopeful. It looks forward.

Unlike most things that I know, this one keeps moving forward. Recall that bit about frantic footballers in the last few minutes of the game? Well, there can only be one victor, and hope realizes that. Hope After all the last-minute struggle and things eventually don't change, the vanquished team looks forward to the next match and gear up for training the next day with passion and optimism. You ask them: 'what's next for the team.' and they reply: 'we're working harder on the next one, we'll confident we'll win.' Hope does that to you.

Hope gives you a chance at redemption.

Unlike a lot of things I know, this one gives a second-second-second chance. Yup, I emphasized that thrice. You might have failed to show the stuff you're made of and given quite the wrong first impression about yourself. Hell, maybe you've been consistently good at blowing it up to the umpteenth time. You probably suck, I'd have to give that to you. But if ever there's the slightest chance of getting a do-over, hope tells you to take that chance, and do it better! It cleans you up and gets you going one more time.

You need hope, hope needs you.

If anything at all, hope cannot always depend on itself, and it knows that. Hope is a winner who doesn't always win and you should understand that too. It could get better, but then again, it could get even worse. It simply offers you a chance to get up and try again. But it cannot do it on its own. What's hope without the willingness to try again? Hope drives you, and then you, in turn, make it bigger!

That you're still here today proves how promising and full of life today is, and how beautiful it could end. Hope exists, and it calls out to you. It won't ever give up if you don't. It needs believing, and it needs the will. Your will to fight, to be intentional, to plough. One more time.

_{I am hopeful, aren't you?}

I feel this shouldn't end with me, but rather go around the blockchain. What's to stop it when there's so much hope flying around?
Hence, everyone is welcome to write in too, Whether you're nominated or not. Tell the blockchain what hope is to you in a few words. What events in life made you believe?

• You're free to nominate as many friends as you like and use the #hopealive tag for visibility.
• Also, feel free to include a link to this post in your post about hope. Let them know where it all started. Feel free not to as well, We're doing it for everyone.

I'll nominate Twenty-one friends for a start, - 'cause I'm feeling lucky and I need this thing rolling and off the ground too-. Hence, I call on @olawalium, @mosunomotunde, @lizbethk, @mother2chicks, @ejemai, @jaynie, @warpedpoetic, @imbigdee, @seyiodus, @shello, @beeyou, @annieben, @alisonudeme, @gee1, @scarletmedia, @chinyerevivian, @tomboy, @optama, @intheory, @canby, @denmarkguy and @djoi to write in. We'll be reading. Thank you. :-)