“How to be Optimistic when Everything Seems So Hopeless”

In junior high, my friends and I made a “magazine” with a bunch of our cartoons stapled into booklet form in the style of our beloved National Lampoon. It was something I didn’t continue in high school, mostly because I got serious about writing and getting my work published in actual magazines. But late in my senior year of high school, I made one more of those magazines. It was called, “How to be Optimistic when Everything Seems So Hopeless.”

I recently found and reread this magazine, and it was as dark as it sounds. But it also gave me insight on how we can deal with this current difficult time.

Let me set the scene for you. Throughout high school, I was floating in the bubble of an innocent world of my own. I had a sheltered upbringing and was getting constant praise for being smart and doing well in school. My high school experience reinforced this. I was getting straight As and recognition for my writing. I enjoyed the spotlight that came from Vocal Ensemble. Except for one horrible event, my years in high school were pleasant and happy. Or at least the type of pleasant and happy that comes from being somewhat detached and not completely aware.

But bubbles eventually burst. That’s what happened in Spring 1979.