2020 Word of the Year: Hope
What is your word of the year?
Why do you pick a word of the year?
For the past few years I’ve picked a word to symbolize the year ahead. A word, that when reflected upon, would give me a boost, a bit of inspiration, or a pep talk. In the past, my words have been very action oriented. Connections. Evolve. Elevate.These words embody my inner hustle. While I’m not ready to throw in the towel, I’ve begun to have a different feeling deep down in my core. A light, airy feeling that centers in my chest. It is different than the mechanical whir of a motor that had previously occupied that space and when pressed to name it, I think I’d call it HOPE.
The sentiment that “Hope is not a plan” has been attributed to many famous people, including journalist Anderson Cooper and military man Benjamin Ale Okland. It is a phrase my husband and I will often say to our students and athletes. Hope on its own does not accomplish tasks or achieve goals.
But, I feel I’ve spent the last four years getting all the right pieces in place and all that’s left for me to do, is hang on and hope.
Next week I’ll be sharing my review on the book Hope in the Mail by one of my favorite authors, Wendelin Van Draanen. In it, she says,
“One thing that helped me endure ten years of rejection was not knowing it was going to be ten years. For all of those years I had a full time job, and for many of them I also had two little kids. I got up each morning at five o’clock when my husband left for work, spent the next hour or so writing, and then began my real day. I was constantly sleep deprived. If I had know it would take ten years to get published, I almost certainly wouldn’t have made it. But I didn’t know. And every day I told myself, Today could be the day. And then, one day it was.””
I’ve been at this writing thing since 2011 and seriously working at it since 2013. In 2020 I will continue to write books and enter them in contests. I’ll continue to post on my blog weekly and on social media daily. I’ll submit query letters and do school visits and make new products to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers. I’ll continue to plan and lead workshops and meet new writing friends. But I think that without hope, I might spend this year focusing on the effort, the financial bottom line, the plateau of online growth. And I don’t want to do that. I want to focus on the feeling of hope because it will fuel me to keep showing up, to keep working hard.
Because… as Wendelin says, Today could be the day.
To help remind me of this word, I’ve gathered a few images and quotes. Feel free to borrow any one of them to help you keep your own hope alive for the year ahead.
Happy New Year!
Amanda
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