Never let go

By Christa Bonuah. Christa, 13, lives in Stevenage, UK. She is a student at St Francis' College. Please read her article and leave your thoughts and comments below.

Nothing is perfect. Something always has to be imperfect, flawed or damaged. You can’t always have the best parents, who give you everything you want. You can’t always have the best gadgets and the newest games. But what you can have is hope. Even if things are not going well and there is nothing you, or anyone can do to change it, everyone still has that little bit of hope that they cling to. They don’t realise it, but they cling onto it with all their strength. They won’t let it slip out of their grasp and into the wrong hands.

I am sitting on a couch with mum and dad, watching our favourite movie. Laughing and singing along to the words. Dad and I making funny faces to each other, while mum scolds us, and tells us to keep watching the movie quietly. The first time I learnt how to ride a bike without any training wheels. Dad reminding me to be resilient. Mum shouting from the side lines, giving me hope that I can win the battle between my bike, balance and myself. I won. Dad running around the park like footballers do when they score a goal or win a game. Mum crying tears of joy and sadness. Tears that show how proud she is of me, but also tears that show how grown up her little boy is. We were all so happy that day.

August 24th. My seventh birthday. Balloons and streamers all over the house. My best friends and family all around me, singing happy birthday in their loudest voices. Some of them straining their voice just to make me happy and give me the best birthday I could possibly have.  Dad trying to smash my face in the cake, but I was too smart and he missed. Everyone laughing and cheering me on. Dad with his face full of defeat, but, of course, he still managed to crack a smile.

Now, I am eight and my whole life has flipped.

Mum got into an accident. Dad and mum were in an argument and mum decided that the best thing for both of them was if she went for a walk, alone. But they didn’t think about what the best thing for me was. She got hit. Policemen came knocking at our doors and dad’s face was a mix of emotions. Puzzled, pain and longing. Those emotions and that face was exactly like mine when my pet fish died. I didn’t really understand why mum wasn’t home until dad explained to me what had happened a few days later.

Dad started drinking. It started only in the evenings, but then it got worse and worse and became the whole day. It is crazy how things can change for someone in a matter of a year. 365 days. 8760 hours. One day I got fed up. I needed to think, so I came here.

The tallest skyscraper in Tokyo. The view of the city is captivating. It relaxes my mind instantly, taking me into a trance, where situations and things are great. The colours and lights aren’t something I have seen elsewhere. They are unique. I find warmth and comfort every time I am here. When I am here, there is something new about it. Whether one light has flickered on, or one light has turned off. The anticipation and the excitement send a rush through me.

But this time I am here for something different. Hope. This is where I remind myself that there is hope. Even though things aren’t as amazing as they could be. Even though things aren’t perfect, hope is the one thing that I know I can trust. I just have to hold on to hope. Never let go.

97 comments on “Never let go

  1. Elizabeth Shadare on

    Yes well done Christa, when there’s life there’s hope. Jesus Christ is the hope for the hopeless. He can turn things around if we don’t give up. HE CAN NEVER GIVE UP ON US THEREFORE THERE’S HOPE FOR US.

    Reply
    • Sampson Assafuah on

      What a lovely and well arranged piece? But too short for me. Because I wished I could read on and on and on. Yes, with HOPE we can achieve higher heights. Bravo.

      Reply
      • Solomon on

        Christa you are blessed because you were able to overcome all the challenges with hope. The next thing to do is welcome Jesus Christ into your life as your lord and saviour. Because there are more strength in the word of God. When you know Christ, you can help your father as well. Is never too later, and never let it go. God bless you.

        Reply
    • Raphael Ugochukwu on

      Nice one Christa! That for me is incredibly dynamic, innovative and well composed!! Hope does not disappoint!! Keep it up!! Shalom

      Reply
    • Jen Graham on

      Such an inspiring piece. Wonderful selections of carefully used words. Hope is definitely exists and keep on holding to it…it’s the only solution in anything in the world. Thank you for sharing. Keep it up beautiful soul. God will bless you xxx

      Reply
        • Ebere Ugochukwu on

          Well written Christa! You have used your unique creative writing skillls to take the reader back and forth events past and present. This is a relatable piece of writing which presents ‘hope’ as a virtue to hold on to when surrounded by sadness and disappointments in life.

          Reply
          • Patrick Ennor on

            This is a nice piece Christa.
            I have seen from your writing that through the changing scenes of life, there is still hope.

          • Tony Kusi on

            In life, many unpleasant things can happen and our life can change for the worse. But with hope and perseverance things can turn round for good. Christa’ article resonates with my personal experience. Well done.

  2. Linda Mensah on

    Well done Christa, l love it. where there is hope there is life!! If we could have that little hope, we not give up in life. Great work.

    Reply
  3. Francis Dadzie on

    Well done Christa. Hope is what makes life worth living and for you, a brilliant young writer, this hope will take you far. Great piece and keep it up.

    Reply
    • Gideon Amentorge on

      Indeed. Very inspirational. Many a time we forget that precious resilience and hope and we easily often want to throw in the towel! Well done!!!

      Reply
  4. Toni Bogle on

    It’s an amazing story, very captivating from the beginning to the end. I can’t wait to see your future work. Keep up the good work Christa x

    Reply
    • Cynthia Ackah-Mensah on

      I have really enjoyed this beautiful write-up. Very well organized and thought-through.
      Congratulations my dear. You have done so well. The sky is this the beginning.

      Reply
  5. Vicky Bryan on

    This is a wonderful and inspirational piece of writing, that exemplifies how even when someone has seemingly lost everything important to him, he manages to realise that hope is more important and that he can and should go on. The backdrop of Tokyo’s cityscape to the mounting despair intensifies the drama, until the satisfying end, when the boy recollects his hopes and signals a new start. This is beautifully written! Well-done!

    Reply
  6. matilda mensah on

    Yes Christa you are right, things maybe imperfect but we have to keep on hoping with faith. You’ve been really encouraged me. Perfect peace indeed. Well done my daughter

    Reply
    • JOSEPH M. ANGATE on

      Never Never give up. We must emphasize on HOPE.
      Very original, creative and well organised. Brilliant piece of work Christa. I am all praise for you and I believe both mum and dad are really proud of you. Keep the torch burning for all the young coming up. Well done.

      Reply
  7. Francis Nyonra Miezah on

    I like the creativity especially how the various component of different stories where synchronized as if it one main piece. Well done Christa.

    Reply
  8. Sidney Gwira on

    Wow….Christa…you are doing us proud! Mum n Dad will be soo happy for you…you have written a good script!! Well done and keep up the good work!

    Reply
  9. Patrick Baidoo on

    Lessons: keep hope alive, in life there are twists and turns, we should control our anger and we should not let the bad things that happen to us to take to alcohol and other substances since it’s moderate intake can lead to addiction as well as create serious problems for families and individuals.

    Good from a teenager as creative as Christa.
    You are a shining example for your peers and would be writers.

    Reply
  10. Nyarko Prince on

    Well done Christa, I really love it. Its a nice piece .In life what matter most is to have hope in everything you are doing.Christ Jesus is the hope,if we allow him to be the center of our life , at the end we Shell be glorify as the Bible says ,Christ in you ,the hope of glory.Never let it go keep it up.

    Reply
    • Baaba Kofie on

      Always good to have hope. Christ is our hope and for as long as we never let go, HE will always uphold us. GBU Christa. Great piece.

      Reply
  11. Catherine Adewole on

    Well written Christa , Jesus Christ our hope of glory very interesting piece.we need to keep hope Alive and never give up.

    Reply
  12. Patience Sedinam Nyavoh on

    Quite reassuring and very relatable, hope is an essential ingredient of life one can not afford to lose. Very impressive piece, soar higher and never let go off your dreams.

    Reply
  13. Lydia Bonuah on

    The hope of the righteous brings joy, it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. We all need hope, it keeps us strong when we encounter challenges. Very wonderful piece Christa, keep it up, we are all proud of you.

    Reply
  14. Dorcas Diallo on

    I enjoyed reading theses stories. Nicely woven words. As long as we have hope we can do a whole lot. Well done Christa! I look forward to read more from you!

    Reply
  15. Stella Chime on

    Great piece of writing Christa, well done and keeping producing such an inspirational piece of work. Hope is what we all need. Thanks for the reminder.

    Reply
  16. Ismaila Blay on

    You reminded me of Job 14:7; For there is hope for a tree…. even a tree how much more human. People let’s cling on to our God, He is able

    Goooo Christa, my sweet girl. God bless.

    Reply
  17. Eunice Appiah-Asare on

    Kudos Christa! A well written and inspiring piece. Hope indeed is what we hold on to. This is the beginning of mighty things. Keep it up. Very inspirational!

    Reply
  18. Awudu Damani Musah on

    Ma sha Allah,
    What a lovely piece….i live it.
    You will be a great writter.
    I have seen many events out together and i like the linkages.
    Note..this: There is not a single person in the world who lives in complete comfort.
    We all have problems and we all suffer in one way or another.
    Allah created this life as a growth phase for you.
    Growth can only happen when you’re taken out of your comfort zone.

    May Allah ease our affairs ..and may you grow to be a world leader.

    Reply
  19. Mahama N. Ziblim on

    Thank you for this fantastic piece of work. The article is very inspiring and provides some direction on how people could huide their lives towards perfection. I understand and agree with you that we could strive for perfection in our lives, but perfection is not a human indtitiin and so life must be taken easy. A brilliant and creative piece of an article.

    Reply
  20. Nana K-Ababio on

    Great work Christa! Thank you for taking through of the experience of building hope, losing hope and rebuilding hope. Its a great lesson about hope; one that many can relate to. I hope you will keep writing such excellent pieces and never lose hope!

    Reply
  21. Alfreda on

    Truly well done Christa,
    I must say this is an encouraging piece of work. It gives is a strong and illustrative message of holding onto hope. Well done and thanks for sharing this with us.

    Reply
  22. Nana K-Ababio on

    Great work Christa! Thank you for taking us through the experience of building hope, losing hope and rebuilding hope. Its a great lesson about hope; one that many can relate to. I hope you will keep writing such excellent pieces and never lose hope!

    Reply
  23. Syed on

    Very touch piece of writing. Hope is a great thing and I hope that you can cling on to as much hope as you can through life. Keep writing and just remember god always has a plan for you.

    Reply
  24. Denise T on

    Great read – it’s so true that our lives can change overnight and leave us with so many different emotions. You have captured that well in your writing. I agree we can always have hope to give us a positive outlook.

    Reply
  25. Robert Gyamfi on

    Great write-up young lady. Indeed life without hope will be difficult to face each day especially with the level of uncertainty and the seemingly imperfections that comes with it. Keep it up.

    Reply
  26. Rob Humphries on

    Spectacular use of emotive language. Very well thought out and put together. The use of short sentences is effective, especially at the start, ‘Nothing is perfect’.

    Very impressed with the capability and efforts of this young writer. You are a real talent.

    10 out of 10

    Reply
  27. Sherifat on

    Well done Christa ,this is such a lovely piece that describes what a lot of people are going thorough. Yes there is hope for what is seemingly impossible.

    Reply

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