Choose Life, Choose Hope

Dora sat alone in her room, her mind spiraling deeper into darkness. The world outside her window seemed so distant, as if it belonged to someone else. At first, she had tried to keep it together, pretending everything was okay. But as the days passed, the weight of her family’s harsh words, the pressure from her friends, and the expectations from everyone around her became too much to bear.

“You’re just a burden,” her brother had snapped at her the other day. “Why can’t you be more like other people? Why do you always mess things up?” His voice echoed in her mind, each word cutting through her heart like a sharp knife.

Her parents weren’t much better. Her mother had said, “If you weren’t so difficult, things would be easier for everyone. We don’t need this drama, Dora.” Her father, silent most of the time, would stare at her as if she were invisible, his disapproving gaze more painful than any harsh words.

Even her friends, the people she thought understood her, had turned on her. “You always think you're the victim,” one of them had said. “Maybe if you stopped acting like this, we wouldn’t be so annoyed by you.”

Dora felt like she was suffocating. The constant barrage of negativity made her feel like a mistake, like she was the source of all the pain in her family. She didn’t know how to fix it. She didn’t know how to make it stop. All she knew was that she couldn’t keep going like this.

Her thoughts began to twist into something darker. “Maybe I was created just to suffer,” she whispered to herself, staring blankly at the floor. “Maybe I’m just a problem. Maybe if I weren’t here, everyone would be happier.” The thought felt familiar, like an old friend. It wrapped around her like a cold blanket, comforting in its own way, even though it was killing her.

She stopped eating, stopped caring about the things she once loved. Nothing seemed worth it anymore. She would sit for hours, staring at the wall, feeling the emptiness inside her grow larger with each passing day.

Her family didn’t notice. They didn’t see the way her shoulders slumped, the way she barely spoke anymore. They didn’t know she had spent hours in her room, crying silently, wondering why she was even alive. “Why did God create me?” she asked the walls, her voice barely a whisper. “Why did He make me if all I do is make things worse?”

She was convinced they didn’t care. If she just disappeared, things would go back to normal, wouldn’t they? No more arguments, no more disappointment, no more pain. It would all end.

But even as she thought about ending it all, there was something inside her that refused to let go. Is this really the answer? The question lingered in her mind, like a small flicker of light in the midst of overwhelming darkness. What would happen if I’m gone? Would they care? Would they even notice?

One day, Dora was scrolling through her phone, her mind numb, when she stumbled across a movie that seemed to speak directly to her. It was a story about a man who, like her, felt lost and broken. He thought that death was the only way to escape his pain, just as she had. But when he finally faced death, the scene in the movie changed everything.

The character, facing the embodiment of death, asked, “Do you think death will make everything better? Do you think running away will solve your problems?”

The words hit Dora like a slap. She watched as the man realized that death wasn’t an escape. It wasn’t the end to his suffering. It was just the end of his chance to make a difference, to find his purpose. Maybe this is what I needed to hear, she thought.

She turned off the movie, sitting in the dark, her thoughts racing. I can’t die like this, she whispered to herself. I’m not meant to just disappear. I have a purpose. I’m not here to cause pain; I’m here to find a way out of it.

In the silence of her room, she began to speak to herself. “You are not the problem, Dora,” she said, her voice trembling at first. “You are not a burden. You have a purpose in this world, and you deserve to live, to be happy. You are worth something.”

At first, it felt strange. Her words felt hollow, empty. But she said them anyway, over and over, like a prayer. “I deserve happiness. I deserve peace. I deserve a chance to live without the weight of everyone’s expectations on my shoulders.”

Dora began to look at herself differently. When she passed by the mirror, she didn’t turn away in disgust. She started looking at herself, really looking. “I am enough,” she told her reflection, her voice stronger now. “I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I don’t need to fix anyone else. I just need to be myself.”

It wasn’t easy. The negativity didn’t vanish overnight. There were still moments when her mind clouded with doubt. When the pressure from her family and friends felt like it was too much. When the old thoughts crept in—Maybe I’m better off gone…

But this time, Dora had something different. She had hope. She had the courage to fight against the darkness in her mind. And every time the negative thoughts came, she would remind herself: “I am not a mistake. I am not here to make others’ lives miserable. I am here for a reason.”

She found solace in prayer, in being close to God. She began to read the Bible, finding comfort in verses that spoke of hope and redemption. She realized that when she focused on the negativity, it was all she could see. But when she turned to God, she found peace. “For I know the plans I have for you,” she remembered. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you.

Dora’s life didn’t change overnight, but something within her sparked. A fire, a new determination. She looked at herself in the mirror one morning and whispered, “I’m going to prove them wrong. I’m going to show them I’m not like anyone else. I’m going to succeed in front of my enemies. I can’t let them win. I am not a mistake.

She learned that life was never about perfection. It was about resilience, about holding on when everything felt like it was falling apart. And she learned that no matter how dark the storm, there was always a way out.

 Death is not the only option. Suicide is never the best option. If you're facing struggles, don't listen to the negative words of others. Instead, face the mirror and speak positive words to yourself. It works, and it will change your perspective. Dora’s story is a reminder that no matter how hard life may seem, there is always hope. Keep fighting, keep speaking life over yourself, and remember, you have a purpose. Never give up, because you are stronger than you think.

Dora learned that no matter how hard life gets, there is always a way to rise. And the most important lesson of all? Never, ever give up on yourself. You are worth fighting for.