Everyone loves a finish line.
The degree in our hands.
The offer letter.
The promotion.
The success story told in a single sentence.
But no one talks about
the ordinary days in between.
The applications sent before sunrise.
The rejections read in silence.
The opportunities that almost worked.
The nights spent wondering
if effort is enough.
And still,
the next morning,
we try again.
Not because we are fearless.
Not because we are certain.
But because somewhere beneath the doubt,
hope refuses to leave.
No one applauds those days.
No one sees them.
Yet they are the days
we should be most proud of.
The days
we chose not to give up.