If you think back and replay your year, and it doesn't bring out tears of joy or sadness consider it wasted. Don't necessarily play to win. Do play not to lose. The danger of trying to tell people things is that they pick up on the facts they like and let the others take a running jump. Nothing should be out of reach of hope.
Life is hope.
There are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely - or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in it's hypocrisy demands. A cause is not worth dying for. You only get one life, but you can pick up another five causes on any street corner. Just when you're getting a grip on things, fate comes along and jumps on your fingers. You don't make a soul strong by walking all over it.