Survivors’ Anthem Series # 53: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey

Holding On to Hope When Life Gives You Every Reason to Let Go

There are survivor anthems about anger.

There are songs about finally walking away.

There are songs about reclaiming your voice, your body, and your identity.

And then there are the songs that remind you to do one seemingly simple, but sometimes incredibly difficult, thing:

Keep believing.

For Survivors’ Anthem # 53, we're going with one of the most recognizable anthems of hope ever recorded:

“Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey.

I've heard this song countless times throughout my life. I've sung it. I've blasted it. I've heard rooms full of people immediately join together the moment those familiar opening notes begin.

But the older I get, the more meaning those three words seem to carry.

Don't stop believing.

Because sometimes believing that things can get better is an act of survival all by itself.

When Hope Is All You Have

Life has a way of testing every one of us. There are moments when the future feels exciting and full of possibilities. And then there are moments when everything changes.

For survivors, hope can become particularly complicated.

When you've experienced abuse or trauma, you've already learned that terrible things can happen. You've already seen how quickly safety can disappear. You've already lived through circumstances you once couldn't imagine surviving.

That knowledge doesn't simply vanish when the trauma ends. But neither does hope. Sometimes hope is enormous.

It's leaving.

It's speaking your truth.

It's rebuilding your life.

But sometimes hope is much quieter.

Maybe tomorrow will hurt a little less.

Maybe someday I'll feel safe again.

Maybe there is more waiting for me than what happened to me.

Sometimes that's enough to keep going.

Just Hold On

That's what “Don't Stop Believin’” represents to me.

Holding on. Holding on when you don't know exactly what comes next. Holding on when you're exhausted. Holding on when life doesn't give you the answers you desperately want. Holding on to the possibility that there are still beautiful moments ahead of you.

I've needed that reminder throughout my healing journey.

But lately, I've been reminded that hope isn't something we need only because of the things we've survived in the past.

Sometimes we need it for what we're facing right now.

When Someone You Love Is Hurting

I've also faced difficult circumstances involving the health of people I love. And there is a particular kind of helplessness that comes with watching someone you care about face something you cannot fix for them.

You want answers.

You want certainty.

You want someone to tell you everything is going to be okay.

But sometimes nobody can give you that promise.

So what do you do when you don't know what tomorrow is going to bring?

You love them today.

You show up.

You sit beside them.

You make sure they know they're not alone.

And you hold on to hope.

Not because you're guaranteed the outcome you're desperately wishing for. But because hope gives us somewhere to place our hearts when certainty isn't available.

Hope Isn't Pretending Everything Is Fine

I think this distinction matters. Hope isn't denial.

It isn't ignoring reality. It isn't forcing yourself to smile when you're terrified. And it isn't telling someone experiencing trauma, grief, illness, or uncertainty that they simply need to “think positive.”

Real hope can coexist with fear.

You can be scared and still believe.

You can cry and still believe.

You can acknowledge that something is incredibly difficult and still believe there could be better days ahead.

You can even have moments when believing feels impossible.

Hope doesn't require perfection.

Sometimes it simply asks us to leave the door cracked open for possibility.

Survivors Understand What It Means to Believe

There is something extraordinary about the hope survivors carry.

Because we've already seen evidence that impossible days can eventually become days we survived.

There were moments in my own life when I couldn't see the person I would eventually become.

I couldn't see the books, the advocacy, The Survivors’ Anthem Series, The Jane Project, or the people who would someday share their stories and songs with me.

I couldn't see the life waiting beyond the trauma.

I just had to keep moving toward it.

That's something I wish every survivor struggling today could know:

You don't have to see the entire future to believe there might be one worth reaching.

The Song Everyone Sings Together

There's also something I love about what happens when “Don't Stop Believin’” starts playing.

People sing. Not quietly, either. Suddenly everyone knows the words. Different ages. Different backgrounds. Different stories.

For a few minutes, everyone is singing the same anthem. Maybe that's part of why the song has endured. Because every person in that room has needed hope for something.

Maybe they're surviving abuse.

Maybe they're grieving.

Maybe someone they love is sick.

Maybe they're starting over.

Maybe they're waiting for an answer.

Maybe they're fighting a battle nobody around them knows exists.

We don't always know what the person singing beside us is carrying.

But for those few minutes, we're all saying the same thing:

Keep going. Keep hoping. Keep believing.

To Journey

Thank you for creating a song that has crossed generations and become so much bigger than a piece of music.

Thank you for giving people three words they can return to when life becomes uncertain.

I've listened to Journey throughout my life, but those words mean something different to me now than they did when I was younger.

Life has taught me how fragile things can be.

Survival has taught me how strong we can become.

And love has taught me that sometimes hope is the only thing we can hold when we can't control what happens next.

So we hold it tightly.

What This Anthem Means to Me

For me, “Don't Stop Believin’” is about choosing hope without demanding certainty.

It's believing that another chapter can exist even when you can't see it yet.

It's believing healing is possible.

It's believing life can still surprise you.

It's believing that the darkest chapter doesn't automatically get to be the final one.

And right now, it's also about believing for the people I love.

Believing in better days.

Believing in more memories.

Believing while acknowledging that some things are simply outside of my control.

Sometimes that's incredibly hard.

But I'm still holding on.

To hope.

To love.

To tomorrow.

And I'm still believing.

🛡️ Survivor Support & Safety Awareness

Hope is powerful, but survivors also deserve tangible tools and resources that can help them feel safer.

That's why I'm proud to collaborate with Hootie Personal Safety Alarms as part of my survivor advocacy work.

💜 For every 4 Hooties I sell, 1 is donated to a domestic violence shelter.

If you'd like to support the mission while adding another personal-safety tool for yourself or someone you love, visit gethootie.com and use code JANE for 10% off.

Every purchase through my collaboration brings us closer to putting another alarm into the hands of a survivor.

Because everyone deserves to feel safer as they move toward their next chapter.

💜 Continue the Journey

53 songs. 53 stories. And 53 reminders that music can meet us in places words sometimes can't reach on The Survivors' Anthem Series.

🎧 Listen to the Survivors’ Anthem playlists on Spotify and YouTube and discover more of The Music That Helped Us Heal.

📖 Read Because of Jane and discover the story behind so much of this journey.

📚 On October 3, 2026, the story continues with Because of Maddie: The Girl Who Said, “ENOUGH!”

🦋 Explore The Jane Project and add your own thread to our growing web of resilience.

And if there's a song that helped you hold on when life felt impossible, share it with me.

Because somebody else may need your anthem today.

Life doesn't always give us certainty. Sometimes all we can do is hold on to hope, and don't stop believing in the possibility of a better tomorrow. 💜