In a Hopeless Situation?

If you realize there's no way you'll pass your biology class, it's a hopeless situation. When you're struggling to learn a new language or tackling a difficult task and feeling utterly discouraged, you can say that you're hopeless. In other words, you have no hope that things will work out the way you wish they would.

Which word indicates a hopeless situation?

forlorn, sad, tragic, useless, desperate, impossible, helpless, pointless, bad, cynical, dejected, demoralized, despairing, despondent, disconsolate, discouraging, downhearted, fatal, gone, ill-fated.

How do you stay hopeful in a hopeless situation?