Daily Prompts: Alma Mater

You’ve been asked to speak at your alma mater__about the path of life.(Whoa.)Draft a speech.

Dear parents, teachers, esteemed guests, my classmates and dear friends:

I stand here before you to talk about the path of life we all at some point need to think of. I remember the day Mom and Dad announced, “Ranu we’ll take you to a new place it’s called a school, you will learn how to read, write and know all the numbers in English.”

“Why Can’t I learn all this at home, I don’t want to go to a school, I’m afraid the teacher will hit me.”

Dad said, “No the teacher won’t hit you, she’d be like your mother.”

When I met my teacher,I looked at her and tried to think in what way was she like my mother,it saddened me to see she was so different,her outfit, her mannerism,her language,nothing was like my mother. How could I believe she’d be like my mother, that I shouldn’t be scared.

That day passed quickly, I began to trust the teacher, her voice was so sweet and she was always ready to help me. At home I was only allowed to speak, Bengali, my mother tongue.

In the neighborhood Hindi and Urdu which I learned from my friends.

Now at age five I’m introduced to another language, English they called it. When I asked, my Dad assured me it was necessary to have a solid foundation. I’m almost sure my Dad did not realize I had no idea what is foundation.  I felt if my dear Dad says it’s good for me, it has to be.

The  years were going by leaps and bounds, suddenly all the happiness I shared until I was twelve, came to a screeching halt, my dear Dad passed away.

Things were uncertain from then onward, where shall we live, who will take care of us, and other things only a twelve year can be curious about. My inquisitiveness  did not last long, my mother announced, “we must move out of this place and go to Comilla , Bangladesh.” Where my parents were from.

Within six months we moved out of Rawalpindi, Pakistan and moved to Comilla. I started school immediately, my older siblings were afraid, I may get used to staying at home.

I had to get used  to  this new environment, or else my mother threatened  she’d marry me off. This was enough for me to listen to her.

Today I’m standing before you to express my feelings about my Alma Mater and also talk about my path of life. To a  fifteen year old like me it seems like a tall order. I’ll do the best I can about this subject, forgive me if I fail to make sense.

Right now I’m thinking of my older sister, I’ll do the same as her, she went to college, studied hard and successfully got her Masters Degree in English. I’m hoping to follow in  her footsteps. How difficult can it be, if she could do it, chances are good I can too.

I’d ask you all to pray that I can achieve this goal of my life. If I’m unable, I’d blame no one but myself for not trying hard enough.

Thank you all for coming and listening to me. I hope I’d make my mother, teachers and siblings proud of me.

……………………………… 🙂

DP Daily Prompts: Daring Do (2015)

Tell us about the time you rescued someone else( person or animal)from a dangerous situation. What happened? How did you prevail?

A few years ago my husband and I sponsored his cousin’s son and daughter to come to Canada to finish high school.

The local school admitted them in Grade ten, they completed the program in three years. They went back to Bangladesh the girl completed her master’s degree, the boy was sponsored by his first cousin to California where he completed his studies.

The girl is married and lives in Minnesota , USA.  The boy lives in California USA. I don’t know what the boy is doing because I have no contact with him.

I wouldn’t say they were in any danger physically, but they probably would face problems coming to Canada or USA without help.

I didn’t mind helping but it was not easy to look after two other kids besides my own.

One of my friends remarked you’ve brought two other kids for three years, we won’t even have two to spend the week-end.

Another lady who worked with my husband one day met us at the supermarket, she remarked, “Doctor you should give your wife a gold medal for taking care of your cousin’s kids.”

I did not get a gold medal but the fact that my good deed was  recognized by our friends and colleagues  pleased  me!

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/dp-daily-prompts-3/

DP Daily Prompt:Imperfection Posted by Ranu

Imperfection is something common in all of us,sports,studies, music etc..I do not think  I  was perfect in any of these.I would therefore relate a story of my brother. He was the best student in his class.He did well in all the subjects.His name was the first one in the teacher’s register.

In the last  high school exam ,he hoped to get the top marks and remain number one in the register.Before he left to go to school he asked me to pray for him,so that he is not second. When he didn’t come home right away,I was concerned,maybe it’s bad news.I tried hard not to think,but I couldn’t stop. Hours later he came home, his friends brought him home.He came into his room and lay down in his bed,he cried like a baby.It took three days to get over his disappointment. To him this was a deep scar in his progress report.His classmate didn’t score big,he only got one mark more than him. I felt my brother would finally learn to take this kind of disappointment bravely. This tiny imperfection made him human.I was happy  that he in future years,will learn from this. I always cherished this scar of his. It was the kind of lesson,he needed to learn.”They say failure is the pillar of success”.