My Success Story

There was once a family living happily in a small city of this very country. One day, a guest knocked at their door. It was a newbie baby girl. They welcomed her. They named her and raised her with much care fulfilling her every wish and giving her the best. She gradually grew taller and older. She learnt many things from her parents, family and surrounding.

One day, they decided that it was time to let her learn the worldly knowledge to be wise and sage and outdo everyone, so they sent her to school. This school was good but not the way her mind was built. Her interests were different than the subjects they taught. The teachers there believed “stick” was the answer to study problems. Still, she never got beaten because she was always good at her studies. This school was not much help to her. Reading always fascinated her. She was fond of sitting alone reading something. She always loved it. She would gain extra knowledge from books. Days passed like this, years went by.

They welcomed new babies but she did not accept this situation. Her relations with her siblings did not go well. It was more like a give and take condition. Her parents used to get angry with them all but she never teased them because she was calm and peaceful. She overcame her feelings of jealousy for her siblings and they developed a healthy relationship. Life went on and they had all the fun together.

It was a beautiful, warm morning when her parents told her they had decided to admit her to another school. She was nervous and scared. Her parents supported her. She trusted their choice and took a step towards the future whose consequences were unknown to her. But you never knew she never resented. She was happy because the teachers were supportive and backed her up. She was, in the first month of her new school, declared the best reader in the class by her English teacher while her class fellows were astounded how quickly she learnt. The next year, she discovered more about herself she discovered she had a beautiful voice so she participated in naat competition and grabbed the first position. The very next year, she participated in Urdu debated and won first prize again. She was happy. She always knew she was good at arts but Urdu was not her thing. She had always admired English. For now, she had learnt a lot from her teachers and no one could beat her at that. No one dared to speak before her. None dared to argue with her.

The very next year, she continued her journey of success. She took part in English debates and surpassed again. She enjoyed her victory. She always dominated her class in studies as well. She was liked by her teachers and school mates. She showed various talents like drawing, singing, hosting, sports skills, debating, presenting, designing, IT skills, painting and writing for which she was admired. Time passed and she completed her matriculation.

Now was time for her to choose a college and opt for higher studies. Again, her parents wanted her to go to the one they selected and she was told to select science subjects. She was never interested in those aspects of education. She was delicate and fragile. She loved literature. College ruined her by taking away her creative skills for they focused only on “parroting” there. She forgot to speak the way she spoke. She forgot to write the way she wrote. She forgot to participate in other activities the way she did because they did not appreciate any extra-curricular activity but mere studies. She lost her creativity. Two years passed and college life was over.

Now, her parents wanted her to become a doctor, so she appeared in entrance test. She did not get selected. Next year she appeared again but all in vain. She could not work hard for it because she was not interested in becoming an M.D.

Her parents did not force her now. She was free to choose anything she liked. Not surprisingly, she chose English literature as her major subject. She found great teachers once again who polished her skills. She was supported by her mentors. She started to write and expressed her thoughts again. She gained her confidence back. She wrote a poem, it was admired. She wrote a book review, it was appreciated. She started to look forward and aimed high.

I am “Khaula Sher” and this was my story. Although it may not look like a “success story” at all to you but there are some successful moments, some successful years which I wanted to share with you to let you know that your children deserve to choose their paths theirselves. You have to provide them guidelines but the choice should be theirs for I know they succeed when you let them do what they like. And, I believe there are more successful years to come, for you, for me and for everyone.