Dear Students II

Chairman Shemford School, Principal, Faculty, Parents and Dear students, a Very Good evening!

I am extremely happy and honored to be present here with you tonight. I am as excited as you all are as I am not just a Chief Guest here but a father whose son performed tonight. I had butterflies in my stomach all the time. I compliment the students for putting up such a great show tonight. I am amazed by the potential that I see in all these kids and I am sure they are going to attain great heights in life.

And now coming back to my formal speech, I have been strictly instructed by my wife not repeat what I have already said so many times. I was also advised that if I want to tell anything to the children, I can tell them a story instead.

So, I will tell you a story about a boy. He was like you all in all respects, minus the special talent that you exhibited tonight. He watched TV cartoons, ate lot of candies and was little rude sometimes. I guess he was also slightly lazier than you all. He had loving parents who told him he should behave well with all and great teachers who told him he should work hard. They sometimes made sense to him and sometimes they did not.

One night when he had just got into his bed, he saw from his window that the weather was pleasant outside. There was cool breeze blowing and someone was humming a song. His eyes grew heavy and just then he saw a boy smiling. The boy said his name was Dream and he was here to be his friend. Dream was with him when he was sleeping but he could also see Dream with open eyes. Dream took him to the world of Cartoons, Chocolates and Cakes. Dream could also summon Super heroes, Monsters and Ghosts sometimes.

As he grew up, Dream told him that he should be successful in life. Dream also told him to learn new things or at least try but the boys was extremely shy. He slowly tried to run away from Dream. One-day Dream asked him to perform in the school play, like you all did just now but he did not like it.

He wanted to avoid dream and kept looking outside the window. It was raining heavily and he saw there was another boy getting wet in the rain outside. Before he could say anything, the boy came and said his name was Fear and he wanted to stay with him for some time. Since he wanted to avoid the Dream this time, he agreed to that.

Whenever Dream told him to do something big and not be shy, Fear said he won’t be able to succeed. Fear also told him that if he failed, others will laugh. Fear said only those who were lucky or extremely talented when they were born could do all that.  Slowly Fear also brought his two friends, Ignorance and Arrogance. Ignorance advised you should never worry about what your Parents or Teachers said and you know everything that is required. Arrogance told him that it was OK to be rude and bad. They whispered in his ears that no one loved him in this life. Slowly he was not a good boy and everyone wondered what had changed in his life.

One day it was a bright sunny day and he was playing outside. He saw Dream was just around and he asked Dream if he could come and sit nearby. He told Dream he wanted to do so many things in this life and if Dream could bring him Aladdin’s lamp through which he can realize all that. He had recently read the story of Aladdin and his magic lamp. Dream said he could invite Aladdin but his lamp was not of much help in real life but he knows someone who can help him achieve whatever he desires.

Dream called Hard work who told him that there was no magic in this world and if he wants to succeed in life, he has to believe in what his teachers, parents and his good old school text books said. Now whenever he felt shy or was not sure in life, he called hard work and took its advice. So, before his class tests he practiced many times. During play, he rehearsed his lines many times. Now Fear did not come nearby. 

Slowly being with Hard work, he realized that one needs to work upon how you are. You need to improve upon your weaknesses and play upon your strengths. You can do that if you try to understand yourself. He did not get all the answers but realized that asking questions was what mattered in life. He also learnt that if you know then you cannot and if you do not, then you keep knowing on and on. He decided to retain the twinkle in his eyes for new things of life.

If I think about it now, this boy did what he did because he worked hard, played on his strengths and believed in what dreams told him in his life. Friends I was that boy and I am so happy to share this tonight.

All these children performed so well tonight that I am humbled. Being here with such talented kids, I am reminded of the song by Louis Armstrong:

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow

They will learn much more, than I will ever know,

And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world!

This was all I wanted to say tonight. And like it is done in all good old books, let me mention three morals of the story before I end.

1. You will never find Aladdin’s lamp in this life

2. Dream and Hard work can be your only true friends.

3. On cold dark nights, Fear will try to become a part your life but take help of Hard work to keep it out!

Thank you for listening to me patiently, wishing kids all the best in life!