Pencil: I'm sorry . . . I made a mistake again . . .

Eraser: Never mind, my dear . . . you didn't do anything so wrong that
it can not be corrected . . .

Pencil:I'm sorry . . . because you get hurt because of me. Whenever I
made a mistake, you're always there to erase it. In making my mistakes
vanish, you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller and smaller each
time.

Eraser:That's true. But I don't really mind. You see, I was made to do
this. I was made to help you whenever you do something wrong. I want
you to be correct . . . always.

Pencil:I am happy that you are always there to correct me. I do not
know how I will do without you . . .

Eraser:I know one day I'll be gone. But you'll replace me with a new
one or an alternative. I love to be with you and I'm actually happy
doing my job. So please, stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad. I wish,
eventually you will learn to do your job without the need for me.

I found this conversation between the Pencil and the Eraser very
inspiring. Parents are like the Eraser whereas their children are the
Pencil. They're always there for their children, cleaning up their
mistakes and encouraging them to correct themselves. Sometimes along
the way . . . they get hurt, become reduced, older, brittle and in the
end, pass on. The Parents are aware that the children will eventually
find someone new (spouse), yet they are always happy doing their bit
for their children. They hate to see their precious ones worrying or
sad; rather they wish their children do a good job and make a lasting
mark in this world.

This is for all those loving parents out there . . . and to their
lovely children who are striving hard (as never before) to make their
mark in this world.

We never know the love of our parents for us till we have become parents."

Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat
missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb
ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6
years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now
lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at
another table came up
and said, You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the
aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!

How in the world did you know that? asked Plumb. I packed your
parachute, the man replied.
Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and
said, I guess it worked!
Plumb assured him, It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't
be here today.

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, I
kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white
hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many
times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are
you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was
just a sailor.
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden
table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and
folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate
of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, Who's packing your parachute? Everyone has
someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb
also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane
was shot down over enemy territory he needed his physical parachute,
his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual
parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

>> Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what
is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you,
congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them,
give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.

Remaja berumur 15, tahun Saheela Ibrahim. Dia hanya remaja 'normal' yang baru-baru ini dihadapkan dengan keputusan besar. Sementara kebanyakan remaja seusianya memperdebatkan atas rencana akhir pekan, dia berdebat dgn ivy liga sekolah  yang dia ingin masuki. Setelah jatuh cinta dengan kampusnya, ia lebih memilih  dari Harvard dibandingkan dengan MIT , Princeton, Columbia, dan 11 sekolah lain.

Saheela mengaku bahwa kunci keberhasilan adalah mencari tahu apa yang Anda ingin belajar sedini mungkin - sesuatu yang dia lakukan di 5 tahun. Disamping keterampilan yang sangat baik di akademis, dia juga unggul dalam musik dan olahraga, dan fasih berbahasa Inggris, Arab, Spanyol, dan Latin. Selamat untuk Saheela! Dia seperti seorang wanita muda yang mengagumkan! Saya berharap dia yang terbaik dari keberuntungan di masa depan!