FIRST IMPRESSION

Aleck, having been born in a village, was from a poor family. His father named William was a farmer who worked in the fields all day long in order to make a living for his family. His mother Anne was a housewife. He had to do all the domestic chores alone since she had no daughter to help her. Aleck was their first child. His father was exploited by his landlords since he was a puppet in their hands, an underprivileged man. Therefore, he could not do anything against his owner's wish and had to compromise silently. He chose to live silently since he was afraid that they might harm his family. So, he preferred to live like a deaf, dumb, and blind man despite his hearing, listening, and seeing capabilities.

Days and nights kept passing, and Aleck was being brought up in a feudalist community. He was observing everything in his surroundings since he was still a child. Some day, he suddenly fell so sick that the doctor in the village told his parents to take him to a city as he was serious enough. His parents were so anxious about him and they somehow managed to take him to a nearby city to be treated despite being poverty-stricken. They had borrowed money from their landlords actually. They left the village and had reached the city with their ill son. They got him admitted to a hospital where his treatment continued for almost fifteen days continuously. He, in his initial days in the hospital, was seriously ill. It seemed as if he was on the verge of death. His parents sometimes were crying for him and tears were coming out of their eyes when they look at him. After the consecutive fifteen days, the doctor discharged Aleck and allowed his parents to take him back home. Hearing this, his parents took a sigh of relief. So, they left the city and reached home safely. Thereafter, they started loving him more than before.

Aleck after being cared for some days recovered soon, he had been feeble though. This led him physically and mentally weak. His parents were leaving no stone unturned to serve him the best way possible. Their continuous attention and care helped Aleck feel better.

After some years, Aleck was admitted to a primary school to get his early education in the village nearby his home. These early days of his learning were so fruitful for him. Teachers, being well-acquainted with the fact that pupils tended to follow what they see happening in their surroundings, always tried to do the things which shape the minds of their students. Such tremendous contributions of the teachers helped every child learn and grow day in and day out. These five years in primary school turned out to be very much productive for Aleck. He without a shadow of a doubt being enriched in his thoughts and ideas too. Cooperative teachers, loving and caring parents, and a conducive environment paved the way for his bright future.

Aleck, after receiving his primary education, was admitted to another life-changing middle school where he was a teenager. This school aimed to identify the weaknesses and strengths of a student and assist him to improve himself with each passing day of his life. In this school, a speech competition was held in the last year of Aleck since education was given at the eighth grade there. Parents were also invited to this very monumental occasion for their children too so that they could see their improvement in them. The reward for the topper was set a free education from grade nine to sixteen, for the one who got the second position would be given $2000, and the third would receive $1000.

Aleck, being so enthusiastic and passionate, prepared himself for the forthcoming tremendous event of his life. He had left no stone unturned since he could very well understand the worth of the reward as a poor boy. He had seen his parents toiling all his life and living a very difficult life. So, only an obedient child could truly feel this.

The wait was over and the occasion arrived. The ground and stage for the competition were beautifully decorated. The teaching staff and parents of the students were sitting on cozy chairs and the students were ready to speak like a news reporter on the TV. The subject of the competition was 'Parents' role in the child's life'. Aleck, therefore, was well-prepared. The participants were unfortunately not more than five in the competition. Well, the competition began with the candidate named 'Aleck'.

His speech started somehow: "Ladies and gentlemen, my respected teachers, my dearest parents, and my fellows. I pay my greetings to all of you, first. Before starting to speak about the very selected topic, I would very much love to thank and welcome you all to be here today for just listening to our speeches. Well, today's topic I have been given to expound on is 'Parents' role in the child's life'. The very first sentence I would like to utter about them is: Parents' role in the child's life is the greatest of all on earth. Had there been no parents, my existence would not have been possible. Even not on earth, human beings would exist today. The parents love their child to a sickening extent. In their entire life, they cannot help loving their child. That is their love surpasses everyone's love on earth. They encounter devastating storms for their child; nonetheless, they try their best to give their child a comfortable life. If they are given a choice to select one between their life and their child's, they will prefer the child's life to theirs most certainly. Their unconditional and selfless love can never truly be expressed in the cloak of a few words. Their numerous sacrifices are matchless indeed. A child can never be tantamount to their efforts despite serving them their whole life. I would sum this speech up while speaking the very last sentence: Parents' role in the child's life is remarkable and matchless on earth."

Everyone out there, teachers, parents, and students, was stunned and they could not help applauding for Aleck. He was so delighted to have received such a positive response from everyone there. At the same time, he was thinking that the game was not still over and the result remained to be seen. So, he silently left the stage.

Now, the second candidate was summoned to deliver the speech on the stage—named "Khalid". His speech was as follows: "My greetings to you all, first and foremost sentence I want to tell you is 'welcome and thank you for coming'. Today, standing in front of you, I will opine about the given topic 'Parents' role in the child's life'. Parents, undoubtedly, play a pivotal role in their children. That is they not only bring us on earth but also face a lot of problems for us. They are incontrovertibly the greatest personalities for their children. The existence of a child is the reflection of its parents. Parents' eternal, selfless, and unconditional love, care, and services are truly admirable; no one on earth can replace them, not even countless money. To cut the long story short, parents' role in the child's life is incredible." The hall was about to resound with the clapping of the audience as soon as he concluded his speech.

Thereafter, another candidate—Waqar was named to come and speak. He started this way: "I would like to pay my greetings to the audience first. Thanking and welcome you all for joining us today from the core of my heart. I have been provided with the subject 'parents' role in the child's life' to deliver in front of the crowd. Well, I will begin my speech by providing heartfelt gratitude to my parents for always being cooperative, loving, and caring. I, honestly speaking, am nothing without my parents. They are my breath, my living, my dying, my eating, my sleeping, and all that I do. For they are like the twinkling stars for me that always keep shining when I am in the darkness. Had they not been there, I might have lost my existence. Living without them is impossible. To me, they are my soul. To summarize, I cannot and will never find their match, never." Everyone there clapped and shouted a word of appreciation for him.

Now, it was the turn of Anju—a teenager. She was called to the stage. She started speaking somehow: "To you all, I would like to greet you first. I welcome and thank you for being here today on this monumental occasion. I am here to talk about the parents' role in a child's life. So to begin with, parents' struggles and endeavors to bring up their children are truly precious and commendable, indeed. They are like a shady tree that keeps sheltering us throughout life. They keep serving us the best way possible. They can stay hungry but they cannot see their children go to bed without having dinner. That is they most certainly would prefer to be hurt instead of hurting their children. They even cannot see their children weeping. To conclude, parents are for sure the important personalities for their child." A demonstration of appreciation by clapping the hands together reverberated in the whole hall.

Finally, the last participant appeared on the stage whose name was Muneeb. He started his speech this way: "Greeting, thanking, and welcoming you all on this special day of my life. I would like to start speaking on the topic since I am kind of a person who forgets things quickly in front of the public. Hilarious, isn't it? Well, parents' role in the child's life without any skepticism is far greater than anyone in this temporary world. Their existence is the comfort of a child. Their soft voice is like a soothing song for them. Their godly service is like that of flowing water which keeps polishing the stones regularly. Their sacrifices and efforts are like that of a farmer who looks after their crops even in heated summer and frigid winter. Salute to their countless services, lasting love, and chronic care. To wrap it up all, parents' role can never be described in words—an obedient child will run short of words while doing so." After listening to his speech, everyone gave clapping hands to him.

After listening to the astounding speeches delivered by the five participants, the committee went to a closed room to finalize the topper. After an hour of discussion, the judges came out of the room in the decorated hall and set on the chairs. One of them was selected to announce the results. Everyone, especially candidates, was too nervous since the result might be surprising or disappointing. Well, Anjo's name was announced and she secured the third position, Muneeb got the second position, and Aleck managed to obtain the very first position. They all received encouraging applause but Aleck's pleasure had no limit, it was entirely infinite. He succeeded to make his parents proud. They were so delighted to have seen his only son securing the very first position. This tremendous result paved the way for his free education in the long run since it was truly difficult to get an education to higher levels in those days, especially in the villages for the poor.

Thenceforth, he was sent to the city to continue his further education there. His father had advised him before leaving for the city, "Work smart, don't waste your time, don't worry, try to find the happiness in whatever you do, be patient, don't take any decision on the spur of the moment, make good friends, don't be addicted to bad habits, and never forget your past when you succeed to be a rich person." He was happy to have heard this from his father.

The very next day after reaching the city, he went to attend the very first-class in an Academy and was admitted there. There he came across a girl called Estella. She was his class fellow among other students there. Since Aleck was an intelligent, diligent, and hardworking student. After some days, when Estella found him a good and capable student she asked him if he could help her with mathematics since it seemed to be a difficult subject for her. Since Aleck was so kind he helped her solve some mathematical problems without any hesitation. This was the very first conversation between them and that was how they started communicating with each other.