STAR DIARY

It is just a number

Last week the HSC results got published and my sister could not score a GPA 5. Seeing her results, she burst out into tears and became very upset. She had been a good student all her life and it was beyond her imagination that she would do poorly in such an important exam in her life. Seeing her upset, my uncle came and took us out for dinner. "Doing poorly in an exam is not the end of the world," he said. "Your GPA is only a little part of your life, not your whole life. You should not let your GPA decide your complete ability. It does not portray the complete set of dynamic skills that you have acquired from your academic experiences. My advice for you would be to develop as a person through other experiences, and that would take you to your desired position, not your GPA." We found his words very inspiring. I wish every one of us would think the same way. 

Zarin Tanzum
Dr Khastagir Government Girls' School,Chittagong 

Standing up for your right

The other day as I was waiting for a rickshaw, I noticed that a CNG driver was behaving rudely with his passenger, a middle aged woman. He was demanding more than the actual fare, probably taking advantage of the fact that he could get away with acting in this manner with a woman. However, the woman stated that she happened to be a regular commuter who uses that route and that she knew the fare. She would have paid him more if he were a little less rude to her, she told the man. But the CNG driver continued to behave rudely, hurling insults at her. When she wanted to leave the place after paying the fare, the driver even tried to stop her, asking for that extra amount of money. This is when people standing nearby jumped in, rebuking him for his behaviour. It is quite a common scene seeing a random man behaving badly with a woman because he thinks he can get away with it. However, I am happy to see that people have become sensitive and aware about Women's Rights and unafraid to raise their voice in situations like this. 

Monirul Kader
Mirpur, Dhaka