Me and my sister

_"Shafat is an enthusiastic and humorous guy", "Shafat is open minded and has tons of fun to be with"._ These are references which I received from my relatives and majority of people I have met before. My full name is Ahmed Shafat Kareem. I am usually known to people as my middle name, which is 'Shafat'. I was born on the 9th of September, 1991, which means I am 23 years old now. I have got one sibling; a younger sister. Then I have got my mother and father too. I am mostly close with my sister, as she is the only companion I have other than my parents.

I have been living and studying in an English-medium school called 'Summerfield Tutorial' in Chittagong until I was in 2nd standard, then I moved to Dhaka with my family. I finished off my school and college and, done my O'Levels in 2008 and A'Levels in 2010 from 'Maple Leaf International School' in Dhaka. After doing this, I have started studying Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) in 'North South University' and hopefully, I will be able to finish off with some great grades and then I plan to study abroad in Australia. The field I am thinking to study in is 'Networking'. Australia is a great country with great opportunities, so I will have no doubt to go there and fulfill one of my dream and settle my career, when it will come down to choose a country.

I love to learn about things that I do not know and I have always taken my studies very seriously. I have never said to anyone in my life, that "I hate studies". Many people find me as a geek, but I only see that as a compliment rather than an insult. I have got big dreams, when it comes to studies. Since I was 6 years old, I wanted to be a doctor. I always tried to aim to do my best at school and college, but my hard work did not pay off in the end. I do not really know why I wanted to be a doctor. Although I do feel very sad whenever I see the poor patients in there, but just the fact that we have got hospitals to cure people is a great thing. Caring for people has always been my desire. Whenever I see someone, who I think need help, I am always willing to help them. But now, I am going to be a Computer Engineer and I have no regrets of choosing this as my professional career because I really love computers and I am always trying new things from gaming to web design. My latest passion is for digital animation and some projects on networking. Apart from this, I would love to meet new people to listen to their stories as well as sharing my own stories with them. Therefore, I realize that everyone has his hidden talents and those which deserve to be learnt. Whenever I have a conversation, I usually joke people around in order to make them laugh. I would like to create a friendly and informal atmosphere where everybody gets together and has fun. I myself live to find the joy. Some interests I have got are reading books, watching movies and praying. I love to read books, because books can always be true friends. They never demand neither do they complain. This is the way I look upon books. I read novels mostly. Currently, I am reading a novel called "The Blind Assassin". Moving on to favourite movies; _Titanic, Romeo & Juliet, A Beautiful Mind_. Basically, the list can go on and on. I must be up to date with the latest movies. Then last but not least, I love praying. I pray as much as I can. Being a Muslim and not praying, just does not go together, so that is why I pray. I also feel that whenever I pray, it helps me getting forward and achieving more and more. I know myself as a sociable person and because of this trait, I have many friends around me. Listening to music, playing sports are also my favorite hobbies with which I spend some time every day.

One of the most important people in my life, other than my parents, is my little sister. She is 10 years old and has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. When I was seven years old, I remember talking to my parents about how badly I wanted a younger sibling. I wanted someone I could have fun with even if my friends were not there, or someone I could boss around. My parents used to tell me to be prepared for all the fighting over TV channels, sharing of stuff and crying that I would have to deal with. At that time, I wanted a little brother, not a sister. I thought little sisters would be annoying to me as they would want me to bring over something to them whenever they need it even if it is not urgent. I thought a little brother would be cuter and would help my parents. However, on the 6th of October, 2002, on a cold and windy evening in Dhaka, all my prejudices had to be thrown away. That day was the day I got the chance to hold my little sister for the first time. She was tiny and was wrapped in white. She had thick, dark hair and was sleeping peacefully amidst the cold weather. I was so excited about her and could not wait to take her home and cuddle her all day. That day was just awesome and however, I did not feel like a big brother till the next week when my mother would let me hold her. All these years, I was able to be part of everything my parents warned me about. Being a big brother was hard work. I had to let her watch all her favourite cartoons, I had to share with her all my chocolates and my guitar as she always try to play it, I had to let her win in games we would play together, and I had to take the blame for things my sister would do. She likes animals very much - especially cats. She always spends his leisure time playing with his cat and the way she takes care of this animal shows that she is a very responsible girl. I would get frustrated, but as I grew older and more mature, I started understanding all the compromises and sacrifices our parents have to go through too. My little sister has been a great influence in my life. She has taught me to be responsible, patient, forgiving, and humble. Being an elder sibling, I have to take care of her when my parents are busy, and I have to be patient when she wants the complete opposite of what I want. I have to be forgiving and understand that she is my little sister, and that I must help her improve and give her second chances. Last but not the least, by letting her win and letting her have her way, I have learnt not to want everything for myself but to share with others. I have learnt that I do not always need to be the center of attention, but I must always give others a chance. I need to be satisfied with what I have and be thankful for everything.

As many years have passed, and all of us have grown older, I still get to learn from the experiences I share with my sister. I have the chance to improve my faults and be a better example to her and my parents. I know for sure that she has always been the perfect "little sister" for me. I know that life has many obstacles which prevent me from reaching my targets. Nevertheless, once I try my best and, get full support and advice from my family, I will be able to overcome them and fulfill my goals of my life. Motivation is an essential factor but how you maintain it is even more crucial. Thus, I am supposed to learn how to maintain it every day.