His First Flight and I Will Fly: Stories of Courage and Self-Reliance

His First Flight

'His First Flight' is a story written by Liam O'Flaherty.

Liam O'Flaherty was an Irish novelist and a short story writer.

It is the story of a young seagull who was afraid to fly.

The young seagull lived on a ledge with his family.

He thought his wings would not support him to fly.

Lack of confidence and courage made him stay on the ledge.

He was left alone on the ledge with nothing to eat.

His family, especially his mother, gave him confidence to fly.

His father, two brothers, and a sister were flying around him and supported him.

Finally, he flew and all the family members showed their joy by flying with him.

Every child needs courage and support in their life.

To be successful, we have to be courageous, confident, and self-reliant.

The story conveys the message that we can't achieve anything without taking risks.

Important themes of the lesson:

• Facing and overcoming challenges for achieving greatness.
• Importance of mother's love and care.
• Importance of courage, confidence, and self-reliance.

I Will Fly

'I Will Fly' is a speech delivered by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Dr. Kalam advises us to be confident, self-reliant, and unique.

He believes that the ignited mind of the youth is the most important resource of a country.

He expresses his hope that today's youth need not fear about their future.

He inaugurated a program called 'Sasthrayan' which means 'the propagation of science.'

The mission of Sasthrayan was the preparation of about 2000 students from different schools to be engineers, doctors, scientists, and managers.

Kalam's inaugural address was on the topic 'Science Empowers the Nation.'

A boy from a remote village asked a question to Dr. Kalam.

He wanted to become a marine engineer.

He asked him how he could achieve his mission.

The boy was nervous and didn't have enough confidence to ask questions.

The audience was curious to know what reply Kalam would give to this young boy.

Kalam appreciated the boy for that question and recited the poem named 'I Will Fly.'

Everybody is born with potential and greatness.

Everyone has ideas and dreams.

Everybody is blessed with goodness and trust.

But in our society, everybody wants us to be like others.

Kalam advised the boy to be unique.

We need to fight the hardest battle until we attain our goal.

Important themes of the lesson:

• Chase your dreams and discover the unique you.
• Importance of being unique.