A woman professor in England stood in front of hundreds of her male and female students and gave them a farewell lecture on the occasion of her retirement from academic life.
She said: “Here I am in front of you, already over sixty years old. In those sixty years, i have reached the highest peak of honor. I was successful and progressed in all the years i spent in my life. I have occupied many positions and worked in many places in the society. Every minute in my life came to me with successes. I have acquired a lot of fame in life, and made a lot of money. I was blessed with opportunity of visiting almost every part of the world.
“But the one million dollar question is. Am I a successful and happy old woman now, even after getting all these material gains?
“Verily I have forgotten in the course of my ups and downs in academic and professional life, and the trips and fame I have enjoyed, to stop and get to myself as a woman, what is by far much better than all those academic, social and professional honours, as well as material things of life which I enjoyed.
“I had forgotten to get married and to bear children and to grow a family. I did not remember that I ought to have done all these things in my life, then it became clear to me that I have in reality achieved nothing in my life.
“And I have now realized that all the struggles I have had in my life and my ups and downs have all tantamount to nothing actually. And now I am retired, and barely a year or two after my retirement, the whole society and people I worked with will totally forget about me.
“However, if I had got married and built a big family, I would have left behind me, an unforgettable and everlasting landmark – younger generation of descendants – which is by far much better than everything in life.
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