It is in our human nature that we carry our early memories of people, places, and events. Some of these early recollections stay with us forever. Remarkable people impact you in ways that can be sensed more than it can be verbalized. This story goes back to late 1960. The earliest memory influencing my life was me being in age 6 or 7. I was in grade one to be exact.

I remember there was news about government wanting to increase the basic costs for raw paper. This increase with a few cents would lead to some more costs of school books, note books, and other paper work that was being used in Iran. I recall this news because my father took it as something horrible was happening. He was against this increase of costs for paper, although this would not ruin his financial situation drastically. I remember him saying; “a country like Iran who lies on oil, should have schools with free books and material for children.” My father did articulate his thoughts at that time, something that stayed with me forever. He meant that with expensive school material education system would not be affordable for everyone.

“Illiteracy was an enemy that could kill us as it would lead us to the edge of bad choices”, my father would always say. At some point I recall him telling me that even if the cost of paper would go rocket high, he would work day and night to send us to school. This statement of him did impact me hugely. I still today have hard time to waste any paper at all. I guess somehow i have cared for paper as something significant in my life. In school years I used to care much for my books, note books, and school material. I learned that valuing paper was to value books , was to value knowledge, and was to value life. Now looking back I see the importance of that lessen, something that our younger generations should learn. Our children being spoiled with all the technology devises in the world, while still many children around the world wish to have a piece of paper to write. How could this be true for the 21st century?

Now I have to come to a conclusion, that; if we save paper, we save trees, we save life. How is that equation possible? We can guess.

Note: This article was originally written and published in EzineArticles February 13th, 2009 by this author.