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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 1920)
I 3 MAT o The Chemaw a A m erica n P r i n t e d a t C h e m a w a , O r e g o n , a n d D e v o t e d to t h e I n t e r e s t s o f I n d i a n E d u c a t i o n Vol. X X III W ednesday, N ovem ber 24, 1920 THE W A STER S Students, and readers, time wasters are everywhere. It is said that lost wealth may be regained by economy and industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance, exercise and care, but lost time is gone forever. One hour a day withdrawn from frivolous pursuits and profitably employed would enable a person of ordinary capacity to be well informed in ten years. An hour a day might make all the difference between bare existence and useful, happy living. Consider, then, the mighty possibilities staring at each of our Chemawa students who have at least ten hours each day for self-culture. Some young people pick up a good education in the odds and ends of time which others carelessly throw’ away. W hat young person here at Chemawa is too busy with fun and diversion, or too indolent to em ploy his hours for self-improvement? No-one is anxious about a young man or woman while they are busy at useful work. The great majority of youths go to the bad during leisure hours—if they go at all. Evenings, holidays and vacations are periods of crisis in the careers of young people. Waste of time means waste of energy, w’aste of vitality, waste of character. It means the waste of opportunities which will never return again. It means the difference between a per son of high aims or no aims at all. True success lies in acting well your part, and this every one can do. Better be a first-rate coal shoveler than a second-rate anything. Everybody hates botched and half- finished work. It is thus with those who talk big but accomplish little. The great difference between those who strive to succeed and progress and those W’ho take no interest does not consist in the amount of work done by each, but in the amount of intelligent work or study. The man who knows one thing well, and can do it better than any-one else, will succeed. No-one can pursue a worthy object persis tently without succeeding. We tell our young people to aim high, but we sug gest that our students be very careful at the same time to aim at what they wish to hit, for a general purpose is not enough. You must think and plan and then work to your program—follow out your No. 8 ideas and thus hit the target instead of aiming at no fixed goal. It is ever the persons who believe in their own ideas; who can think and act without a crowd back of them; who are not afraid to stand alone; who are bold, orig inal, resourceful, who have courage and grit, that ac complish things. We believe no human being ever yet made a complete success in trying to be somebody else, no matter how great or successful that person might have been. Success is original. No imitator ever amounted to anything until he stopped copying, imitating, and began to be himself. The person with an idea is wanted everywhere. The world is looking for the man with original force—a force which is coiled up inside of you—your energy, your pluck, your grit, your determination, your originality, your character. A really progressive student does not care how other students employ their time at frivolous pursuits so far as its influence on him is concerned. All the comforts, conveniences and pleasures, and we may say, luxuries, of modern living were conceived in the brains of men and women who were bold enough to break away from the crowd and in spite of difficulties, opposition, influence and ridicule established a sys tem, as related to their preparation for life’s work, that pushed them forward to success and power. An overmastering faith in yourself will enable you to do marvelous things—feats which sensitive, doubt ing people shrink from attem pting. A great success may have its source in expectation, in self-confidence, and in persistent endeavor to attain it. No m atter how great the ability, how large the genius, the achievement will never rise higher than the confi dence. Self-faith has mastered more obstacles, over come more difficulties, and carried through to a finish more enterprises than has any other hum an quality. There is something in the atmosphere of boys or girls who have a large and true estimate of themselves, who believe that they are going to win out. Obstacles vacate the path of the vigorous, positive, determined person—his mental attitude seems to be set so stub bornly toward the goal that the doubts and fears which hinder and frighten the other fellow get out of his way. (Continued on page 4)
