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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1922)
Ö I Zo e c , '(? 2 , ( a ’2 . 2 _ i 3 MAY 8 V The Chem awaA meri can P r i n t e d a t C h e m a w a , O re g o n , a n d D a v o te d to th e In te r e s ts o f In d ia n E d u c a tio n Voi. XXV TIME I I I j i I I W ednesday, December 6, 1922 AND ITS INVESTMENT H ow tnany of our stu d e n ts realize th a t all th ey g et out ot life w ith all th a t it m eans to th em — th e ir su c cess and h appiness— m ust come o u t of th e present m om ent; th a t th ey can never live a second before or after? I t is only in th e present m om ent th a t you live, and all you do, all you achieve, m ust come rig h t o u t of th a t m om ent. N o-one has ever yet been able to get into the fu tu re bv even a fraction of a second. N o-one can ever get back into th e past by a fraction of a second. W hen we consider th a t th e really creative p art of our lives is reduced to a com paratively sh o rt tim e— a few hours, days or y ears— we get some idea of th e value of tim e, be it in hours, days or years. T im e is rep resen tativ e of g reat value. T im e is e d u cation, know ledge, an d know ledge is pow er. T ak e care of th e seconds and th e hours will tak e care of them selves. C om paratively few people realize th a t th e aggreg ate tim e w asted, frittered aw ay, w ould lift one from a life of lim itations to a career of u nlim ited advancem ent. E very one of our stu d e n t readers have a vague idea th a t you will in some way m ake your life w orth w hile. Y ou have no in ten tio n of th ro w in g it aw ay, of m ak in g it cheap or com m on. In a general way you e x pect to accom plish some big th in g , b u t th ere are only a few who realize th a t if the life is to be successful every day m ust be a success— m ust be devoted to som ething w orth w hile. Ju st an indefinite am bition or desire to live a noble life, to achieve th in g s, will not accom plish a great deal. E ach day should be p lanned in detail and th e plan adhered to rig id ly , and unless you do stick to a plan it usually dw indles aw ay un til you are sim ply d riftin g along. T h e m ore you know , and rem em ber th a t our s tu d en ts are here to learn, to advance, to unfold, th e n e a r er you are to possession of pow er. E very bit of know- lege th a t you get in vour academ ic classes, in your vocational w ork, in yo u r society, in y o u r religious activities, and general upb u ild in g in m orals and ch a ra c ter, places you th a t m uch nearer to th e possession of pow er. Every bit of know ledge you acquire enlarges and enriches your own lives by ju s t th a t m uch. E very little self-investm ent m akes you better off, so m uch No. 8 larger and fuller, and ju st so m uch b etter able to cope w ith life. W e wish it were possible for us to arouse each one of you, to b u rn into y o u r very consciousness, the m arvel ous results secured by being presisten t in acq u irin g know ledge, by co n c en tratin g your energies tow ard u p b u ilding your life, by consecration your very being to self-culture, self-im provem ent, self-enlargem ent. T h in k of th e possibilities you have rig h t here! Of all th e habits th a t are formed in y o u th , w hile you are form ing character, none will prove more helpful in after years th a n th a t of u sin g your tim e for self-im provem ent. If you secure th is h ab it, if th e habit is stro n g ly in tren c h ed in your n atu re s before you finish school life, it will steady you, stre n g th e n your pow er, an d keep you from y ielding to th e th o u san d and one tem p tatio n s w hich will beset you w hen you sta rt o u t to fight y o u r big battle w ith th e w orld. You will have such a stro n g am bition and unflinching d e te r m ination to get on th a t n o th in g can stan d in your way. If each one of you will grasp the im portance of th is and co ncentrate y o u r energies, and p atien tly foster all th at is good d u rin g your school days, we will a n sw er for your after life. W aste of tim e at C hem aw a or elsew ere is w aste of character, waste of life. Can you realize th a t w hen you kill tim e you are killing your chance, k illin g your o p p o rtu n ity , killing your m anhood, y o u r wom anhood? T here is no finer aim in th is w orld th an to m ake of o n e-selfa larger m a n o r w om an, a nobler citizen. Is there an y th in g more im proving than ceaseless endeavor to be somebody w orth w hile, to stand for h ig h er and b etter ideals? Y oung people, it is the constant absorption of k n o w ledge from every possible source th a t m akes educated persons, and it is a great variety of know ledge th a t m akes you broad an d sym pathetic. H appy is th e you n g m an or young wom an who has formed the fixed habit of self-im provem ent, w ho is alw ays try in g to m a k e him - or herself a little b etter in form ed, a little larg er m entally, a little better prepared for life’s o p p o rtu n ity w hen it com es. W h at one gets out of life depends largely upon th e preparations for it, and there is no investm ent th at one can m ake w hich equals self-investm ent in grow th, know ledge and pow er.
