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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1923)
3 MAV 8 The ChemawaAmerican P r in te d a t C h e m a w a , Vol. X X V 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 W ednesday, January 10, 1923 P A Y THE PRICE W e have come in contact w ith h u n d red s and h u n dreds of y o u n g people in o u r school who w eakly longed for success, but who were not w illing to pay th e price for the th in g s thev desired. T h ey did not seem to realize th at there is a trem en d o u s difference betw een w ishing to get on and d eterm in in g to g et on; betw een th e desire th a t has no force in it and th e de sire th a t grips every fibre of o n e ’s being w ith a d e term in atio n to w in a t any cost. T hese very stu d en ts had im pressed upon them the difference betw een a d riftin g and unsuccessful career, w aiting for som e th in g to tu rn up, w aiting for help, an d ta k in g off o n e ’s coat and p lu n g in g into the m aking of a career w ith a grim d eterm ination w hich know s no defeat. Y o u n g people, it does not seem to m atter how m uch ability you have if you lack th e pow er of resolution w hich know s no su rren d er, w hich fixes on the goal and never tu rn s back; if you lack the la tte r q u alitie s you certainly will not achieve an y th in g w orth w hile, a n y th in g d istinctive. No y o u th sta rts out rig h t until he feels th a t it is up to him self alone to m ake good: u n til he has go tten beyond the idea th a t he m ust w ait for som ebody to give him a lift, to boost or push him forw ard before he can begin to im prove his w ork; u n til he has decided th a t he, and he alone, shall be th e b uilder of his own education or career, th e real m an or w om an will never be b u ilt. We see all aro u n d us young people w ho are w a it ing to be push ed , boosted, helped, b u t su ch y o ung folk will never am ount to m uch unless th ey show self-reliance and courage. T h e self-relian t and c o u r ageous chap will m ake good in spite of all handicaps an d obstacles, all influences th a t would seem to hold him back. W e have come in contact w ith y o ung people who are alw ays ta lk in g of th e w onderful th in g s th ey would do if they had the chance of o th e rs —they had no-one to send them to college, nobodv to help them m ake th e ir lives m ore com plete, th eir achievem ents w orth w hile. Such sen tim en ts as these get you now here. T h e re are th o u san d s of boys and girls in our colleges and schools of higher education who w >uld never have been th e re b u t for th e ir faith in them selves and th eir stern resolve to get an education, come w hat m ig h t. No. 12 M any of these were not only poor, but had others depending upon them . Y et, d espite all th e ir h a n d i caps, th ey resolved th a t they m ust and w ould, som e how, som etim e, in some way, get an education. You will be astonished to find how , th e m om ent you cut off all outside assistance you will be reinforced by a new pow er from w ithin w hich you never dream ed th at you possessed. But it will never com e to your aid until you stou depending and lean in g on som e one else and stan d erect upon your own feet. W e th in k th at one of the w orst m isfortunes th a t can befall any young person is th a t of being relieved of the necessity of developing self-help qualities. Y oung people who depend upon others seldom develop into a stro n g and vigorous ty p e of m anhood or w om anhood. T ra in in g in self-help and self-reliance is ju st as essential for a y o u n g person as is tra in in g in an y of th e in d u stries in w hich a life career is d esired. Say w hat you will, as surely as the su n shines, th e suprem e m eaning of m an is the developm ent of pow er, and n o th in g b u t determ ined effort and self-reliance will develop your greatest stre n g th and b rin g out the best th a t is in you. It has been our observation th a t th ere is no sa tisfa c tory place in life for a m an or woman who has no stam ina, no courage in th eir natures, who is sim ply m aterial for stro n g er m inds to m anipulate for th e ir ow n ad v a n tag e . Y oung folks, no-one in all the w orld is capable of m ak in g your life program for you. O n you and you alone depends your fu tu re. N o-one who has a definite purpose in view, who is earnest in his desire to attain his am bition and m ake life count, w ill ask anybody to tell him how he can m ake th in g s hap p en . It is push, energy, v irility of ch aracter, ten acity of purpose, clear g rit and will pow er, th a t causes things to happen. If you wait for som e-one to set th in g s m oving, or to tell you ju st w hen and w here and how you can do th is, you will move forw ard very slow ly, if a t all On th e co n trary , if you are b u ilt of the stu rd y , self reliant stuff th a t does not balk at obstacles, nor cry o u t for assistance at every little difficulty, you will win the battle in spite of a lot of o th er possible defects. (Continued on page 4)
