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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1923)
I 2 The P r in te d a t C h e m a w a , Vol. X X V menean O re g o n , a n d D e v o te d to th e In t e r e s t s o f In d ia n E d u c a tio n W ednesday, March 21, 1923 TH E R IG H T K IN D OF SP IR IT A boy w ith g rit and tenacity of purpose will never ru n away from school w hen som ething disagreeable or hard comes up . T h e rig h t kind of a boy sticks and goes at it harder th an ever to overcom e w hatever his trouble may be. O ne of the main reasons for h av in g ath letics at C hem aw a is to develop g rit and a tenacity to stick u n til you w in. I t is never the cow ard or th e fellow w ith a yellow streak who wins. I t is the kind of boys who won the w restling m atch th e other n ig h t— they exhibited th e “ g r it” k ind of sp irit. If we d evel op th e rig h t k in d of never-say-die spirit and pluck a t Chem aw a we can w in a n y th in g th at comes our w av. A lw ays— yes, alw ays— w hen we go into a gam e, e ith er boys or girls, w ith th e w in n in g sp irit, we are s u c cessful. C lear g rit is alw ays m ore th a n a m atch for any ob stacle and has achieved all th e great th in g s in the w orld’s history. I t is useless to try to discourage a person w ith bulldog tenacity of purpose. H e cannot be d ish earten ed . H e lau g h s at pictures of d an g er, hardships, and obstacles in the way. N o th in g d au n ts a person endow ed w ith faith and d eterm in atio n . T h e secret of success in an y project is to not to be afraid of failure, an d to p lu n g e into th e th in g we have set our h ea rt on w ith all of o u r m ig h t and en th u siasm , w ith o u t even a th o u g h t of the possibility of failing, and should failure com e, get up and at it again w ith more determ in atio n th a n before to fight u n til we w in. D rudgery can n o t d isg u st such people, labor does not w orry them , h ard sh ip s can n o t discourage them ; they will persist no m atter w hat comes or goes, be cause persistence is a p art of th e ir n a tu re . H ave you, readers, ever seen a person who had no “ give u p ” in him , who could never let go his g rip w hatever h appened, w ho w ould come up sm ilin g and w ith g reater d eterm in atio n th a n before, to push ahead? H ave you ever seen a person who did not know th e m eaning of th e w ord “ failure?” If you have you have seen a con q u ero r—a k in g am ong m en. T enacity of purpose is ch aracteristic of all people who do th in g s. T h ey m ay lack some desirable traits, may possess a good m an y p eculiarities and w eaknesses, b u t th e q u ality of stick in g at a th in g , clear g rit, is never absent in a m an or w om an, boy or girl, w ho No. 22 does th in g s w orth w hile. Fearlessness, boldness, coupled w ith com m on sense, has ever been characteristic of great achievers. P eo ple who have no “ d a re ” in th e ir n atu res, who are afraid to tak e chances, who sh rin k from hardships, from responsiblity, m ust be content w ith sm all achievem ent. S tu d en ts, g rit has enabled m any a poor boy and girl to pay th e ir way th ro u g h school and m ake a place for them selves in the w orld; it is m ore th an a m atch for any handicap; it has won th e g re a t est battles in history. N o su b stitu te has ever yet been discovered for th e ability to stick at a given th in g — for stay in g qualities. T h e g reat questions are: Can you keep a t it? Can you stick? Can you persevere after failure? H ave you g rit and backbone enough to hold on, stick and h an g , in spite of everything? Boys and girls, if you have these qualities, th o u g h some of you m ay be s tu pid in school, dull of com prehension, you will win out in the end. You are m ore likely to succeed if you possess tenacity of purpose, even though you lack in all o th er success-qualities, th an if you possessed great brilliancy w ith out it. T h e person we all adm ire is he who does not fall back in tem porary defeat, b u t who g ets up again and w rests triu m p h from defeat. A fter all, the real test is w hat we do after we fail. W h a t will failure arouse in us? W ill it discover in us new sources of pow er, double our determ in atio n , or will it d ishearten us? H ow m uch is th ere left in you after you have apparently lost out? If you lie dow n th en , boys, throw up th e sponge, you are certainly not m ade of the rig h t stuff. T h ere are v ary in g degrees of p ersist ency. Some boys and girls sta rt out w ith enthusiasm and zeal, but tu rn th e ir backs at the very first defeat, a t th e first rebuff they g et after arrival at school, w hile h ard knocks and iron conditions only m ake others fight th e m ore. I t calls out th eir reserve stick in g pow er, m akes them all the m ore resolute. F o r som e stu d e n ts every hard place m eans to “ give u p ,” b u t there is no “ give u p ” in a boy or girl who com es to school w ith a purpose, who p ersists, who never is beaten. T hose who are bound to w in never th in k of being defeated. W e all believe in th e boy or girl who (Continued on page 4) l .
