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
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