Arts High School - Vignette Yearbook (Newark, NJ)

Page 11 text:

“DECISIONS” BY DR. HARRY LEWIS Ph.D. PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATION “NEW STARS BY PAT A. RESTAINO B.S., M.ED. VICE PRINCIPAL The passage of time makes inevitable the creation of judgments. In the period of our years we must unequivocably reach certain junctions where it is necessary to pause and reexamine the road maps. Whether we commit ourselves consciously to a course of action or prefer the less arduous way of committing ourselves by failure to act is relatively unimportant—for in either event we have destined ourselves to a path of movement. Thus, the simple task of deciding whether or not to apply for scholarship is all too often made by permitting the application deadline date to slip slowly but. nevertheless, irrevocably by. Perhaps it is well, though, that there exists this pleasant alternative to conscious decision-making, for life might be unbearable without it. It would seem to me that in the time chart of our lives, the past few years and the next few to come play a role that much outweighs in importance any other equal period. We are called upon to formulate a guide that will affect our movement for the next sixty years . . . Yes. insurance companies are making their bets and placing odds in favor of our reaching what now appears to be the unlikely age of seventy-five. And. yet. the choice of selecting among alternatives—a smorgasbord of destinies—is left to a fifteen year old (!) ... a novitiate in judgment-making—less than knowledgeable in foreseeing the consequences of his actions. But we must! Though we seek advice from our parents, our friends, our counselors, our teachers. . . . and even occasionally . . ., our principal—ultimately the decision we reach must be our own. We can. however console ourselves in the knowledge that there are hundreds of thousands of others like us facing this problem . . . and that the passage of time and the accumulation of experiences may enable us to reevaluate our judgments. Your graduation from Arts High School is not an ending. It is a beginning!! And. even though reminiscing about these past four years may be a pleasant pastime, it seems to me that planning and preparation, hoping and dreaming, are more in order. Now, more than ever, you cannot be satisfied with what you have done and with what you are. Not completely, that is. There is so much more for each of you to do. so much to learn, so many places to see and people to hear, so many more experiences to be met and felt. We live in a world which is dissatisfied with stagnation and hungry for conquests. We live in an age when man’s merciless adversaries. Hunger and Disease, Ignorance and Fear. Want and Frustration are being challenged at every turn. This is an exciting time! But, will it continue? And. will you contribute? How far we progress, how more perfect becomes our society and our world, will depend primarily on the energy, resources, and accomplishments of individuals. Therefore, the richer you make yourself in mind and spirit in the days ahead, the more prepared you become for the demands of tomorrow, the more reason each of us will have to be optimistic. 7