East Side High School - Torch Yearbook (Newark, NJ)

Page 34 text:

Shadows of Yesterday By ELEANOR RABINOWITZ 7U Can one put on cold, austere paper all the emotions that are wrapped up in us . . . emotions roused by the recollection of our high school days, of our friends and teachers, of the trials and mishaps and joys that crowded together to make up four years of our lives? Can one capture, in retrospect, the mood of a day no longei in existence? No, that isn't possible. Emotions are too subtle, too difficult to express; recollections are, at best, mere shadows ot days gone by, devoid, as all shadows are devoid, of light, color, living substance. How can one define the genuine smile of a pal'', the carefree banter in the halls, the loony jokes of the class clown? The simple phrase ''school days'' suggests many things, but can it describe the feeling of pride at work well done, or the feeling of dejection at failure? Can it begin to enumerate the bits of knowledge, ideas, impressions, and thoughts received in a classroom from teachers and fellow students? Actually it says so little! No one can fill in the history of a class. A class is made up of individuals, and each individual has his own private history to relate. Because individuals are distinctly different, so the histories must be different. As a class, however, we have shared some basic experiences together, and these bind us to each other. We've suffered the initiation pains, risen to the top by gradual ascents and have felt, jointly, the nostalgia of farewell. We've laughed and argued and talked together. We've worked and played. In all our hearts is written the true history of our class . . . only in all our hearts. Political and Ccottotnic Sumey Political excitement in our class rose from mild indifference to a rousing crescendo, culminating in the stormy election campaign of our last term. 30