Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 23 to Inevitable Fate, but before so doing it might be wise to wake up and appreciate the advantages in the conditions which do exist. Lack of either money or influence cannot stop a young person with determination. The despised small town may be the very place in which to begin a career, its competition being approximately limited. You are never obliged to sur- render yourself to fate. for your fate can be what you choose to make it. Kemember that you are alive and in America, the Land of Opportunity. The ability to see and appreciate the good in everyone and in every condition is a mark of real intellectual superiority and broadmindedness, it is something that education alone cannot give, but which we must have in order to win the love, respect, and admiration of our fellow men. Dorothy Hanson '22, CHOOSING A VOCATION How shall I live? How shall T make the most of my life and spend it to the best advantage? How shall I become a man and do a man’s work? This, and not polities, trade or war, is the question which is facing the young man of the present day. One of the saddest things in the world is the sight of a young 1inan drifting aimlessly through life with no definite occuption, hoping that some day he may stumble into an easy job that will solve the question of mak- ing a living, Many persons get work by chance and continue doing the same ihing, until chance again turns them in a different direction. Each one of these is in no sense master of himself or of his destiny, but drifts about like a cork tossed from wave to wave on the high seas. Man was placed on the earth to subdue it, and he should have sufficient force of character to determine what part he will play in the world’s work. He who does not act for himself and develop initiative of his own, is no better than the beasts of the field. The “Jack of All Trades” who is so common in this world is usually the result of insufficient attention being given to the choice of a vocation. Here, as John D. Brewster truly states, “Vocational Guidance is Youth's Best Friend”, but it is only of late that the world at large has begun to realize this. When a young man ought to choose a career, he has usually had little experience and feels himself unable to make an intelligent choice, He has probably traveled but little, and his time has been spent doing only a few kinds of work. He very likely does not know much about the possibilities even of the work with which he 1s most familiar, He must stand looking into the future saying, “What shall 1 do?” His ideas regarding various kinds of work are distorted. He fails to understand true values, and thus he pictures to himself the bank clerk with a white collar and clean hands. The disadvantages of this type of work are entirely overlooked, It is, therefore, very important that young people should be guided and given help in their choice of a vocation. To Mr. Frank Parsons of the Vocation Bureau of the Civil Service Home of Boston is due the credit for introducing the methods of Vocation- al Guidance which have proved so valuable to other workers of the move- ment. The Y, M. C. A. and Y, W. C. A. organizations, together with cer- tain libraries and schools have instituted vocational bureaus in many im-

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22 SOMANHIS EVENTS thrills, and exquisite marvels of sound that pass “over their heads,” so to speak! There is the pale, nervous amateur critic who rumples his hair with one hand and scribbles furiously with the other; near by is a sophisticated, ex- perienced one; farther back, perhaps, is a row of boarding-school girls all of whom are there because they are required to attend. Not so with the true music lovers to whom it is an incentive, a source of inspiration. They are the struggling musicians, composers, and teachers who will take any seat that circumstance affords. Blissfully unconscious of the stuffy, perfume-laden air, and the surrounding throng of spectators, they remain breathless, rapt, and eager throughout the performance. Theirs is a perfect, voluntary attention which allows nothing to escape unnoticed or unheard, Last, but not least come the tired ones who, although they may not be familiar with technicalities, are appreciative of the mental relaxation it affords them, Reinald Werrinrath, a noted baritone, recently said, “The most import- ant work to which the Musical Clubs of America can devote themselves is to educate the American people to a keener appreciation of good music, of whatever form or nationality.” Right here in school we have a course called Music Appreciation and Harmony, which seems to have just that aim. It is not only an understanding of the fine arts that helps to make us the type of men and women we want to be. Daily occurrences must be met with intelligence, kindness, and courtesy. Every day someone does some- thing for somebody else; it may be a good word put in at exactly the right time, or it may be an obliging little self-sacrifice. Everyone likes to know that his or her efforts are valued. It is up to us to stop criticizing others, and to begin to express our appreciation. The person who can see the funny side of things is not easily discour- aged. He may suddenly be plunged into a sea of troubles, only to bob up smiling. We know that every cloud has its silver lining, and that the black- est misfortune often cloaks a rainbow-spangled hope,—a truth that we do not, however, appreciate until later. “T met a real optimist the other day,” said a physician, “a fellow to whom I certainly take off my hat. He had lost a leg in a railroad accident, and, when they picked him up, the first thing he said was, ‘Thank God, it was the leg with the rheumatism!’ ” Most of us who are familiar with the author, Bret Hart, recognize, as an outstanding trait, his habit of selecting characters of bad repute and bringing out their redeeming points. He knew that people are apt to judge each other too hastily—to jump at conclusions that have no foundation whatever. We often meet a person whom we instinctively dislike, and whose faults we magnify and dwell upon so incessantly that the being cre- ated in the imagination becomes grotesquely out of proportion to the original. We never take the trouble to discover in that person an admirable trait beside which his faults would fade into the background. You may bewail the fact that you have not as much money as you would like to have, nor as many influential friends, and wish that you were born anywhere but in a small town. Perhaps it is well to resign yourself

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24 SOMANHIS EVENTS portant cities in the United States. Here youths may confer with the well- educated vocational leaders, and determine, to a certain extent, what the future will mean to them. The three aims of the Vocational Bureau at Harvard University should be followed by every community. They are as follows :— 1. To Keep the Child in School Longer; 2. Tostimulate Thought for the Future ; 3. To Assist Him in Choosing a Career. Consequently the vocational guidance of youth is one of the most im- portant kinds of work that can be undertaken by any community. The wel- iare of the community in years to come will be affected by the choice of oc- cupations for the young men who are at present growing up. hen society comes to recognize this important truth to a greater extent, it will be con- sidered almost criminal to allow a youth of promise to stumble into a yoca- tion without receiving assistance from those prepared to give advice. It is rarely possible for a boy to decide at an early age wh at line it will be best for him to follow. He must, therefore, make his training so broad that it will be of service to him in any kind of work, Certain fundamentals in education are needed by everyone; these should therefore be the branches that are given most study during the years of indecision. Even when one is quite certain what profession he will adopt, he should not con- fine himself to the study of it too early, for, if he does, he will be apt to be- come narrow in his outlook on life, and lack the proper sympathy for the work of others. One of the greatest necessities of life is a high school education. One should not, however, stop at this point, but should, if possible, go on, All cannot be blessed with a college education, but even so we can enter night school or take up a correspondence course. The secret of human success is the ability to keep pounding, Grasp every opportunity that comes your way, in order to learn something beneficial. When Senator Henry I’. Ashurst was a barefoot boy of ten, he wrote his name on one of his schoolbooks, and added to it the descriptive phrase, “United States Senator from Arizona.” Soon aiter he passed his thirty-sey- enth year his mail was being addressed: “Honorable Henry F. Ashurst, United States Senate, Washington, D. C.” It took him just twenty-sev- en years to do what he, as a child, had made up his mind to do, He was poor but this made no difference. Men like Thomas [dison and Henry Ford have done the very same thing. In looking over the various paths open to him, the young man should, before making his decision, consider the big things that really count. He and his work will be companions during his entire life; he should therefore make sure that it is the kind of companion that will be entirely agreeable. The work must have such a fascination for the young man that it will demand his best effort, and, at the same time, instill in him a love for the work, combined with the desire to do it better than it has ever been done before. If he does not have these essentials, he will never succeed, be- cause success is always secondary, and comes unsolicited as the result of doing the thing we love to do and to which we have given our heart and soul, The choosing of a vocation is no child’s play; it should be done with all earnestness, and be given serious thought. It is one of the few very important decisions that a young man has to make, since his entire life is usually affected by the choice. If he decides to follow a line of work which is distasteful to him, work in which he has no vital interest, he cannot possibly succeed; if, on the contrary he makes the right choice, his days will be spent doing the one big