Old Trail School - Vestigia Yearbook (Akron, OH)

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OLD TRAIL SCHCJGL YEAR BOGK 1948 P bl h d by the Junior C1 ONOR OF Th S iors

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To the Graduating Class of 1948: It would be dishonest to say to you that, taking the short view, I think you are particularly fortunate to be graduating at this time. Most thoughtful adults are not too proud of the human world they have helped create. Warfare in several parts of the globe, the United Nations sabotaged by Russia and the United States, tear and greed and jealousy apparently more powerful forces in governing a man's thoughts and actions than the ethics Christ taught, narrow self interest the controlling criterion for most human decisions, releasable and destructive power in fantastic quantities-all of these suggest that poetically, at least, it might have been preferable to have reached adulthood at some other 'time in history. Taking the long view, however, one may honestly declare that time is never out of joint for successful and satisfying living. If the end of life is truly the refining of one's spiritual self so that identification with the Divine Being may in some way be approximated, then what time in history has been riper in spiritual abrasives than the years through which we are now passing? In spite of the excited anticipation of approaching college, our better student minds sense clearly that the problems of contemporary life are real indeed. Luxurious, decisionless years, free from the penalties of wrong choices, do not pre- pare people for real living. God's spiritual revelations can illumine only those minds and hearts whose owners have experienced life. Almost all of you are leaving home and school in September for the broader and more maturing influences of college in new communities. Almost all of you have set up educational and social goals which are commensurate with your abilities. I urge you, also, to re-examine and improve the spiritual standards which govern your lives, so that the end of your college years will find each one of you not only better educated in the conventional sense, but a definitely better person. Following the ethical directions which Christ gave us is not always easy, but it is possible to do. Treating others as we would be dealt with, forgiving those who trespass against us, accepting all people in the spirit of brotherhood, sharing our strength and possessions, speaking the truth only-these and other directives are the way to the good life. There is no higher goal than becoming a spiritually mature person, ROBERT L. AMSDEN Iune 10, 1948