St Ignatius High School - Ignatian Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

Page 7 text:

 mwm

Page 6 text:

The seed of life must grow and blossom into the totality of a person. The experience we undergo here at St. Ignatius High School, in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States of America, on the planet Earth, is one of continual growth. From the moment of conception on Freshman Orientation Day, until we pass into a new life on Graduation Day, we are growing. From the very first moment the most important growth process of our lives is set into motion. St. Ignatius is the soil, the rain, and the sun from which our lives can be nurtured and molded so that we may become firmly rooted on West 30th Street. After four years of constant care we are transplanted elsewhere, but the roots remain beneath the steps above which is carved the inscription, St. Ignatius College. While we are here we must grow. For if we do not grow we stay the same. And if we stay the same we are stagnant. From stagnation comes death, darkness, void. We must always be growing, moving forward. We are always reaching for the final goal: IDENTITY, PERSONALITY. We must experience before we can become people. It is the Ignatius experience, taken as a a whole, which does more than anything else in our lives to mold us into loving, caring, Christian human beings. We must decide whether to die or to give in to death. Should we give in to death we would be lost. We would nullify any meaningful experience we may have had. But if, on the other hand, we decide to die, we are given life. For through death a new life is attained. If we are to grow, we must first be willing to die. Through death we lose control of our destiny and put our fate in the hands of another. This willingness to give to another is the one act of love we must submit ourselves to before we can ever speak of ourselves as Christians. For if we speak of our Christianity, we must show it in terms of our love for others, our giving of ourselves for others, our death for others. We can speak in these terms only after a certain level of maturity is reached. (continued on page six) ' +' $+ AAAI

Page 8 text:

Although this test must be accomplished by every student, he is given more than enough help. Everyone at Ignatius is given the opportunity to experience Ignatius life. More importantly students are listened to after the experience. Take a look around you. If you miss the Ignatius experience, you have no one to blame but yourself. It is here. It is now, It surrounds you. There is no way of escaping it. If you fight it, you are lost. Move with it, not against it. Experience the world around you. Become a part of it. Work with it, not against. And then become a part of it. For in reality it is you. Don't doubt your part, be ready to become an Ignatian. It is not an easy process, but look to those who care, and see that it is worth the sacrifice. For with the completion of the Ignatian growth process one truth stands above all others: “I am necessary! It is this emphasis on the necessity of the individual that makes the Ignatius experience unique. When we feel good about ourselves, we are able to care for others, and in caring for others we can't help but grow. Through the experience of caring we are commited to grow. Conversely, if we are unwilling to grow, then the experience of the moment, as well as the experience of life itself, becomes meaningless. We must strive for meaning in all we do. If we cannot find meaning in our experience at Ignatius it is only because we do not feel we are a part of the community. Only through acceptance of the opportunity for growth in the Ignatius experience can we fully become members of this Christian community. This citizenship in the community of Ignatius proclaims to those in the school, as well as to those outside Ignatius, that we are a part of a continual search for meaning, love, and life. We are thus tied with the past and the future, as well as with the present.