University of Pennsylvania - Record Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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VALEDIETUHY Webster defines graduate to admit to an academic degree at the end of a course. All of us are aware of the value of this degree we are about to receive. But how many have thought seriously of the greater sig- nificance of arriving at the end of a course? We are apt to become engrossed in the excitement of these approaching days: Tensions are released, examinations terminatedg responsibilities vanish. At such a time it is easy to under-value the privilege of four years of uni- versity experience. Let us not allow this moment in our lives to pass without the honest appraisal, that its importance demands. One who comes to the end of a course has the oppor- tunity to look back. Much has happened since those first days at Freshman Camp. The delightful language of poetry and of music has been learned. Outstanding per- sonalities have opened our minds to the vistas of great art and literature, To us has come the pleasant surprise of seeing for the 'first time the shape -of the mist that shrouds some of the 'enigmas of life. Countless oppor- tunities have been available to develop our talents. The University community has offered association with many persons differing in religion, race, and ideas, Rewarding friendships have been formed. Brief thoughts are these, but each Pennsylvania girl has cut her own pattern and must weave her own unique memories. Four years in retrospect must summon more than an enumeration of events, Inherent in such a review is the challenge to evaluate these experiences and choose wisely those values that will long outlive our undergraduate days. Basically, college has been a preparation for enjoy- ing productive lives. There must be an increasing aware- ness of the fundamentals of living. Their importance demands that three of these fundamentals be noted. The enthusiasm for life developed in youth is a priceless quality to carry into later years. Those wise will recog- nize the virtue of honest wofkg for persevering labor is the common factor in all great successes. And these two are built upon the third which is freedom: freedom that makes opportunities and abilities meaningfulg freedom that recognizes religious tolerance and racial integrityg freedom that allows stimulating interchange of ideas and pursuit of truth, As prospective Pennsyl- wania graduates it is our right to look back and mark well the merits of this fine experience. The end of a course is also and inevitably a beginning, And every beginning centers attention on what lies ahead. Never was there a time when the future was more doubtful or seemed less inescapable. Much of the strife in the past half-century has not entered our sheltered lives. But the day is past when power politics is a phrase meaningful to statesmen only. Although the foreshadow- ing of the future may be frightening, youth need not cower. Youth that knows the heritage of the past and the great values of the future is fortified with hope- with courage. As graduates we shall be assuming new and untried roles. In them there will be opportunity to translate our faith into action, to redeem our times and buy a better future for ourselves than our elders are wont to bequeath us. It is useful to look back, unavoidable to look ahead, but life is lived neither in the past nor the future. By all means come to terms with the present. Time provides a frame for the accomplishments of man. What better satisfaction than to trade time for accomplishments? Thoreau said in his immortal book, Walden: I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor. If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. A success unexpected in common hours is possible for those who refuse to permit a darkening future to rob them of the present-for those who capi- talize upon the contributions to character and skill made by the four years that are about to end. Nancy Horlacher