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people, whether good, bad or ordinary, have
great significance in the world. but it's not the
people as biologic specimens which we consider:
it's how and what they do and think which arouses
our interest in them. in a university environment,
we meet a great variety of people. some we live
with in our dorms, others we work within classes,
church groups and extra-curricular activities. i
live in a co-op, russell house, where i have met
and known many girls extremely well, and since i
hope sometime to be proctor, i take an even greater
interest in the girls and their work. living sand
working with someone brings out many traits which
one wouldn't discover otherwise. about classmates
you often can only speculate. sometimes you become
close friends, or even more, with a classmate, in
addition to meeting the challenge to your intellect
and abilities.
church activities appear to be vital to many
young people, for they give security and importance
more readily than other extra-activities. i took a
taste of what they had to offer, and found it
lacking in many ways. religion has always been a
question in my mind: rather, at first, the subject
was simply ignored. as an adolescent ( assuming i
have passed that stage now) i felt left out of the
"gang" for our parents didn't attend church, and
did not give us any formal religious education.
funereal, weddings and an occasional holiday
program were the only occasions taking us into the
church. so, upon coming to college, i was
determined to investigate the question. as yet, i
have found no answer, and though it doesn't worry
me, i am still much interested in the subject. this
thing called religion is important in varying
degrees to my friends, helping to makeup their
different and fascinating personalities.
extra-curricular activities also provide an
opportunity to meet new people, often some very
unique ones. during my two and one half years here
i have been and am a member of student council,
copywriter of hawkeye, and work a little on the
frivol staff. campus activities are helpful in
developing personality and assurance, but often do
not help the ones that need it.
my interests are many and varied : sports take
an importance place, as do knitting , reading and
cooking. ice skating and swimming are the
favorites, but long walks in all kinds of weather
also give me much pleasure. having worked outdoors
on the farm, i appreciate it, in spite of the dirt
and sweat involved. that farm, on which i have
lived all my life, is always in the back of my mind
whenever i make any plans for the future. i am one
of the few farm girls who wants to live all her
life on a farm.
why, then did i come to college ? i think, to
escape the drudgery of farm life, one must have
some appreciation of beauty in literature, the
world's affairs and nature itself. that's why books
interest me. whether for study of purely
recreation, they hold one key to understanding
life.
being the youngest of six children, i have the
special position as" the baby". we are a farm
family, but not an ordinary one. that's not
conceit, for in comparison to our neighbors, we are
out of the ordinary. few farm youth go on to
college, whereas all six of us have had further
schooling., you yourself have taught three of us,
and you shall no doubt hear a final chapter in the
life of a family of which you have already heard
much. our family is close in intellect and in
spirit, if not in distance. we are all different,
yet we respect these differences. our parents have
provided us with that by which we may all achieve
our goals good health, good heritage and
perseverance.
we live near a small iowa town, in which i
worked for two summers as a grocery clerk. this,
though not financially profitable, was an excellent
opportunity to understand these diverse citizens of
the town. they make up a community which at first
is easy to hate, but as you understand it, you
forgive them their weaknesses. people are both good
and bad, in large towns and small.
all the experiences of my life, as i remember
them and reflect upon them, are of significance to
me, for they are responsible for developing me as
an individual.
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