Roanoke Rapids daily herald., 1948-12-23
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Youth On

By GARRY CLEVELAND MYERS, PhD.

BY GAkkI CLEVELAkD MYERS, Ph.D.
REMEMBERING the days when
was . college youth and having
since observed a great many COL
lege youths home on vacation,
venture few suggestions to them.
AS you have had at college some
training at trying to get the other
persons point of view and at think
ing effectively, you might be ready
to give some consideration to the
following matters.
Your parents have been looking
forward eagerly to your coming
home, to learn of your college ex-
periences, progress and aspirations;
to having you around and enjoying
conversation with you as in the days
when you were younger. While they
want you to have a good time among
your friends during vacation, they
also cherish the hours you might
spend with the family.
Evenings Out
You may incline to have so many
evenings out during vacation and
come home so late at night that you
may rarely or never have breakfast
with them, even other meals. And
the times when they might be free
to sit around leisurely and visit with
you, you may not be there.
If your parents have not had
college education themselves, they
might feel all the more eager to
know what college is like and what
is studied and learned there. If you
don't tell them much or if you take
the attitude that they could not
understand anyway, they might feel
greatly disappointed and hurt.
Going to Church
In case your parents are religious,
it would give them vast deal of
happiness to have you go to church
with them and sit with them there,
even though you might prefer to
sit with some of your own cronies.
If you do sit with your young friends
l hope you don't converse with them
during the services. For some years
! have been impressed with the num-
ber of college students who do this.
I've tried to figure out the psychol-
ogy of it. 1t seems that the youth
who has gone to college while his
chums haven't, inclines to feel
superior and, unawares, expresses
his superiority, ignoring the con-
ventions of the "less enlightened"
At any rate, hope you remember
what your parents have done for
you and how proud of you they are.
If you do you hardly will tell them
you no longer believe in the religion
they taught you, "now that you are
educated" While it is highly reas-
enable to suppose that some of your
ideas have changed concerning re-
ligion, you hardly will be so stupid
as to'suggest you know it all now
and that your parents are benighted.
Even if you have strong convictions
that conflict with che religious con-
victions of your parents, you will
not, wisely, press them.
Stating Theories
As you study longer and live
longer you will come to see how very
little you know and how little any
body else knows, even your college
professors. You will discover that
a most scholarly professor" may
violate his own teaching by stating
theories as if they were facts.
Perhaps you will, if you are really
becoming educated, try to discern
the abiding faith your parents find
in their religion and what is there
that might be useful to you. You are
hardly an educated person if you are
intolerant. Anyway, you do want to
keep alive the ties of affection with
your loved ones.
Too, of course, you will want your
old pals to see that you don't feel
superior to them just because of
bit more of book learning. The art
of cultivating mutual friendships
with them you hardly can ignore.
In it is something useful to you.