Character: the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.

 

Unlike some things (good looks and natural talent), you are not born with Character. Character is something that gets shaped throughout our lives, through the good and the bad times. When I think of character, I think of an old English Oak tree, much like the one C.W. Lonsdale planted outside of lakes 85 years ago. That tree took many years to develop into the beautiful specimen it is today -- it didn't just happen overnight. In order for the tree to develop into the form it has today, it had to go through many challenges just to survive. Like, for example, the sound of Adam's angry rap music -- it hasn't had any easy life, to say the least. As the tree grew, it discovered new ways to adapt, much like the boys in Lake's House have had to do during their time here at Shawnigan.

 

During my time here, I have seen many Lake's boys slowly mature into young men. Take the O'Sullivan twins, for example: when they first arrived at Shawnigan, they were your typical small-town Saskatchewan boys who liked to get Subway whenever they felt like it. But, over the last couple of months, they have started to gel into the Shawnigan community and, more importantly, into the Lake's House community. Win, lose, or draw, they have both learned to give it their all for their House in inter-house events. It's something of a marvel to watch. Another good example would be the story of Matt B. When he first arrived from Ontario, he was just a shy, skinny kid who hadn’t adjusted from his Lindsay ways quite yet. But over this last year, he has dedicated his time to becoming more involved with the school community through sports, and working hard on his studies. It is very rare to find him away from his desk during prep. I could go on, but Lake's is a place full of character.

 

Each day here offers a new challenge, like many of you already know. These challenges can be physical, like trying to be as big and strong as Joe D. in the gym, or it can be more mental, like trying to stay awake in Mr. Fehr's physics class. Regardless of the situation, it comes down to making sure you put your best foot forward every day and doing the right thing even if you know that you aren't going to get recognized for it. As Vince Lombardi once said, "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." For those of you who don't know, Vince Lombardi has been part of Lakes House since Mr. Wyatt became the House Director. Mr. Wyatt was simply obsessed with Vince Lombardi and plastered the walls of Lake's with quotes that talk about building a man's character, attempting to inspire the boys to challenge themselves to be better. Mr. Lombardi mostly uses sports as a means to shape an individual's character. He claims that, "Sport isn't all about the recognition and the applause you receive on the day of the event, but the real reward is earned in the many lonely hours that are spent putting in the hard yards, preparing for the challenge ahead, when you know that the only thing that is watching is a healthy conscience. Fighting the little voices in your head telling you every step of the way to stop. Just take the easy way out. If you can master the art of self-discipline and fight off those nagging voices in your head and learn to simply get on with the task at hand, you will not only come out as an improved athlete, but more importantly, you improve as an individual. That self-discipline you learn on the sports field can be used in many other parts of life."

 

All in all, there are many different components that help build a young man's character. In Lake's House, the boys have had the privilege to learn about these different components from the influential men that have been involved with House, and they all know a thing or two about how to build a man's character. I myself have had the privilege to learn from Mr. Pasquale and Mr. Plater, who both have different styles of teaching the boys these qualities, but both equally effective. If you look deeper into the history of Lake's, you will find a man who helped develop young boys into men for 25 years, and did a fine job, to say the least. Of course, I am talking about Graham L Anderson. And I'm sure if you asked Mr. Connolly and Mr. Hyde-lay, they will probably say that he was an inspirational man and a House Director that lived by the qualities that he taught the boys, and as we all know, Mr Hyde-lay is always right!

 

 

For those of you who don’t know, our House motto is, "Non Sibi Sed Allis." If you are not sure how to spell it just ask Claudio, or refer to our second attempt at this year's House item. It means, not for one's self, but for others. This is a value that is not just shown in the House, but lived by the boys in Lake’s in all aspects of their lives. It doesn’t take a long time to see that the boys care deeply for each other. You can see it in Marion Hall, it can be seen during inter-house competitions or even with people outside of the House. Non Sibi Sed Allis isn’t a motto that should only be valued by just the boys in Lake’s. I think everybody can benefit from using this in their daily lives. We can see this at Shawnigan as a whole. We can see it being used within each House, between the houses, and as a community as a whole. We come together in the good times and the bad times to support each other and help each other grow. It is not just Lake’s House that is about character, but Shawnigan is about character.

 

It is important that you take risks, and that you aren't afraid to make mistakes attempting to build your character. However, when you make those mistakes, it's imperative that you do everything you can to make up for them. The good and bad decisions we make in life, and the challenges that we go through all help to create the end result that is our character. It won't be easy, but the older we get, our character grows stronger and develops into something that will hopefully be as durable and beautiful as the Lonsdale Oak that stands outside of Lake’s today.

– James O., Head of Lake's

 

 

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