_This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man._
--Shakespeare.
1) Take a complete bath at least three times a week; better still, every
day.
2) Keep your hair, teeth, finger nails, and clothes in good condition.
Look well groomed.
3) If you eat, sleep, and exercise properly, your health and your
complexion will be at their best. Consult your gymnasium teacher on the
subject, or consult a reliable book.
4) Girls, when you dress your hair too startlingly, wear waists that are
too low or too thin, use powder and rouge, you remind boys and men of
the wrong kind of woman. The best time for cosmetics, if you must use
them, is not during your school days.
5) Of course dress as becomingly as you can; but, in the main, rely for
your attractiveness on your attainments, your gentle manners, your tact,
and your active desire to render others comfortable and happy.
6) Cultivate charm, girls and boys. The best teacher of "How to be
charming," is a really kind heart. Every one of you can have that.
7) If your heart is kind, you will learn to talk interestingly, and to
listen intelligently.
8) Try, increasingly, to fit your word to your thought, and your thought
to the fact. Being accurate does not mean being dull. Effective speech
has much need for imagination, but very little for common slang. You
understand and enjoy,--
These growing feathers plucked from Caesar's wing Will make him
fly an ordinary pitch.
If, however, in slang phrase, a person spoke of "swiping Caesar's dope";
or of making Caesar "come off his perch," you would see that something
fine in the thought had vanished. Practise expressing your ideas as
attractively as possible.
9) Don't make cutting remarks about those who are absent; your wit may
win a laugh, but its unkindness will cause others to like you the less.
They will feel uncomfortable about what you may say of them in _their_
absence.
10) Whenever you are curious about the wonderful experience which we
call "birth," think of it reverently, and go at once for information to
your father or mother; if you lack these, to some high-minded friend
much older than you. Otherwise, inclose a stamped envelope addressed to
yourself in a letter to the Y.M.C.A. or the Y.W.C.A. or the Federal
Bureau of Information, Washington, D.C., asking the title of the best
book for a boy or a girl of your age, about the Beginnings of Life.
11) Never listen to explanations from the ignorant or the vulgar. Impure
thoughts on this subject lead to the ruin of both body and spirit. Pure
thoughts lead to the most precious possessions the world can give:
father, mother, sister, brother, friend, husband, wife, children, home,
country.
12) Be dependable. If any quality is _most_ desirable, it is that of
dependableness. In school you have wonderful opportunities for
cultivating it.
13) Every one of you should aim to become economically independent. To
that end, decide on a vocation and plan your studies accordingly. If you
wish to change later, very well; but always work towards a definite
goal.
14) Avoid showing your displeasure with an acquaintance by not bowing.
To do so is crude. A formal bow should be bestowed even on an enemy.
"Cut" an acquaintance only when you have reason to believe him an
utterly unfit companion.
15) "Make up" at once with a friend. "I'm sorry," helps. But in case
this fails, find a way that succeeds. Don't lose your friend.
16) Be courteous, frank, and friendly. Don't try to be popular by
attracting attention. Popularity which has to be sought is of short
duration.