[Sidenote: TRYING FOR THINGS]
DON'T hesitate to go out for _any teams_ or _papers_ or _musical clubs_
which you think you'd like to make. The mere _trying for things_ shows
you're not a _dead one_. If you are good enough, you'll find these
things mean more than you ever had thought they could; if you fail to
make them, you'll never regret having tried. As you grow older, you will
see that you _never_ could have done certain things you thought you
could, and you'll have a first-rate opinion of your former self and your
ambition.
[Sidenote: SORTING OUT YOUR INTERESTS]
_Don't_ be surprised or disappointed, if you find you have neither time
nor inclination to keep up with everything you thought you would, when
first coming to College. Your interests naturally needed a _sorting
out_.
[Sidenote: ONE WAY _NOT_ TO MAKE A TEAM]
_Don't_ think that offering suggestions to an athletic _Coach_ is the
way to _make a team_. And don't answer back if the _Coach_ speaks
harshly to you; be thankful for _any_ of his attention, even if it be
gruff. With some Coaches, swearing is more than a liberal art; many
think that the oftener they send their men to _Hell_ during practice,
the surer they are of sending them to _Victory_ in the contest.
[Sidenote: ABOUT SOCIAL CLUBS]
_Don't_, for Heaven's sake, ask people how one ought to go about getting
into _Social clubs_. It isn't considered polite. Just _why_, I can't
tell you; but you'll _learn why_, some day, if you are the _right
sort_.
[Sidenote: ACQUAINTANCES AND FRIENDS]
_Don't_ hesitate to accept all chances for _making friends_, especially
among your Class. Don't think that you can always control the making of
friends; you _can't_. Friends are _Heaven-sent_. Hold the ones you make,
and count yourself lucky if you make half a dozen _very_ good friends
your first year. There is a difference between _acquaintances_ and
_friends_, by the way, just as there is a difference between fellows to
whom you'd casually offer a cigarette and those to whom you'd gladly
offer your pocket-book.
[Sidenote: USELESS PREJUDICE]
_Don't_ rely too much on _prejudice_ in deciding what certain fellows
may or may not be good for. You _may or may not_ be right. _Your_
standard may or may not be the only small stone on the seashore.
[Illustration: DONT ANSWER BACK IF THE COACH _SPEAKS HARSHLY_ TO YOU]
[Sidenote: ABOUT VISITING]
_Don't_ invite everybody you meet to your room. It doesn't pay. But make
a point of _accepting_ as many invitations as possible which come from
men you like. Visit any upper-classman who takes the trouble to offer
you his hospitality. It may help you to _get on_, later.
[Sidenote: THAT HAND-SHAKE]
_Don't_ shake hands like a clam. The _flipper-shake_ is not popular, and
may make you distrusted. You'll need a good _hand-shake_ all through
College.
[Sidenote: THE WOMAN QUESTION: THE QUESTIONABLE]
_Don't_ be one of those who continually pick up anything on the street
that wears a bonnet and high heels. There are lots of girls who are
willing, at any time, to be seen with a College man. _The varieties
differ_. Some are genuinely pretty; others wear the deliberate as
distinguished from the natural complexion, being perhaps not so well
preserved as carefully preserved. Maybe you think it is great fun to
take a partner into the small hotel dining-room with an
"I-do-this-every-evening" kind of air. But you _may_ find out, after
smoking your brandy and drinking your cigarettes, that it _isn't_
pleasant to be played for a "_good thing_."
[Sidenote: THE UNQUESTIONABLE]
_Don't_, however, neglect any opportunity to meet ladies of your own
station. You are _sure_ to require their society from time to time. The
Monastic life is not profitable for a man at College. The _purr of
pretty women_ and the occasional exchange of _amicable nothings_ will
preserve your social soul and keep the little _blood-pumping organ_ in
good condition.
[Sidenote: THE ART OF SHUTTING UP]
_Don't_ hesitate to hear other people's opinions. The World did not
begin, nor will it end, with _you_.
[Sidenote: WHERE SUCCESS FAILS]
_Don't strut_ or _look patronizing_, if you happen to have success; it
makes people feel sorry for you.
[Sidenote: THE LITTLE THINGS]
_Don't_ forget the _little_ things; fellows notice them. Some will even
judge you by the way you give or receive a match or cigarette.
[Sidenote: SUMMING UP THE CLUB PROBLEM]
_Don't_ imagine that your entire success in College will be finally
measured by the number of Clubs you make during your first year. Always
remember, that it is the standing of the ones you identify yourself with
which counts. Don't join _any_ final Club or Society until you _feel
pretty sure_ you could not do _better_.