Woman's Own April 4 1959 Page 49

Woman against the World

PAT BOONE talks to Teenagers

Be the girl you want to be!

You can be the girl you want to be, because today's teenagers are, potentially, the nicest, brightest, most advanced ever. 

But to fulfil that potential, you have to do your bit by growing up towards maturity.  

The dictionary describes maturity as ‘a state or quality of full development.’ And a mature person is one who has made the most of him or herself in every way. 

A mature teenager is one who can live comfortably and harmoniously with himself and with the world. 

In other words, we are mature when we are useful, happy, well-adjusted individuals, able to give as much as we get. 

And maturity isn't simply a question of how old a person is. 

I've known quite a few people of 50 who haven't even made a start towards maturity, and some very young teenagers who are well on the way. 

To help you to all-round development, I'd like to offer you some points which should help you, because they'll enable you to check your progress every day.

 This is a strictly do-it-yourself programme, so be honest about it from the start ! 

In fact, asking yourself if you follow these rules, and trying to improve on things where you fall short, could be your first effort in self-discipline; your first honest step towards maturity.  

You'll be holding a mirror up to your life. And the first time you sit down and check your progress you will discover whether or not you are an idle dreamer. . 

I'm all for dreams, but not for idle dreaming. I think you have to back up your dreams with effort; and these points will help you to see what efforts you need to make to be the person of your dreams.

Golden Rules for growing up. 

Set your sights high and make an intelligent use of your abilities; then do the very best you can. 

Behave towards others as you would like them to behave towards you.

Think for yourself. Until you can, you are a, second-hand person.

Learn to live with yourself, and like it: someone who hates himself " soon starts hating other people. 

When you know the Golden Rules, you can ask yourself how you rate on the road to maturity. Then you can set about putting together the man or woman you want to be.  

Next week: Dreams do come true