Evening star., 1937-05-12

Matter of
Maturity
Unpopularity During
"Teens" Usually Due
to YOuthfulness.
BY ANGELO PATRI


THIS bit Of advice and suggestion
is offered the adolescent girls who
find life rather hard. 1 am not going
to say cheer up" or forget it," I
know that you cannot cheer up or
forget it when you feel bad about
things that you cannot help, such as
having father who won't let YOU
learn to dance, won't let the boys
come to the house, won't let you 20
down the street alone so you can walk
back with the boy you like best.
Nor can I say: Don't worry when
you are left out Of the parties, remain
wall flowers at the school parties, get
no phone calls in the evening, have
no girl friends or boy friends running
in to talk things over" I know you
are grieving about your lack of popu-
larity, and unless can say something
helpful there is no use in saying any,
thing. Maybe this will help a little.
You are in halfway stage of
growth. You think you know enough
to shoulder responsibility for yourself,
but in your heart you know that you
cannot do that. You seesaW in your
mind and that makes you uncertain
in all you do. Your uncertainty
makes father more certain that YOU
cannot take care of yourself and sets
him more solidly against your social
ambitions. He thinks that no boys Is
the safest way out.
You see then the root Of the trou-
Bile you are enduring lies in your stage
OF growth, something nobody can help
Time will help it. In the meantime
try to find some way of showing
father. proving it by your behavior
that you can be trusted. that YOU
have good sense. You must prove it
by actions. Words won't do.
How?
Keep your word strictly. If YOU
say that you will do something. do il
no matter what. If you promise to
be at home at q certain hour. get
there. If you say you are going down
the street to Mary's house, alone, 20 to
Marys house, alone. and return that
way. mean that once you have
proven to your father and mother that
your word is good, that your head is set
right on your shoulders, they are goine
to trust you and be proud of it, The
parents who refuse to trust a trust
worthy daughter out of their sight are
few and far between. They are like
all other people. They act on their
experiences. Make those right and
you will have less trouble.
On being wall flower. Most OF
you are trying to live beyond your age
Sex attraction-don't be afraid of tina,
TERMS not characteristic of child
mood or early adolescence. There
are some girls who mature in thai
particular rather early, but that does
not mean that such maturity is de.
slrable. Rather the other way. The
longer the period of preparation the
better the product, every time. Be
patient and wait until you grow ur
sumclently to be attractive to the
boys and young men. It is largely
matter OF maturity that troubles
you. All girls in good health are at.
tractive when they arrive. Wait TO,
that time.
When you are at a loss and can f1nd
no way out. conf1de in the teacher YOU
ike best, even if that is the teacher
you mad way back in the One A. Don't
talk too much about yourself to other
girls. Find the right grown-up per.
son. And all the time cultivate you1
mind and your body toward useful
ness. The most popular person in
society is the one that is most usefu1