By George Matthew Adams

One reason why I am writing this little talk is that I often long to be a boy again. I know just how you feel, my boy, because I felt exactly that way.

I wanted bigger folks to tell me things and to talk with me about things which I did not know. But they didn't. I had to pick them up, one by one, the same as you will have to.

You were made a boy, instead of a man, so that you might grow up. Everything comes about little by little. So while you are a boy — be a boy!

Play and work and smile: Be a good friend to the other fellows and a good sport always. Give and take. Then you will always have friends.

Go in for every healthy sport. Keep clean in body and in mind. Learn to work with your hands, as well as to use your head. Think before you start to do anything — then go ahead and do it the best that you know how.

No matter what kind of a home you have come from, try to make it a better one by giving something good and helpful back to it.

Be kind to your Mother. What she has given to you from her heart through her love, is greater than anything else you will ever have.

Always be gentle and manly to womanhood and old age. The finer a boy becomes in this respect, the greater man he is sure to be. And remember that no matter what you choose for your life work, if it is something useful, it will be worth while.

https://linktr.ee/questorpods