Always escape the drama- even when you think it isn’t necessary. This is the best policy in the long run, because if you don’t, they will make you. Most friends think they know better than you do, and you can generally make more by humoring that superstition than you can by acting on your own better judgment. Getting caught up in all of the drama is simply a recipe for disaster. Please learn from my mistakes and use them to correct the wrongs that I have made.

Be respectful to your teachers, also to strangers, and sometimes to others. If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was purposeful or not, do not respond to dramatic measures. Yes, always avoid drama; in this age of spoiled and pretentiousness.

Attend school regularly, participate daily – this is wise. Some parents say to skip a day of school; some say to actively go to school. But a positive attitude is really the best thing to go with. It gives you a joyful reputation with everybody to know that you go to school with a smile daily; and if present that perfect smile, and work it right, you can easily train it to go and participate daily—it’s no trick at all.