Teen Scene 1953

Note; this comes from a 1953 Family Circle article on New Years resolutions for teens.

                                               TEEN SCENE

Young Ladies first

1. I will buy an egg timer to limit the time of my phone calls this year. (Hint to mom and pop: how about charging me a nickle a minute overtime and thus helping to pay the
phone bill)

2. I will make my parties easier on the family by shopping for supplies myself -and not
20 minutes before the guests are due. I will harness some of the available manpower to
straighten things up after a party.

3. I will introduce the gentle art of discussion into our house instead of (a) ranting,
(b) sulking, and (c) being defiant when things arent going my way.

4.  I will  have the courage to express my own opinions instead of changing like a weather
vane to please every male I go out with.

5. I will reserve my goodnight kisses for the one or two boys I'm fondest of, ignoring
such obsolete advice as "It's allright to kiss a boy after the third date."

6. I will praise boys for worthy endeavors -for doing well in a ball game or the school
play-and stop applauding such childlike behavior such as speeding, clowing in public
places and heckling the teacher.

7. I will try to think of the library as a gateway to many worlds and make use of its
facilities with the friendly help of the librarian.

8. I will experiment with one new extracurricular activity on the chance that I've been
missing out on a whole lot of fun.

9. I will try to realize that my teachers are my friends and I will get to know them
better, confident that they have much more to give me than my ABC's.


The Masculine Resolutions

1. I will paste a note on my mirror as a reminder to do my chores so that mom needn't
beat me over the head to get them done.

2. In addition to helping the family by washing and polishing the car, shoveling snow,
mowing the lawn and doing my other chores, I will make it a point of trying to contribute
to family discussions with well thought out ideas on everything from politics to home
decoration.

3. Instead of increasing the rioting among the younger members of the family by
belittling them or shouting at them, I will show the small fry a few tricks I've learned
about getting along with people-like giving in occasionally or praising their
accomplishments.

4. I will not let Uncle Sams hot breath on the back of my neck interfere with my focus
on studies, realizing that knowledge is power whether in service or in civilian live.

5. I will go out for at least one sport such as swimming, skating, skiing or bowling-that I
can keep up after graduation.

6. I will cultivate tha habit of doing my least liked homework first.

7. I will avoid being lured into going steady by some boy crazy female or by a silly school custom, realizing that now's my time for looking 'em over.

8. I will turn up for dates with some sort of plan in mind for the evening. For example, if we're going visiting, I'll have made sure the visitees are at home before hand. If we're
movies bound, I will know ahead of time what's playing and when the show begins and ends. I'll be a bit flexible of course if she has something up her little sleeve.

9. I will stop thinking of kissing as a pastime, the way I did as an eighth grader, and
give it dignity and meaning by reserving it for my special girl.