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If I Were a Boy Again
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If I were a boy again,
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I would practice perseverance oftener,
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and never give up a thing because it was hard or inconvenient.
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If we want light,
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we must conquer darkness.
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If I were to live my life over again,
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I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory.
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I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means,
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and on every possible occasion.
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It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately;
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but memory soon helps itself,
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and gives very little trouble.
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It only needs early cultivation to become a power.
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If I were a boy again,
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I would look on the cheerful side.
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Life is very much like a mirror if you smile upon it,
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it smiles back upon you;
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but if you frown and look doubtful on it,
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you will get a similar look in return.
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Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner,
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but of all that come in contact with it.
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“Who shuts love out, in turn shall be shut from love.”
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If I were a boy again,
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I would school myself to say “No” oftener.
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I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life
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to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect,
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and decline doing an unworthy act because it is unworthy.
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If I were a boy again,
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I would demand of myself more courtesy towards my companions and friends,
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and indeed towards strangers as well.
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The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life
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are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long,
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and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.
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Finally, instead of trying hard to be happy,
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as if that were the sole purpose of life,
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I would, if I were a boy again,
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try still harder to make others happy.