To Youth Leaving Home

EACH year many of our youth leave home, some for school and some for other purposes, many, of course, for the first time. And it is not uncommon to hear these youth of ours, in their confidence, reassure their parents and others whom they leave behind, as to their ability to look out for themselves, and as to the needlessness for any anxiety, as they venture forth into a world that has many ways, both good and bad. But with parents and others who have lived longer, a certain feeling of panic is more than understandable, because of what they have seen of the hazards of the road and of the wreckage of human happiness that can and does follow errors of judgment, foolish decisions, and the keeping of bad company. Using discrimination in the company we keep, in the attachments we form, and in the atmosphere we frequent is exceedingly important when we are at home, and is much more so away from home. Strange company is always to be looked upon with a certain degree of reservation until the quality of it is known. And a good rule always to follow is: When in doubt, stay where you know you are safe. Just because the crowd is going somewhere, it doesn’t always follow that it is a good place to go. Just because there are other ducks on the pond, it doesn’t mean that the pond is a safe place for ducks to be. They may be decoys or they may be just stupid and foolish birds that are asking for trouble and going to get it. Every hunter knows what can happen to a duck when he yields to the temptation of lighting on water by a decoy_in other words, when he joins a crowd without knowing the character or the purpose of the crowd he is joining. And in human affairs, even though it may seem to be old-fashioned to say so, the devil has his territory, and it is never safe territory for anyone for any purpose. A satisfied curiosity is not worth the risk of getting mixed up with unsavory things. Mud can look very smooth on the surface and still be very treacherous and dirty. And so, to those leaving home, whether it be for the first time, or whether they look upon themselves as seasoned travelers, these precautions still remain and still are important, as they will be throughout all of life: Beware of venturing into hazardous situations with unknown people. Stay where you know you are safe, live as you know you should live, and don’t be led into joining a questionable crowd or into crossing the border into territory out of which no happiness ever comes.