If I were a boy again

 If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance oftener, and never give up a thing because it was hard or inconvenient. If we want light, we must conquer darkness.
 Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. "There are only two creatures," says a proverb, "who can surmount the pyramids - the eagle and the snail."
 If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.
 The habit of attention becomes part of our life if we begin early enough. I often hear grown up people say:"I couldn't fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so", and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.
 If I were to live my life over again, I would pay attention to the cultivation of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately ;But memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.
 If I were a boy again, I would cultivate courage ."Noting is so mild and gentle as courage, nothing so cruel and the pitiless as  cowardice," says a wise author.
 We  too often  borrow trouble and anticipate evils that may never appear."The fear of ill exceeds the ill we  fear."Dangers will arise in any career, but the presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them. Be prepared for any fate , and there is no harm to be feared.
 If I were a boy again , I will look on the cheerful side. Life Is very much like a mirror, if you smile upon it, it smile back upon you ;but if you frown and look doubtful on it, you will get a similar  look in return.
 Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner, but of all that come in contact with it."Who shut love out, in turn shall be shut from love."
  If I were a boy again, I would school myself to say "no" oftener. I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect, and decline doing an unworthy act because it is unworthy.
 If I were a boy again,I would demand of myself more courtesy towards my companies and friends, and indeed towards strangers as well. The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the littl birds that sing to us all winter long,  and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.
 Finally, instead of trying hard to be happy, as if that were the sole purpose of life ，I would if I were a boy again, try still harder to make others happy.

富兰克林－＂美洲的完人＂