From a feminine standpoint the first question must be, “What shall I
wear?” There is no need to be handicapped by skirts, at least when
one’s exercise is taken in company with a crowd of girls. The bicycle
introduced the bloomer girl and this costume is now generally regarded
as proper for outdoor girls. In camp one should in addition wear a
sailor blouse, and a pair of sneakers, which though rather heating for
the feet are very comfortable and very satisfactory for long tramps
through the woods. The rubber soles give a firm footing on slippery
moss and dead leaves, while high heels might cause a wrenched ankle or
a bad fall. It is perfectly allowable for a girl to wear a
broad-brimmed hat to avoid sunburn, which might be so serious as to
spoil a vacation. A gradually acquired coat of tan is much more
desirable. The hat prevents headaches or sunstroke, neither of which
may be dared with impunity by a delicate girl, unless she wears her
hair on top of her head.
In regard to hair, which is of great importance to its owner, though
very much of a nuisance after the age when it may be worn boyishly
short, the one word is that it must be fixed to stay without
re-pinning or tucking back at frequent intervals. For bathing, a girl
must either be willing to have her hair well soaked or else to put a
cap on so tightly that it cannot be loosened. To hesitate to try a
dive for fear of getting wet hair spoils much of the sport of
swimming. Each moment of hesitation makes her more convinced that
perhaps, after all, she had better not try that dive, because she
probably would not be able to do it anyway. The lack of confidence is
disastrous. I have known girls who could swim perfectly well in the
shallows but could not keep up at all in water out of their depth. And
yet they have not been touching the bottom in the shallow water, but
they _could_ if they wished. Learning to swim in water that is over
your head is really better, though it is more “scary” at first. If you
do learn in that way you can thereafter look upon the deepest water
with confident scorn.
Confidence is a necessary possession for the beginner in almost any
sport. It is so much easier to do anything if we are quite positive
that we can. Probably, because you are a girl and are modest, you
will have to assume this attitude, but in horseback riding, for
example, an instant of fear while on the horse’s back will “give you
away” to the beast. Since he is as keen as a dog to know when you fear
and dislike him, he will undoubtedly take advantage of it. If you are
quite positive that you can learn to ride and that the horse under you
is harmless, you will keep a firm hold on the reins instead of
clinging to the saddle horn in a panic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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