You’re special, so you’ll need to do great things; never wear pink; never depend on a man; learn the table manners of the highest class. I don’t use them but I can; never wear flats; think before you speak and be ready to back it up; put on lipstick; you look like a ghost without it; look classic, not cheap or faddish; use ammonia and newspapers on windows; learn to type but never put it on a job application; always pull the weeds out by the roots or they just grow back; never forget you came from female heroines; memorize this: “be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity;” I may call on you to recite; always put the dampened clothes in the refrigerator before ironing them; never get pregnant by mistake; if you do, we’ll take care of it; never let your guard down with a male superior; never wear pants to a first meeting; never trust a German; never be weak. Wash your hair with rainwater; read Langston Hughes, your namesake had you been a boy; vote; memorize long poems; learn to cook for yourself; have a large vocabulary; have an orgasm first; don’t invest in things; read everything; if you’re looking for a husband, date three men at a time.

[1] This is the title of a song by the Shirelles—the first all girl-group of the Rock and Roll Era to score a top ten song. It was 1961.