d
I felt sure that she had thoughts of her own worth hearing if she would
only express them. That was her trouble. She couldn't find words so she
said "yes," and "no" with effort when a remark was addressed directly to
her, otherwise she was silent. Later in the day a girl friend who really
appreciated her told me how very interesting she was when one knew her
well enough to dispel the awful fear that she should say the wrong
thing. She read the very best things and was conversant with the history
of important events all over the world. "She is a regular encyclopedia,"
said her ardent defender.

This wooden girl is misunderstood simply because she has not learned to
express the thoughts she has. She is unhappy, and feels that people do
not like her, and do not enjoy her company. In her heart she blames
_them_. But one cannot expect everyone to penetrate the exterior and see
and appreciate real worth. Most people take us for what we seem to be
and if we appear cold, uninteresting and ill at ease, they seek
pleasanter companions. The wooden girl _can_ overcome her stiffness and
learn to let people see that she thinks. She can cultivate a very rare
art--the art of listening with appreciation. There are very few
listeners in any group of people and often not one in a group of women.
It is a great thing to be able to listen with that attention and
interest which draws out the very best in the one who is talking.

More than that the girl who is termed wooden can learn to express
herself in words. She may never become a great talker but she need not
regret that. She can take part in conversation and can make it easy for
people to talk with her. I know a girl who plans before spending a
social evening with friends what she will talk about. Following the
advice of her mother who has suffered much through inability to talk,
she holds imaginary conversations which often become real when she meets
people later. She makes a special effort to remember the names of those
whom she meets and some of the things in which they are especially
interested. She is learning to remember the names of books and their
authors and publishers, she takes special pains to remember worth while
magazine articles and last spring people appealed to her again and again
for information regarding the Balkan situation. She is making herself
an interesting companion and in a few years I believe all traces of the
awkward wooden silence will disappear.

In the