To My Boys: September 4, 2020
Good morning,
Isn’t life funny? When you’re young you can’t wait to grow up and then when you’ve grown up, you wish you were young again. It seems that we’re never entirely satisfied with what we have or where we are.
When I was a kid I remember wanting to be my dad’s age so I could do some of the things he did that I couldn’t. I would daydream about the day when I could wake up in the morning and go to work. I was convinced it had to better than waking up in the morning and going to school. I remember sitting in the car daydreaming about the day I could drive and go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
There were some things I would daydream about that I actually experienced early. I remember sneaking into my parents’ bathroom and opening the cabinet where my father kept his shaving supplies. I shook the can of Barbasol and emptied half the contents in my hand. I then applied a thick, Santa Claus-like layer of shaving cream around my face. Realizing the awesome potential half a can of shaving cream still had, I remember designing happy faces and clouds on the bathroom mirror and shower doors. I was the Michelangelo of lavatory art.
The best part of this shaving adventure was the removal process. Fortunately, I opted for a small, blunt butter knife my mother had in the kitchen. I propped myself up on my tippy toes to see my reflection in the mirror as I passed the blade across my face. I would think of my dad and the way he worked against the grain in order to get the smoothest possible result. I imitated his every move, his every smirk, his every facial expression. The only thing missing from my experience was the cigarette he would smoke while going through this morning routine. Those were definitely different times, but you had to admire the agility required to smoke and shave at the same time.
That was a lot of fun when I was 10 years, but I confess I hate it now. I hate having to shave every morning. I hate running the risk of getting nicked and cut, having to use that little septic pen to plug the bloody holes that arise from old razors or hurried strokes. As I stand in front of the mirror, I think about the extra eight minutes I could have invested in sleeping that I instead have to use to remove annoying hair from my face.
That’s why I really feel for you guys whenever you come to school in the morning with beards and mustaches that have to be removed. Usually, there are several of you who get sent to the Dean of Men’s Office to pick up a free glob of shaving gel and a disposable BIC in order to comply with the school’s expectation that all students be “clean-shaven.” Even during these days of virtual learning, shaving is an expectation.
I know it’s a hassle, I know it’s a struggle. I face that exercise every morning when I stare at myself in my bathroom mirror, but there’s always a small price to pay for proper decorum and presentation. There’s always an inconvenience and a sacrifice when one is expected to do the right thing. That’s actually why so many people don’t do the right thing. They don’t do it precisely because there’s a price to pay, an inconvenience, a sacrifice.
For us at Belen, even shaving is important, even during virtual learning.
I’ve always heard it said that you should never judge a book by its cover, but a nice cover oftentimes gets you to pick up the book in the first place. Getting offered a great job at an important and successful corporation may depend more on your skill and knowledge than on the way you look, but it’s the way you look that can determine whether you get offered an interview in the first place.
Don’t believe me? An article in the USA Today last year cited a study that demonstrated that 55% of another person’s perception of you is based on how you look. The article went on to state that the same study showed how job applicants who dressed better for their job interviews fared better. While personal appearance may not be the only thing, it’s definitely something.
I know you guys are not job hunting yet, but you’re already learning here at Belen the skills and acquiring the knowledge necessary to nail that future interview and land that future job. In other words, it’s never too early to incorporate the discipline and exercise the sacrifice that can determine your future success in life.
Wow, and all that from a little can of Barbasol.
Auspice Maria
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba, by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the school's property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit is situated on a 34-acre site in western Dade County, just minutes away from downtown Miami.