Random Thoughts by Pauline

February 2 2014, Sunday 

Lipstick

This morning, as I came to the last step of my daily skin care routine, I picked up a lipstick. Then I realised that I had for a long time given up on pink or red! What I wear is only lip balm or gloss close to nude. Well, one has to cultivate age-appropriateness in all aspects of life. There is societal expectation we have to satisfy.

Talking about lipstick, a man came up to my mind. It was more than four decades ago. He was a senior teacher, a big man with a loud voice. At the Staff Meeting before the school year started, he presented a talk on "what makes a good teacher". He pointed out that teachers who wanted to succeed must possess the qualities of successful artists - voice (聲), looks (色), art or skills ( 藝) adding that ladies should wear light coloured lipstick because students were looking at the teachers' lips all the time. I was so impressed by this simple recipe that I have abided by it throughout my career. Teachers need to have a clear and loud voice. They have to be neatly dressed and of course, they must keep polishing their professional know-how.