Advising the youth

Since the beginning of time parents have been trying to give their kids, some times futile, advice to better their lives. In Hamlet it is no different, Polonius is playing the "wise" old father and giving Laertes some last minute advice. "Neither a borrower nor a lender be;/ For loan oft loses both itself and friend,/And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry./This above all: to thine ownself be true,/And it must follow, as the night the day,/
Thou canst not then be false to any man./Farewell" (Act 1.3, Lines 79-85). Even though the language gives the appearance of great life changing knowledge due to the language of Shakespeare, it isn't. It's good in the general sense, but it is nothing special. If I was starting out in a new country it would easily slip my mind. 

What Polonius said is good advice it just needs to be adjusted to fit in for today's students. Don't go and borrow money for the new iPhone because you know you aren't going to be able to pay it back. Don't go looking for trouble, but if you find it you better win. Dress like a regular student, don't wear Ed Hardy shirts because they are tacky and ridiculous. Do not get sucked into the lure of "reality" shows. Ans the most important thing is to be yourself and don't lie to anybody. All are basically what Polonius was trying to say, but just with a modern twist.