ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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You've probably heard the expression, “put your best foot forward" before.

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And no, that doesn't mean judging both of your feet in some sort of weird, Miss America [Two feet wearing different shoes]

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foot pageant…

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Though the right does look lovely in evening wear.

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It means that it's important that we present ourselves well in life and to try and always

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make a good first impression.

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After all, first impressions?

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They're pretty important. [Coop pointing at the blackboard]

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Think of it this way – if you walked into a restaurant and immediately saw a big, fat

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rat running through it, you'd probably be pretty grossed out, and that would be your [Rat runs across the floor]

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first impression of that place.

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So even if everything else about the restaurant after that was amazing, you would still find [Woman wiping her mouth after the meal]

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it hard to forget that rat you saw.

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Unless it happened to be that awesome little rat chef from Ratatouille, in his adorable

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lil' chef's hat!

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Anyway…first impressions also impact people all the time. [Cute rat chef]

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If you walk into a job interview with messy hair, wrinkled clothes and muddy shoes, well,

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the person interviewing isn't going to think that you're taking this all that seriously. [Interviewer looks unimpressed]

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…unless you're interviewing for a job shoveling mud.

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But you probably wouldn't want that job anyway.

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It's a much better idea to walk in looking clean and pristine. [Guy wearing a smart suit]

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Yes, even if you're still hoping for that mud-shoveling job.

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But you aren't just judged for your appearance – you're judged on your writing, too.

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And so, just like it's important to make a good first impression in person, you want

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your writing to make a good first impression, too.

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Because the things you write are sort of like an extension of you. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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But instead of tidy hair, it's tidy spelling and grammar.

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And instead of wrinkle-free clothing, it's a wrinkle-free report that hasn't been stuffed

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into the bottom of your backpack.

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And instead of squeaky-clean shoes, maybe you put that nice report of yours into a nice-looking

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protected folder.

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So next time you write something, be sure to make your report the best it can be, so [Guy typing up his report on the computer]

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it'll nail that first impression.

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And while you're at it, maybe think about cleaning those shoes of yours.

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It's not officially part of your grade…but it never hurts to NOT muck up the teacher's floor. [Guy leaves footprints all over the floor]

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