Be Yourself

做你自己

In every school a “top” crowd sets the pace, while the others follow their lead.Let’s say the top crowd decides that it is smart to wear bright red sweaters. Pretty soon everybody is wearing a bright red sweater. There is nothing wrong with that, except the fact that on some people a bright red sweater is extremely unbecoming. The situation can even become dangerous, if the top crowd decides that it is smart to drink or to drive cars at seventy miles an hour. Then the people who follow the lead are endangering their lives. They are like the sheep being led to the butcher.

每個學校都有“領頭”的人群集，而其他人則跟著他們的領導。一旦這些領頭學生決定以穿鮮紅色羊毛衫為時尚，很快大家都穿紅色的毛衣。這樣是沒有錯的，但事實上有些人穿鮮紅的毛衣是極不相稱的。這種情況甚至會變得危險，如果領頭學生決定喝酒或者每小時七十英里的速度開車是明智的。那些跟隨領頭學生的人就是在浪費自己的生命。他們就像被領到屠夫前的羊群。

Now, chances are that you have come across situations like these more than once in your life; chances are that one time or another you probably did something you knew to be wrong. You may have excused yourself by saying, “Gee, the crowd does it.” Well, let the crowd do it, but don’t do it yourself. Learn to say, “No.”

現在，你很有可能在你的生活不止一次遇到這樣的情況；可能你時不時也會做一些你知道是錯的事情。你可能會為自己開脫說，“哎呀，大家都這樣做。“嗯，讓大家去做，但你自己不要做。學會說，“不。”

Develop your own standards and your own judgment. If you know the crowd is planning something you disagree with, have the courage to bow out politely. You’ll have the satisfaction of standing on your own two feet. Remember this in your heart, you are the unique one in the world, just be yourself.

要有自己的標準和判斷。如果你知道大家正在計劃一件你不贊成的事情，要勇氣有禮貌地退出。你會以堅持自己的意愿而自豪的。請記住，你在這世界上是獨一無二的，只要做你自己。