Hello,
Who I am is irrelevant[无关的], suffice to say that[只需说……就够了] I am an American in his early teens. More importantly, I am young.
You know when we were really little, and they fed us that crap[废话] about how we’re the future. Hell, we were too busy back then to care. It didn’t matter what would happen when we were older, as long as Pokemon注1 and Power Rangers注2 were still around.
But guess what.
It wasn’t all crap.
I am not a motivational speaker, hired to make you sit still in your class room and be happy about it.
I am not your parents, reminding you that you must trudge[费力地走] through endless hours of work to make yourself truly successful.
When I was little, just like all of us, I had my own ideas. I thought that we were all here for a reason, and that everything that happened was part of a plan. I don’t even mean that in a religious sort of way, I just liked to think that nothing I did was meaningless. I suppose I don’t believe that anymore. Not to get emotional, but I’ve seen too much pain to truly believe that everything that happens has a reason behind it.
I am not a lecturer, hired to make the most mundane[平凡的] aspects of your life come alive for you.
I’m just me.
And I have a point to make.
The thing is, I’ve watched us. I’ve watched us for a long time now and, well, the truth is…this just isn’t working.
We divide ourselves into little groups based on the clothes we wear and the music we listen to, and we stick to them. And then, we laugh. That’s the most important part of the teenage experience: finding something new to laugh at. We laugh at the other groups, we laugh at each other, we laugh at those who are different, we laugh at ourselves, and we laugh at the world. And if you can’t laugh, then you’re only going to get laughed at.
Well, I’m tired of laughing.
What I’m asking is big. It hasn’t happened at least since the ’60s, and I don’t think any adults expect it to happen now.
But we have to try.
What I’m asking is for us to rise above what the world thinks of us, and the way we are.
What I’m asking is for us to forget about all of our stereotypical[老一套的] crap, and dedicate[把……奉献给] ourselves to something more important than our MP3 players.
What I’m asking is, just this once, for us to care.
Think about who you are. Think about where you fit in, and the decisions you’ve made. Think about yourself as a little kid, and imagine every single one of your memories leading straight up to right now.
What have you done? What lives have you touched?
Think carefully.
You are not the clothes you wear.
You are not the music on your iPod.
You are not the slang you use, or whatever you choose to poison your body with.
We’ve got to wake up. The next time you see someone who needs help, help them. The next time someone tells you you can’t make a difference, you don’t need to respond. Just make it. And to do that, you don’t need to be a goth注3, or a punk, or a nerd[书呆子]. That only makes things harder. You just have to be you.
This letter isn’t to teenagers in particular. It should be taken to heart by anyone who it applies to, whether they be in middle school, high school, college, or older. But I feel that teenagers are the ones who need it the most badly.
Forget about all the boundaries[界限] we’ve made to pen ourselves in[关进围栏]. Forget about your prejudices[偏见], and what society has taught you.
Be a good human.
Wake up.
Change the world.
Rise above.
大家好:
我的身份无关紧要,你们只需要知道我也是一名步入青少年时期的美国少年。更重要的是,我还年轻。
你知道,当我们还很小的时候,他们向我们灌输这样的废话——我们就是未来。见鬼,那时的我们都太忙了,根本无暇理会。只要还有《神奇宝贝》和《超级战队》,长大之后会发生什事情,与我们一点关系都没有。
可你知道吗?
那并不是废话。
我不是励志型演讲者,被请来教你们纹丝不动、满心欢喜地坐在课堂里听课。
我不是你们的父母,提醒你们必须没日没夜地埋头苦干,以便获得真正的成功。
小时候,我和大家一样,拥有自己的想法。我认为我们来到这个世界是有原因的,而生活里发生的每一件事情都是计划的一部分。我这么说甚至没有一点宗教意味,我只是倾向于认为自己所做的事情并非毫无意义。我觉得自己不再相信那一套了。我不是在煽情,但是我确实见过太多痛苦,以致于再也无法真心相信事出必有因。
我并不是一个演说家,被请来将你生活中最平凡的方面生动起来。
我只是我。
我有话要说。
实际上,我一直在观察我们。我已经观察了很长一段时间,事实上……一切都行不通。
我们根据衣着、所听的音乐把自己分成一个个小圈子,并且一直坚守着这种分类。然后我们开始嘲笑。青少年经历最重要的一部分是——寻找新的笑料。我们嘲笑其他群体,我们嘲笑彼此,我们嘲笑异类,嘲笑自己,也嘲笑这个世界。如果你不懂嘲笑,那就只有被嘲笑的份儿。
我厌倦了嘲笑。
我渴望意义非凡的事情。至少从六十年代至今没有发生过,我想大人们到现在也没想过它会发生。
但是我们必须尝试。
我渴望我们从世界对我们的看法中站起来,展现真正的自己。
我渴望我们把所有陈腔滥调都抛诸脑后,投身到比MP3播放器更有意义的事情上去。
我渴望真正地在乎一次。
想想自己是一个怎样的人。想想自己在哪里最自在,以及自己所做的决定。想象自己还是一个孩子,每一份记忆都一直延续到现在。
你做过什么?你影响了谁的生活?
仔细地想一想。
你不是你身上穿着的衣服。
你不是iPod里播放的音乐。
你不是你所使用的潮语,或者任何用于荼毒自身的东西。
我们该醒过来了。下一次,当你看到有人需要帮助的时候,伸出援手。下一次,如果有人说你不可能改变,你无须反驳。用行动证明自己吧。为了达到这个目标,你不必成为一名哥特或朋克族,也无须当一名书呆子。那只会让情况更糟。你只需要做自己。
这封信并不仅仅是写给青少年的。无论你是中学生、高中生、大学生或是更为年长的人,每一个适用者都应当将它牢记于心。但我认为青少年最需要它。
抛开我们为自己设下的界限,跳出条条框框吧。摒弃你的偏见,忘掉社会教给你的东西。
做一个好人。
清醒过来。
改变世界。
平地崛起。
注1:《神奇宝贝》是日本Game Freak代表——田尻智于1995年开发,由日本任天堂株式会社于1996年推出的一款Game Boy(掌上型游戏机)游戏。题材来源于同名动漫作品《神奇宝贝》。
注2:《超级战队》是日本朝日电视台于1975年开始制作的TV特摄系列片,目前的制作班底与假面骑士系列一样,是日本著名的东映制作公司。超级战队系列与拥有45年制作史的奥特曼系列、39年制作史的假面骑士系列并列为日本最受欢迎的特摄节目,共同构成日本特摄铁三角,被称为“日本TV特摄三大系列片”。
注3:指哥特派的一员,他们喜欢听哥特摇滚乐和黑白色系的装扮,goth和punk分别指崇尚这两种亚文化的人。