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.

每个学校都有“领头”的人群集，而其他人则跟着他们的领导。一旦这些领头学生决定以穿鲜红色羊毛衫为时尚，很快大家都穿红色的毛衣。这样是没有错的，但事实上有些人穿鲜红的毛衣是极不相称的。这种情况甚至会变得危险，如果领头学生决定喝酒或者每小时七十英里的速度开车是明智的。那些跟随领头学生的人就是在浪费自己的生命。他们就像被领到屠夫前的羊群。

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.”

现在，你很有可能在你的生活不止一次遇到这样的情况；可能你时不时也会做一些你知道是错的事情。你可能会为自己开脱说，“哎呀，大家都这样做。“嗯，让大家去做，但你自己不要做。学会说，“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.

要有自己的标准和判断。如果你知道大家正在计划一件你不赞成的事情，要勇气有礼貌地退出。你会以坚持自己的意愿而自豪的。请记住，你在这世界上是独一无二的，只要做你自己。