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.

　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.”

　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.

　　 每所學校中都有一群領頭學生做出榜樣，其他人蜂擁效仿。比如，一旦這些領頭學生決定以穿鮮紅色羊毛衫為時尚，那么很快人人都會穿著鮮紅色羊毛衫。這件事本身沒什麼問題，但事實上有些人極不適合穿鮮紅色毛衫。如果這些領頭學生覺得喝酒或以70英里的時速開車很時尚的話，情況甚至會變得危險起來。這些盲從的學生正危及自己的生命。他們就像被領到屠夫面前的綿羊。

　在你生命中，這種情況你可能遇到不止一次；可能你時不時也會做自己知道是不對的事情。你可能會為自己開脫說：“大家都在這么做嘛。”那讓大家這么做好了，但你自己不要這樣做。要學會說“不”。

　要有自己的標準和判斷。如果你知道大家正在計畫一件你不贊成的事情，鼓起勇氣禮貌地退出。你會為自己學會自立感到滿意的。請記住一點，世上只有一個你，做你自己吧。