人生不设限·我的美就在于我的“不同”
We humans are a silly bunch. We spend half our time trying to fit in with the crowd and the other half trying to stand out from it. Why is that? I'm guilty of it, and I'm sure you are too, because it seems to be universal, part of our human nature. Why can't we be comfortable with ourselves, knowing that we are God's creations, made to reflect His glory?
还在念书时，我费尽心力想融入周遭环境，就像大多数青少年一样。你有没有注意到，即使是想要“与众不同”的青少年，也总是和那些穿着、谈吐、举止都跟他们差不多的人混在一起?那是怎么回事?如果你跟身边的人一样，穿黑色衣服、涂黑色指甲油、抹黑色唇膏、画黑色眼线，这样你会有什么出众之处?不是反而成了随众吗?
As a schoolboy, I was desperate to fit in, just as most teens are. Have you ever noticed that even the teens who want to be "different" usually hang out with kids who dress, talk, and act just like them? What's with that, mate? How can you be an outsider if everyone you hang with wears the same black clothing, black nail polish, black lipstick, and black eyeliner? Doesn't that make you an insider instead?
在身上刺青和打洞曾经被视为粗犷个人主义的表现，不过，现在连婆婆、妈妈都去刺青、打洞了呢。想要表现你的独特性，应该有比跟随一时的流行更好的方式吧?
Tattoos and piercings used to be a rebellious statement of rugged individualism. Now soccer moms in the grocery have tattoos and piercings. There has to be a better way to celebrate your individuality than following the same fads and trends as every mum at the mall, doesn't there?
我采取的态度或许可以供你参考：我认定我的美就在于我的“不同”，因为事实上，我就是跟人家不一样。我就是独一无二的我，从来不会有人认为我很“一般”，或者叫我“另一个家伙”。在人群中，我站起来可能不高，但肯定很醒目。
I've adopted an attitude that might work for you. I've decided that my beauty lies in my differences, in the fact that I'm not like everybody else. I'm uniquely me. Nobody will ever call me "average" or "just another guy." I may not stand tall in a crowd, but I definitely stand out.
这个态度对我还挺管用的，因为无论大人小孩，第一次看到我都会有一些很奇怪的反应。小孩子会认为我是从另外一个星球来的，或者是某种怪兽;青少年比较会乱想，所以他们觉得我是被斧头杀人狂砍断手脚之类的;大人也会有奇怪的结论，常常怀疑我是人形模特儿或玩偶。
That attitude has served me well because I often draw strange reactions from children as well as adults when they see me for the first time. Kids tend to reckon I'm from another planet or I'm some sort of monster. Teens tend to have lurid imaginations so they assume I was maimed by an ax murderer or something equally gruesome. Adults leap to strange conclusions too. Often they suspect that I'm a mannequin or a Muppet.
有一次去加拿大拜访亲友，他们第一次带我去进行万圣节的“不给糖就捣蛋”活动。他们找来一个很大的恐怖老人面具，套在我整个身体上，然后抱着我挨家挨户去拜访。一开始没引起什么反应，后来我们发现原来大部分人都以为我不是“真的人”——有一位女士把我最喜欢的棒棒糖塞进我的袋子里，我就跟她说：“谢谢!不给糖就捣蛋!”结果把这位女士吓得往后跳开。
Once when I was visiting relatives in Canada, they took me trick-or-treating for the very first time. They found a big scary old man mask that covered my entire body, and then they carried me door to door. At first we didn't get much reaction from people, until we figured out that they didn't think I was real. We finally realized this when a woman dropped some of my favorite lollies in my bag, and I said, "Thank you! Trick or treat!"
“里头有个小孩吗?”她大叫，“我以为你们带的是个洋娃娃!”
The woman shrieked and jumped backward. "There's a child in there?" she screamed. "I thought you were carrying a doll!"
“嗯，我是很可爱了。”我心想。
Well, I am pretty cute, I thought.
当我也很爱闹时，还颇能享受这种独特性的种种好处。我喜欢跟堂兄弟姊妹和朋友们在购物中心乱逛，几年前的某天，我们在澳大利亚一家购物中心看到邦兹内衣的橱窗展示——邦兹是个历史悠久的内衣裤品牌。
When I'm feeling frisky, I've been known to take full advantage of my uniqueness. I love to cruise around shopping malls with my cousins and friends. One day a few years ago we were in a mall in Australia when we spotted a window display for Bonds underwear, which is the Down Under version of Haines or Jockey, a briefs brand that has been around for a long, long time.
橱窗里的人形模特儿穿着邦兹的白色紧身内裤，这个模特儿的身体跟我一样，只有头和躯干，没有四肢——但是有六块漂亮的腹肌。那天我刚好也是穿邦兹内裤，因此我的堂兄弟跟我决定让我也去当橱窗模特儿。我们走进店里，堂哥和堂弟把我举起来，放进橱窗里，让我就站在那个人形模特儿旁边。
The male mannequin was wearing a pair of Bonds "tighty whitey" underwear. He had a body just like mine: all head and torso, no limbs—and a nice six-pack of abs. I happened to be wearing my own Bond brand drawers, so my cousins and I decided that I too could serve as a window model. We went into the store. My cousins hoisted me into the window display case. I then took up a position next to the mannequin.
接下来的五分钟，鱼儿不断上钩。每当有人停在橱窗前，或是看我一眼，我就扭一扭、笑一下、眨个眼、鞠个躬，结果把他们吓坏了!当然，这个小把戏让我的共犯在店外头笑到快翻过去。后来他们说，如果我的演讲事业不怎么顺利的话，应该可以去百货公司当展示用的假人。
For the next five minutes, I baited mall rats. Whenever window shoppers stopped or glanced at me, I twitched, smiled, winked, or bowed—to their utter shock and horror! Of course, this bit of punking provoked uproarious laughter from my co-conspirators watching from outside the store. Afterward they made the case that if my public speaking career ever faltered, I could always find work as a department store dummy.
