佚名/Anonymous
Small-minded administrators and authority figures like to speak in cliches. All my life I heard the same trite line,“You can tell a lot about a person by the friends they keep.”The black sheep of the honors program, I hung out with the so-called“losers.”During my freshman year, not a day went by when a teacher or family member did not deride my closest friends and warn me that by hanging out with“bad seeds”I would fall into a downward spiral, never graduate college, and have a miserable life. They thought that they had me figured out.
One day, while my ninth grade math teacher, Mr. Pedersen, was reviewing some math concepts with me, my friend Mariam ran by the classroom, stuck her head in the doorway, called out,“Hi Yassee,”and then ran away. Mr. Pedersen looked at me coldly and said with a scowl,“How can you call yourself an Honors student? A real honors student doesn’t associate with people like that!”I wanted to ask him how he could call himself a teacher; after all, a real teacher is supposed to want to help everyone. Instead, I sat silent, stunned by his ignorance and cruelty. He wanted me to drop my childhood friends simply because they didn’t place the same importance on schoolwork that I do. If he had thought before speaking, he would have realized that people like him, rather than people like my friends, are better able to turn good students into poor ones by discouraging them with ridiculous comments. I would never slight Mariam. One of my closest friends in freshman year, she was also a below average, non-college bound student. Many of the adults in my life, especially my parents and teachers, would look at those closest to me: Mariam, Alisa, Zena, Lianne, and Marvin, and ask how I could call these“low-life losers”my friends. But such questions show a lack of understanding of the nature of friendship.
Friendship is unconditional and uncritical, based only on mutual respect and the ability to enjoy each other’s company. These authority figures never saw the way one of us could do something outrageous, and the rest of us would joke about it for days. We could have fun doing absolutely nothing at all—because the company we provided each other with was enough. Rather than discussing operas, Lewinsky, or the weather, we enjoyed just hanging around each other without any one of us trying to outsmart the others. Still, I realize that these adults had a point to be concerned about the direction my friends were heading; I also was concerned for them, but I wasn’t about to leave them. Many times I would advise my friends that some activity may be dangerous or to think things through before doing something, but I would never claim to hold the moral high ground and to condescend to them. When Marvin would begin rolling joints, when Alisa would tell me she skipped school because of a hangover, or when Mariam would tell me that her new boyfriend was in a street gang, I expressed my discomfort with their actions. However, I never blackmailed them with the threat of taking my friendship away. Contrary to the commercials on television, you can have friends who use drugs. In fact, probably everyone does without realizing it.
In my junior year, AP U.S. History class, the teacher, Mr. Jacobsen, addressed the class saying:“I bet none of you have ever seen a drug deal!”With a look of absolute certainty and an odd smile on his face he scanned the room.“I’ve seen a drug deal before,”I answered. Everyone in the room turned to look at me, either gasping or in disbelief. I realized that maybe my experiences thus far were atypical of most of my honor student friends. Despite our varying experiences, I still maintained many friends who were excellent students. Yogita, Nitin, Hans, Vishal, Saurabh, Anuj, Nick, and I have had almost every class together since eighth grade. Nitin and I both love to shop and eat. What is different about shopping with Nitin, however, is that we argue about the necessity of a high sales tax or discuss the effectiveness of the acting welfare system. Yogita and I always go to the library together and“pull all nighters”at her house. While I do enjoy accomplishing my academic goals and working with this highly motivated group of friends, I also enjoy“the losers,”who to me seem much more sincere and loyal.
In retrospect, I wouldn’t change my ninth grade experience, because I learned many of life’s important lessons from my friends and the ignorance of teachers and administrators. It’s sad to say, but in many of my friends’ dangerous actions, I saw what I never wanted to become. In the future, I’d like to continue helping adolescents, in addition to my studies. I have been fortunate thus far in being able to reach out to them through programs like C.H.A.N.G.E. For my efforts, I have been recognized and was honored to receive the 1998 Operation Pride Youth Award for my dedication to helping other kids live a substance free lifestyle. My familiarity with teenagers from all walks of life greatly enhances my ability to both identify with and influence others. I will be a successful adult in the future because I am willing to work with everyone and to give everyone a chance. Hopefully, I will also have the chance to change other kids’ lives for the better.
目光短浅的领导及权威人士讲话常用些陈词滥调。我总能听到同一句陈腐的教条，即“物以类聚，人以群分”。我算是优等生中的异类，总是与那些被称为“后进生”的人混在一起。一年级时，老师和家人每天都嘲笑我的朋友，他们警告我，如果我继续与这些“坏家伙”搅在一起，就会堕落，大学永远毕不了业，生活会非常悲惨。他们以为这是在教导我明辨是非。
一天，我正跟九年级的数学老师彼得森先生复习一些数学概念，我的好朋友玛丽安从教室旁跑过去，伸出头喊道：“嘿，亚斯！”然后跑开了。彼得森先生冷冷地看着我，皱着眉头说：“你怎么能算优等生呢？真正的优等生不会跟这种人有瓜葛！”我真想问他，怎么称得上是一个老师？毕竟，一个真正的老师会帮助每一个人。但是，我沉默了，静静地坐着，为他的无知和残忍惊颤不已。他希望我远离儿时的伙伴，只因他们不像我一样把学业看得很重要。如果他说话前经过一番考虑，就会意识到，更容易让一个好学生变为差生的，是像他这种带着偏见打击他们的人，而不是像我朋友这样的人。我永远都不会轻视玛丽安。她是我一年级的一个好朋友，尽管她成绩偏下，与大学无缘。我生活中的很多成年人，尤其是父母和老师，总是这样看我的好朋友；玛丽安、阿莉萨、赞娜、马文，这些“下层的失败者”我怎么能称他们为朋友呢？但是，这些困惑表明他们根本不了解真正的友谊。
友谊是无条件、无偏见的，它只是建立在互相尊重、乐于彼此陪伴的基础之上。这些“权威人士”永远不会明白，我们会恶意使坏，然后高兴地笑上几天。即使什么都不做，我们也会很开心——彼此陪伴就足够了。不去谈论戏剧、莱温斯基或者天气，我们只是享受闲散的惬意，而不去绞尽脑汁一争高下。当然，我知道这些大人只是担心我的朋友们的将来；我也同样担心，但我并不打算离开他们。我会多次提醒朋友们，有些活动可能很危险或者做事要三思，但我绝不会把道德束之高阁去迁就他们。当马文想尝尝大麻的滋味，当阿莉萨告诉我她因为醉酒而逃课，或者当玛丽安告诉我她的新男友是一个街头混混，我会告诉他们我的不安。但是，我不会以绝交来威胁他们。和电视上的商业广告不同，你可能会结交吸毒的朋友，只是并未意识到而已。
三年级时，在跳级生的美国历史课上，（—译者注：AP U.S. History class是跳级生美国历史课程，具有一定难度，相当于大学一年级的课程，可以积学分。此课程是对美国殖民地时期至现在的历史概述，共两学期）雅各布森老师对同学们说：“我敢打赌，你们谁都没见过毒品交易！”他带着奇怪的笑容，用绝对确定的目光扫视一下全班。“我以前见过。”我答道，每个人都转过头来看着我，目光里带着惊诧和怀疑。我意识到，自己是优等生中的异类。尽管我们的经历不尽相同，但我仍然有许多优等生朋友。友吉达、尼丁、汉斯、维萨儿、萨罗、安纽、尼克，上八年级后，我们几乎从未缺课。我和尼丁喜欢逛街和吃东西，特别是，我们会争论征收高额销售税的必要性，或讨论现行福利体制的有效性。我和友吉达经常去图书馆，去她家里“熬通宵”。学业上的成功让我很有成就感，我喜欢和一些积极上进的朋友一起努力。同时，我也喜欢一些“后进生”，他们让我感觉更真挚、更忠诚。
回首过去，我不会改变九年级的经历，因为我从朋友、老师和长者的偏见中学会了很多人生道理。说起来令人痛心，但朋友们的危险行为成为我的前车之鉴。将来，除了学习，我仍会乐于帮助青少年。迄今为止，我很幸运地通过像C.H.A.N.G.E这样的课程接触到更多的人。我致力于帮助其他小朋友建立有益而自由的生活方式。我的努力得到了认可，获得“1998年年度实践杰出青年”奖。对各阶层青少年的熟悉大大加强了我的亲和力和影响力。我相信，将来一定会获得更大的成功，因为我乐于与人合作，并给每人一个机会。我相信自己能改变孩子们的生活，使他们的生活更美好。
心灵小语
人与人之间能成为朋友，这与家庭背景、学历、爱好等都没有关系。交朋友是不看条件的，再卑微的人身上也可能有你没有的优点。
administrator n.管理人；行政官
例 You need administrator rights to do this.
你做这些需要管理员权限。
thought n.思考；关心；想法；思想
例 Your thought is ridiculous.
你的想法太可笑了。
unconditional adj.无条件的；无限制的；绝对的
例 Unconditional love is the most precious gift we can give.
无条件的爱是我们能给予的最珍贵的礼物。
absolutely adv.绝对地；完全地；独立地；确实地
例 It is absolutely impossible.
那是完全不可能的。
目光短浅的领导及权威人士讲话常用些陈词滥调。我总能听到同一句陈腐的教条，即“物以类聚，人以群分”。
译___________________________________________________________________
这些“权威人士”永远不会明白，我们会恶意使坏，然后高兴地笑上几天。
译___________________________________________________________________
我相信，将来一定会获得更大的成功，因为我乐于与人合作，并给每人一个机会。
译___________________________________________________________________
They thought that they had me figured out.
figure out：计算出；估计；想出；考虑出
造___________________________________________________________________
A real honors student doesn’t associate with people like that!
associate with：与……联系在一起；和……交往；联合
造___________________________________________________________________