曾經感覺“每個人的幸福都是一樣的，不幸卻是千差萬別的”這句話很有道理，但是現在卻覺得并不盡然。因為其實每個人對“幸福”都有自己的定義，每個人都在追尋著自己的“幸福”。我的“幸福”是什么？你的呢？

By Charissa Newkirk

段會香 譯注

The other day, I was texting a good friend about school, college, and what our future plans are. He said he wasn't sure what he wanted to be. Naturally, I reassured him that he didn't have to worry about that now, but I told him, "If you're going to do something, do what makes you happy." Then he asked something I thought was peculiar: "Well, how would you define 'happy'?"

幾天前，我給一個好朋友發短信，我們談到了大學前的學校生活、大學生活以及未來。他說他不知道自己想干什么。于是，我安慰他說不用現在就擔心那些，但是“如果你要干點兒什么，干可以讓你感到幸福的事。”接著，他問了個讓我覺得很奇怪的問題：“那你如何定義‘幸福’呢？”

For some reason, I was really taken aback[1] by this question. I then began thinking about who I, as a teenager, consider to be a person that's "happy"? My first thoughts about my own happiness were immature: happiness is having a boyfriend, being pretty, having friends, etc. I stopped myself, though, and started to think like an adult (I'm 16; I'm going to have to start eventually!). I pictured[2] what I'd want my life to look like in 20 years. I saw myself doing lab work at a university. I saw myself being able to have lunch with my mom and dad once in a while. Very simple.

不知為什么，我確實被這個問題驚住了。我開始思考我作為一個十幾歲的少年所認為的“幸福”。考慮到自己的幸福，我的第一反應是不成熟的：幸福就是找個男朋友、長得漂亮、有一群朋友等等。但是我打斷了自己的這種想法，開始像個成年人一樣思考（我已經十六歲了，早晚也得以成年人的方式思考）。我想象自己在未來二十年內所期望的生活：我看到自己在一所大學的實驗室工作；我看到自己可以偶爾跟爸媽吃頓午飯。很簡單的生活。

After considering this, my answer to him was, "Happiness is being comfortable in your own skin[3], being surrounded with people you truly care about, and having a good amount of wisdom."

想完這些后，我回答他說：“幸福就是對自己的現狀很滿意，周圍有自己真正關心的人，并且擁有足夠的智慧。”

"Those things take time, though, Charissa," was his reply.

“但是這些事情都需要時間，克拉麗莎。”他回答道。

"What do you expect?" I asked. "Why, do you have something better?"

“那你的幸福是什么？”我問他，“你有什么更好的嗎？”

"Make a good amount of money in the least amount of time possible!" was his answer.

他的回答是“在最短的時間內賺最多的錢”。

And you know what? I don't blame him for saying that.

你知道嗎？我并沒有因為他的回答而責怪他。

Look at us today. The value placed on hard work and dedication to achieving a goal has really diminished. Often, for girls my age, myself included, having the potential to solve the world's problems by committing to doing something we love is often trumped[4] by the lure of becoming one of the "basketball wives," who, with no effort at all, seem to have all the money they could ever need.

看看現在的我們。那種為達到目標而付出的努力和奉獻精神都已經貶值。對于我這個年齡的女孩，包括我來講，那種通過執著于我們所喜歡的事情來解決問題的可能性都會被成為“籃球明星的妻子”的誘惑所擊敗，因為她們不用付出任何努力便可以擁有大筆大筆的錢。

In ending his speech to Stanford graduates in 2005, Steve Jobs advises them to "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." Ever since I read Jobs' speech, it has stuck with me. It's made me look around at what seems like a world full of people just settling and want to push for more. It's reaffirmed to me that, in a generation full of entitlement and a desire to get everything "now," hard work and dedication to something you love -- anything you love -- really seems so much more fulfilling.

2005年，史蒂夫?喬布斯在斯坦福大學畢業典禮上演講時用“求知若饑，虛心若愚”作為結束語來勉勵學生。自從讀了喬布斯的演講，這句話就一直伴隨著我。它讓我重新審視這個人們永不知足的世界。它讓我更加確信，在充滿急功近利的權利和欲望的一代人中，為自己所喜歡的事情——任何事情——而努力并付出，實在是非常有意義的。

So as I sat texting my friend, I committed at that moment to stay hungry and do what I love with my life... even if it takes a little longer, I have to work a little harder, or I have to suffer a few disappointments. And with that, I think I'll have a helluva good one.

所以在我給朋友回短信的同時，我就下定決心要“求知若饑”并終生做自己喜歡的事情，即使這需要的時間更長，我必須付出的努力更多，或者我不得不經歷一些挫敗。有了這些想法，我相信我所喜歡的事情將是非常不錯的事情。

Vocabulary

1. take aback: 使吃驚，驚嚇。

2. picture: 想象，畫，描寫。

3. comfortable in your own skin: 對現狀滿意，自信，認可自己。

4. trump: 勝過，打敗，超過，超越。

（來源：英語學習雜志）