当我放眼望去自己身边的年轻人时，我哭了。这曾经被引以为傲的年轻一代，如今却成了懒散、情绪化、没有礼貌的代名词。
I myself used to have all three of these characteristics. Not when I was an adventure-seeking, rambunctious toddler, but as an older high school teenager.
这三种特性曾经在我身上都有。那不是在我追求新奇，而又喧闹的孩提时代，而是在高中时候的青年时代。
It was at this stage that my foolish rascal tendencies were at their highest. I would constantly complain, care for my friends more than my family, and in general would just talk all the time.
在那个阶段，我的愚蠢、无赖倾向达到最高峰。我不断地抱怨，与家人相比，我更在乎朋友，总是一直说个不停。
Then came a moment when I wondered where I would end up. Would I remain on track to becoming a doctor like my parents wanted? Am I just going to keep acting like a child for the rest of my life?
然而到了我开始想应该在哪里结束的时候了。是要继续延续父母的路线做一名医生呢?还是在以后的生活中继续表现的像个孩子呢?
This moment would serve as the spark that set in motion a process of learning life lesson, molding me into the person you're reading through your computer screen.
这是终生难忘的一刻，它启动了一个过程：学习生活教训，把我塑造成了你在电脑屏幕上正在读的人。
Since then, I've learned a great many things, but these are the lessons that I wished I'd stumbled upon earlier:
那以后，我学了很多，但是我真希望自己能更早的发现这些教训：
1. Everyone's opinion matters only as much as you want them to.
不受他人观念的影响
There was a time when everyone's opinion was mine as well. Whatever preferences I formerly held were dashed in the face of another's. This most likely came from a need to please others.
会有这样一段时间，在这段时间里，别人的观点也是你的观点。无论什么样的爱好，无论自己曾多坚持，在另一个人的面前，这一切都化为乌有。那更像是取悦别人的一种需求。
Remember that your opinion matters just as much as the next guy's, whether they make more money than you or are less popular than you. Everyone's opinion holds the same weight.
不管别人赚钱比你多还是没有你受欢迎，请记住，自己的观点与别人的同样有影响力。每个人的观点都持有相同的分量。
2. Your emotions are under your control.
控制自己的情绪
Drama, chaos, and emotional unrest — these were what took up most of my time as a teenager. When everyone's obsessed with what's in and what's not, tempers flare; mine mostly.
在我的青年时代，戏剧性、浑沌状态及焦躁不安的情绪占据了我大部分时间。人们喜欢由着自己的脾性来判断对和错，自然我也不例外。
If I had heard someone said rotten things behind my back, I'd erupt. Go crazy. Looking back on those tantrums now, I'm not too surprised. After all, when you have little self control, anything is possible.
那时候，如果听到有人在我背后说腐败的家伙，我就会大怒，抓狂。现在在回想起来那些坏脾气，我也并不觉得吃惊。毕竟，当你没有自控能力的时候，什么事情都可能发生。
The lesson here is: remain aware of how you react.
这里的教训：记住自己是什么样的反应。
2. Arguments are pointless.
争吵毫无意义
Will one small quarrel among friends decide the fate of the entire universe? In my world it felt like it. I just wanted so much to be right and for them so much to be wrong. But in the end, it only resulted in me wasting my time and in the other person storming off in frustration.
朋友之间的一次小小的争吵决定着整个宇宙的存亡吗?那个时候在我的世界里，就是如此。我想做自己做的是正确的，然而对他们来说，是错误的。但是到最后，唯一的结果就是我在浪费自己的时间，其他人在勃然大怒。
Is there really a point to arguing? Unless it's absolutely necessary, I've learned that it's better to hold your breath on things you can't control at all.
争吵真的有意义吗?除非那是非常有必要的，否则在你对某些事情无法控制时，你最好屏住呼吸。
Arguing to change someone's mind is one of them.
争吵改变了某些人的想法。
3. Your parents only want what's best for you.
父母对你所做的都是对你最好的
I'm not saying every parent wants what's best for you (there are outliers), but in general, parents do what they do for you in your best interest.
我并不是说每一对父母对孩子做的都是最好的(不乏例外的)，然而，总体而言，父母对你所做的一切都是对你最好的。
My parents used to make me do the dishes, cook dinner, sweep the floors, mow the lawn, take out the garbage… the list goes on and on. And at every turn, I'd whine and complain. I'd eventually end up doing it.
我父母过去常常让我洗碗、做饭、扫地、刈草坪、扔垃圾等等。每次当我转身时，我都会低声抱怨。最终我不再做这些事情。
Now, I honestly see the value in having learned those skills. I can efficiently cook and clean up after myself — what's not to like?
现在，我体会到了学会这些技巧的价值。我可以迅速的做饭并清理干净。自己真的不喜欢吗?
And even though I despised school, I thank them for the education they helped me acquire.
尽管过去我讨厌上学，但我很感激他们帮我获得的学历。
4. Societal norms don't mean anything.
社会准则并不是万能的
When you define your life by what society tells you, trust me, life gets much harder to live. You're constantly on the edge thinking to yourself, "Am I behind the times? What's the normal thing to do? Is this acceptable?"
当你用社会准则定义你的生活时，相信我，生活会变得更加艰难。你总在边缘不断地想“我怕是不是跟不上时代了?做什么事情是正常的?是不是可以接受的?”
For me, this came from not having confidence in myself to be who I am. I believe that when we are children, we already internalize this. We care not for society, but only for expressing ourselves. Then after puberty, we start caring a bit too much.
对于我来说，这一切源于自己的不自信，对做自己不自信。我相信当我们还是孩子的时候，我们已将此内在化。我们不关心社会，只在乎怎样表达自己。然而，青春期之后，我们开始在乎的多了。
So much that we begin to lose ourselves.
在乎的太多以至于我们迷失了自己。
Let's go back to who we used to be.
让我们做回我们自己。
5. You aren't stuck in any situation.
不要让任何事情左右你的心态
Whenever I’d lose a friend, get an awful grade, or disappoint my parents, I stewed in my own muck. Waiting for the bad moments to go away seemed to be the only solution. Fortunately, I know now that you don’t have to be stuck in bad situations.
当我失去一个朋友，或考了一个很差的分数，或让父母失望时，我就会把自己封闭起来。等待着最坏的时刻到来，这好像是唯一的解决方法。幸运的是，现在我知道了，你没有必要把自己困在不好的状态下。
You can go out and create better ones.
你可以出去，去创造一个更好的状态。
It all depends on perspective; on how you see the situation. Viewing everything as a learning experience makes life more pleasurable, even during the hard times.
这所有的一切都取决于自己的主观意识，取决于你对这种状态的看法。把一切看成是学习经历，这样，即使是在困难的时候，也能让生活更愉悦，更舒心。
You aren't stuck. You can move on.
不要封闭自己，要继续向前。
6. You learn by doing.
从行动中学习
I used to try everything at least once, just to see how it was like. But as I entered my teen years, I became wary of trying new things.
这个教训是在一段时间之后才知道的。过去，我常常把所有事情都尝试至少一遍，看看它看起来怎样。但是，当我步入青年时期，我变得害怕尝试新事物。
Skepticism enraptured me, fear grabbed hold of me, and soon… I became gutless.
怀疑的态度侵蚀着我，恐惧吞噬着我，不久之后，我变得懦弱，胆小。
I would count myself out of the race before I was even in it.
在我陷入这个怪圈之前，我要把自己排除在外。
I think the lesson here is clear.
我认为这个教训是清晰地。
You cannot change what you didn't know back then.
你不能改变你自己不知道的事情。
Though, it would be nice to transfer wisdom across the time-space continuum. I wish I could tell my younger, immature self all of this.
尽管通过时间-空间闭合集来转移智慧是件好事。然而我多么希望能把这所有的一切告诉那年轻，幼稚的自己。
I'd tell him to relax and everything will be fine. All you have to do is believe everything will be okay and believe in your abilities, regardless of any path you choose.
我将告诉他，放轻松些，一切都会好的。你所要做的就是相信一切都会好的，不管你选择何种道路，一定要相信自己的能力。
Nonetheless, I'm glad to have learned these lessons the way I did. Each experience helped shape me to become a better person. I don't know if any young people are reading this, but if they are, I'd like to say this:
尽管如此，我很高兴，能用自己的方式学到这些教训。每一次经历都促使我把自己塑造成更好的人。我不知道是不是每个年轻人都在读这篇文章。但是我想对在读这篇文章的年轻人说：
"Listen to life and its experience. Everyone goes through mostly the same things."
“聆听生活，这是阅历。每个人的经历都大体相似。”
