As a teenager, I felt I was always letting people down. I was rebellious outside, but I wanted to be liked inside.

　　Once I left home to hitch-hike2 to California with my friend Penelope. The trip wasn't easy，and there were many times I didn't feel safe. One situation in particular kept me grateful to still be alive. When I returned home, I was different, not so outwardly sure of myself.

　　I was happy to be home. But then I noticed that Penelope，who was staying with us，was wearing my clothes. And my family seemed to like her better than me. I wondered if I would be missed if I weren't there. I told my mom, and she explained that though Penelope was a lovely girl, no one could replace me. I pointed out,“ She is more patient and is neater than I have ever been.” My mom said these were wonderful qualities, but I was the only person who could fill my role. She made me realize that even with my faults—and there were many——I was a loved member of the family who couldn't be replaced.

　　I became a searcher, wanting to find out who I was and what made me unique. My view of myself was changing. I wanted a solid base to start from. I started to resist3 pressure to act in ways that I didn't like any more, and I was delighted by who I really was. I came to feel much more sure that no one can ever take my place.

　　Each of us holds a unique place in the world. You are special, no matter what others say or what you may think. So forget about being replaced. You can't be.

　　【參考譯文】

　　當(dāng)我還是個(gè)10幾歲的少年的時(shí)候，覺(jué)得自己總是讓人失望。從外表上看，我似乎很叛逆，但是在內(nèi)心深處，我是如此地渴望被人疼愛(ài)。

　　有一次我離開(kāi)了家和我的朋友佩內(nèi)洛普搭便車去了加利福尼亞。這次旅行并不輕松，而且有很多次我感覺(jué)不安。有一次的突發(fā)狀況讓我一直慶幸自己還活著。回到家，我發(fā)覺(jué)自己變了，看上去不那么自信了。

　　我很高興能回到家，但不久我注意到和我們一起的佩內(nèi)洛普穿著我的衣服，而且我父母看上去更喜歡她，我想知道如果我不在家的話他們是否會(huì)想念我。后來(lái)，我把我的想法告訴了母親，她說(shuō)盡管佩內(nèi)洛普是個(gè)可愛(ài)的女孩，但她始終不能取代我，我說(shuō)：“她比我有耐心而且無(wú)論何時(shí)看上去她都比我要整潔大方?！蹦赣H說(shuō)這些都是非常好的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，但我卻是惟一個(gè)能扮演好自己角色的人。母親讓我感到盡管我有缺點(diǎn)——似乎還很多——但是，我被家中每一個(gè)人愛(ài)著，誰(shuí)也無(wú)法取代。

　　我成了一個(gè)探尋者，想要知道自己到底是誰(shuí)，又是什么讓我變得獨(dú)一無(wú)二。我的人生觀開(kāi)始改變。我需要一個(gè)堅(jiān)固的基礎(chǔ)來(lái)發(fā)展，我忍受住壓力，不再做自己不喜歡做的事。而且我為真實(shí)的我感到高興。漸漸地我越發(fā)肯定自己無(wú)可替代。

　　每個(gè)人在這個(gè)世界上都占有一個(gè)獨(dú)一無(wú)二的位置。無(wú)論別人說(shuō)什么，你自己怎么想，你都是特別的。所以，不要擔(dān)心自己會(huì)被取代，因?yàn)槟阌肋h(yuǎn)是惟一的。

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