My name is Taylor. I'm 17 years old， and I just recently finished my junior year of high school. I guess that means I'm a senior， but I'm a little afraid for fall to roll around1） because that means I will finally have to come face-to-face with my biggest fear： college admissions.

I often feel as though I should already have my life figured out. A lot of my peers already have plans for their post-high school careers， but I find myself shrugging my shoulders every time somebody asks me， \"What are you doing after high school？\" Not to mention the fact that I'm constantly bombarded2） with reminders from the adults in my life to choose a career path now， right now， specifically one that will make me lots of money and set me on a comfortable path for the rest of my life. Sadly， I know I'm not alone in my distress3）.

In a world filled with Taylor Swifts， Justin Biebers and Beyoncés， high schoolers assume that we must know what we're good at and perfect that while we're young. We should be winning awards and going to good schools and starting life-long careers before we can legally drink. We are pressured to take the hardest classes， to get the highest grades， to get into the best colleges， etc. We do this because we are told by society that if we fail while we are young we won't be able to succeed in the future. The fact of the matter4） is that this pressure will never end. We will one day feel pressured to get the best jobs， to get promotions and raises and in turn， we forget to be happy. We forget to do what we actually like because we are too much focused on \"succeeding\".

Here's the thing.

This is not true. We are young， and we are allowed to be indecisive. We are allowed to change our minds. We are allowed to try something out， realize we don't like it， and switch paths towards things that make us happier. Sure， Taylor Swift was winning Grammys at 18， but Van Gogh didn't start painting until his twenties. J. K. Rowling published the first Harry Potter book in her thirties， and Walt Disney was fired from his job as a newspaper editor because he wasn't creative enough. Despite the pressure we often feel to succeed as soon as possible， these people prove to us that it is possible， and maybe even necessary to try and fail before we truly succeed.

I encourage everyone reading this to choose to do what makes you happy—what fulfills you. It is never ever too late to do anything. So if you know what you want to do now， do it. If you decide you want to do something else when you're 50， do it. And if you don't know what you want to do， take solace5） in the fact that one day you will find your place in the world. For now， all we can do is be confident in ourselves. We are all talented in different ways. We are all beautiful and complex creatures who are capable of amazing things， so it's OK if it takes a few of us a while to figure out what we're going to major in. After all， the most amazing things always take extra time.

我叫泰勒，今年17歲，最近剛剛讀完11年級（編注：相當(dāng)于國內(nèi)高二，美國高中有四年，即9～12年級）。我想那就意味著我是一名12年級的學(xué)生了，但是我有點兒害怕今年秋天的到來，因為那意味著我終將不得不直面自己最大的恐懼：大學(xué)錄取。

我經(jīng)常有這種感覺——好像自己早應(yīng)該確定了人生目標(biāo)。我的很多同齡人都已對高中畢業(yè)后的職業(yè)生涯有了規(guī)劃，但是我發(fā)現(xiàn)每次有人問我“你高中畢業(yè)以后要做什么？”時，我總是聳聳肩表示不確定。更別提生活中那些大人們總是連珠炮似的提醒我現(xiàn)在去選一條職業(yè)道路，現(xiàn)在就選，特別是要選一個能讓我賺很多錢并能讓我今后的人生都十分安逸的工作。悲哀的是，我知道不止我一個人面臨著這樣的苦惱。

在這個到處是泰勒·斯威夫特們、賈斯汀·比伯們和碧昂絲們的世界，高中生們都認(rèn)為我們必須了解自己的特長并趁年輕時將其完善；我們應(yīng)該斬獲獎項，邁進(jìn)名校，并在我們能合法飲酒（編注：美國大部分州的合法飲酒年齡是21歲）前就踏上畢生的職業(yè)道路。我們迫于壓力去上最晦澀難懂的課程，獲得最高的分?jǐn)?shù)，考上最好的大學(xué)等等。我們這樣做是因為社會告訴我們，如果我們在年輕的時候失敗了，就無法在將來取得成功。事實上，這種壓力將無窮無盡。有一天，我們將會在尋找最佳工作、謀求晉職提薪方面?zhèn)涓袎毫?，從而忘記要快樂地生活，忘記要去做自己真正喜歡的事情，因為我們太過于關(guān)注“成功”了。

可是下面的才是事實。

這種觀念并不正確。我們還年輕，我們可以舉棋不定，我們可以改變主意，我們可以去嘗試某些事情，并在意識到自己不喜歡之后另尋他路，朝那些令我們更加快樂的事情前行。沒錯，泰勒·斯威夫特在18歲時就獲得了格萊美獎，但梵高是20多歲時才開始畫畫的，J. K. 羅琳在30多歲時才出版了她第一部《哈利·波特》，沃爾特·迪士尼在做報紙編輯時還曾因缺乏創(chuàng)造力而被解雇。盡管我們經(jīng)常會感到要趁早成功帶來的壓力，但以上這些人卻向我們證明，我們在真正成功之前進(jìn)行嘗試并失敗都是可能發(fā)生的，甚至是有必要經(jīng)歷的。

我鼓勵每個正在讀這篇文章的人選擇做令你感到快樂的事情——讓你得以滿足的事情。無論何時做任何事情都不會晚。因此，如果你知道現(xiàn)在想做什么，那就去做。如果你50歲時決定做些別的事情，那就去做。如果你不知道自己想做什么，要用這樣的事實安慰自己：總有一天你會找到自己在世界上的立足之地?，F(xiàn)在，我們能做的就是對自己充滿信心。我們都有才能，只是所擅長的方面不同。我們都是美麗而復(fù)雜的生物，有能力成就驚人之舉，因此，即使我們中有些人需要花一段時間想清楚專業(yè)方向，也沒有關(guān)系。畢竟，最牛的驚人之舉總是需要多花些時間才能完成的。

1.roll around： （時間、季節(jié)等）到來；（事件）發(fā)生

2.bombard [b?m?bɑ?d] vt. 連珠炮似的質(zhì)問（或批評）；使大量面對

3.distress [d??stres] n. 悲傷；痛苦；憂慮

4.the fact of the matter： 事實，真相

5.solace [?s?l?s] n. 安慰；慰藉