The Skirt

Emily USA

I will be the first to say that I am not materialistic. My friends label me as a goody-goody； my parents say I am conservative and modest when it comes to clothes. I don't wear bikinis， and none of my skirts or shorts end above my knees. That is my choice.

我要做第一個說自己并不物質的人。我的朋友們把我標注為假正經(jīng)。我爸媽說我穿衣服太保守、太拘謹。我不穿比基尼，不穿膝蓋以上的短裙或短褲。這是我的選擇。

So why， why did I feel so tempted？ My family and I were in Target， and there it was， waiting. A skirt， specifically designed not to cover anything. It was tan and looked like something one of those anime schoolgirls would wear.

可是為什么，為什么我曾經(jīng)感覺到那樣被誘惑？我和我的家人在塔吉特服裝店里，哇，它等在那里了！一條短裙，顯然不是為了遮身蔽體而設計的。它是棕褐色的，看起來就像是日本動漫女生才會去穿的那種裙子。

I went into the dressing room to try it on. So sure was I that this skirt would change me， somehow make me not what I am but what I wished to be. I slid my jeans off and put it on. Now for the decisive moment， I looked in the mirror. There I was a geeky girl in a Superman T-shirt and sneakers. My glasses fogged up as I started to cry.

我走進試衣間去試穿。相當自信地以為這件短裙會將我改變，以一種神奇的方式把我改變成不是我現(xiàn)在的樣子，而是我希望變成的樣子。我脫下我的牛仔褲，把它換上?，F(xiàn)在是做決定的時候了。我注視著鏡子里面，瞧，這個身穿超人T恤衫和運動鞋，令人討厭的女孩就是我。我哭了起來，淚水模糊了我的眼鏡。

The skirt did not change me. Though it fit well and might make me look good in the eyes of today's world， it was not me. I am not a girl who flirts or wears cool clothes to fit in.

I took the thing off and slid back into the comfort of modesty. My mom knocked on the door. “Emily， are you okay？”

I wiped away my tears. “I'm fine.” I looked in the mirror again and saw a blond skinny girl with dorky glasses and a ponytail. I saw myself.

短裙沒有改變我。盡管它十分合身，并且在當今世界的審美中看起來也許還不錯，但這不是我。我不是一個賣弄風情、或穿酷裝以求認同的女孩。

我脫下短裙換回我那質樸舒適的牛仔褲。媽媽敲了敲門：“艾米麗，你沒事吧？”

我擦干眼淚：“挺好的?！蔽以俅巫⒁曋R子里面，看見一個戴著傻傻的眼鏡、扎著馬尾辮、精精瘦瘦的金發(fā)女孩兒。我看到了我自己。

（譯/王世躍 劉書恩）