這就是我喜歡做的事

I spent the first 20 years of my life terrified about what other people thought about me. Like， lay-awake-stressing-about-whether-or-not-my-classmates-hate-my-backpack kind of terrified. So， I tried to minimize my inherent1 nerdiness as much as possible， especially when it came to my closet2 obsession3： saving the world.

My eco-geekiness started when I was 13 and my favorite teen magazine arrived in the mail with a “Save the Earth， Girl！” cover. I remember it so clearly！ It was filled with all sorts of easy tips to go green.

Among many of the dork4 facts I learned that day： turning off the water while you brush your teeth saves 200 gallons of water every year—per person！ Lets just say I started doing that right away. I mean， it is kind of a big deal considering Earth doesnt have an unlimited amount of fresh water （converting5） the ocean into drinkable water is super hard and expensive， I found out）.

My hippie6 parents were all too eager to start recycling and reusing， so we became that family. The ones who washed out I Cant Believe Its Not Butter7 containers and used them for storage. The ones who carried canvas8 tote9 bags to the grocery store and our own mugs to the coffee shop long before it was even remotely10 cool.

I knew it was the right thing to do for the environment， but I cringed11 every time my mom would dig a plastic bottle out of a public trashcan and put it in the recycling bag she kept in the trunk of the car.

One day， the most popular girl in school， Julie M.， called me out12 in front of my entire AP13 English class for drinking out of a reusable Thermos instead of a store-bought water bottle.

I honestly thought I might die of shame. I slunk14 home that day and told my mom all the humiliating details.

“Well， which do you like better，” she said nonchalantly15， clearly used to this kind of public scrutiny16. “Julie or the planet？”

And right then， something clicked17. I actually hated Julie—she was vile18 and ridiculous. Why did I care what she—or anyone—thought about my eco-ness？At the end of the day I was proud of myself for helping the environment and I knew I was doing the right thing.

So—finally—I began to let my freaky green flag fly！ I called out litterbugs19， collected magazines from my friends to recycle， and brought my own cup to Starbucks. And then the strangest thing happened： people started copying me.

One by one， my friends began to flick20 off the lights， buy recycled notebooks， and feed paper back into the printer to make use of the other side. Its not that they were oh-so-passionate about the environment， but they were drawn to my confidence.

The most popular people （not only in high school but in life） are those who stand proudly and say “Yeah， this is what Im into. WHAT.” Even if they dont share your enthusiasm， they will envy your confidence and want to be like you， and that means following your example.

在我人生的頭20年，我總會因為別人對我的看法而擔心害怕。比如，我會躺在床上睡不著覺，為同學們是不是不喜歡我的背包這類事情惶恐不安。所以，我盡可能地讓自己身上那種與生俱來的古怪顯得低調，尤其是我最隱秘的“嗜好”——拯救世界。

我熱愛環保的怪癖始于13歲那年。那天我收到了自己最喜愛的一本少年雜志的郵件包裹，雜志的封面上赫然寫著“拯救地球吧，女孩！”。時至今日，我都清楚地記得這句話。那本雜志里列出了各種各樣簡單易行的環保小貼士。

就在那一天，我了解到許多關于環保的菜鳥入門知識，其中一條是：“刷牙時關上水龍頭，每人每年便可節約200加侖的水！”這么說吧，我當時立馬就開始那么做了。我覺得，這樣做太重要了，因為地球上的淡水并不是取之不盡、用之不竭的（我了解到，將海水轉化為飲用水超級困難，而且耗資巨大）。

我的“嬉皮士”父母也都熱切想要開始回收再利用行動，我們仨就理所應當地成了“環保之家”。我們會把 I Cant Believe Its Not Butter牌黃油的罐子洗凈用來儲物；我們去食品店時會帶上帆布手提袋；我們去咖啡店時會帶上自己的杯子，即使這樣的行為在很久之后都算不上很酷。

雖然我知道我們這樣做對環境有利，可每當媽媽從公共垃圾箱中扒拉出一個塑料瓶并把它放進她在汽車后備箱準備的回收袋里時，我總是畏畏縮縮的。

一天，我們學校最受歡迎的女生朱莉·M.在AP英語課上當著全班同學的面嘲笑我，說我喝的不是從商店買的瓶裝水，竟然是用可重復使用的保溫瓶裝的水。……