隨身之物

Track 9

by anonymous翻譯：常青

隨身之物

Track 9

by anonymous翻譯：常青

The most important thing in my bag that I carry year around is not the heaviest， but the strongest. It’s my EpiPen注. This one1）needle has the ability to save my life within seconds. In the early 2000， I began to have trouble breathing at the dinner table. And in that same day， I was informed that peanuts were now the new addition to the list of things I needed to stay away from. From that day on， I had to carry around this needle everywhere I go just in case.

Carrying around an EpiPen involves carrying a great amount of responsibility. The weight of responsibility that I carried is far greater than anything else. Being a young adult， I am responsible for my work， my health， and most importantly， my safety. Having responsibility2）ages you in a way that can prepare you for the future. With responsibility， I carry the expectations that I must hold above my head wherever I go. As a woman， each day I try to prove the3）stereotypes that have been set upon us are wrong.4）Gender should not be thought of as a5）factor to determine who is better or worse in society， yet sometimes it is. The same thing goes with my race. Being African American has caused many to6）think less of me or to feel as though I must follow a certain standard because of the7）pigments in my skin. It’s thought as though I must not be able to do something as well or even better than a person with a lighter8）complexion than me. I believe that the expectation that I carry around is much heavier than most things and requires a lot of strength and patience.

I must also carry the weight of trust that I’ve built with friends and family. Trust is a weight that if I stop carrying， it won’t feel as though I am lighter. I carry my mistakes， but with them I carry my9）accomplishments. I carry my fears， but with them I carry love. I10）guard it with my life because life is too short to live without having the feeling of loving someone or being loved. With each new moment in life， I carry another memory. With each memory， I carry the hope that I will continue to carry along memories which will have11）shaped me into the woman I want to become.

我一年到頭在包里裝著的，雖不是最沉重的，但卻是對我來說最重要的東西，那便是我的腎上腺素筆。這支針管可以在幾秒鐘內挽救我的生命。2000年初，我在餐桌上發現了自己開始有呼吸困難的問題。而就在同一天里，我又被告知自己的“禁忌物”清單上多了花生類食品。從那天起，為以防萬一，我到哪兒都要隨身攜帶著這支針管。

隨身攜帶腎上腺素筆的同時我也正背負著巨大的責任感，這種責任感遠遠重于其他一切。作為一名青年，我要對我的工作和健康負責，最重要的還有我的自身安全。責任感會讓你變得成熟，讓你時刻準備好迎接未來的挑戰。有了責任感，我便承載著自己無論走到哪里都必須昂首挺胸的期許。作為一名女性，我每天都試圖證明那些建立在我們身上的刻板印象是錯誤的。性別不應該成為社會去判定一個人好壞的因素，但有的時候它就是這樣。而我所屬的種族亦會面臨同樣的問題。非洲裔美國人的身份讓很多人將我看輕，或者讓他們因為我的膚色而覺得我必須遵循一定的標準做事。他們似乎認為，與膚色較淺的人相比，我肯定什么事都不能做得跟他們一樣好，或者更好。我想我身上承載著的對自我的期許要比大多數事物更為沉重，而且它還需要注入極大的力量與耐心。

我還必須背負著朋友和家人對我的信任之重。哪怕我放棄了信任的重量，我似乎也并不會感到輕松一些。我謹記著自己的錯誤，也正因為這樣我才會獲得自己的成就。我攜帶著自我的恐懼，但同時我也承載著愛。我會用生命來守護愛，因為倘若沒有愛或被愛的感覺，短暫的生命便會被虛度。在人生中的每一個新的階段，我都會攜帶著又一份全新的記憶。因為擁有著這每一個記憶片段，我便會帶著希望，希望我能夠繼續帶著那些美好的記憶，逐漸將自我塑造成我想成為的那種女性。

1） needle ［'ni?dl］ n. 針

2） age ［e?d?］ v. 使……老化，使成熟

3） stereotype ［'st??r??Jta?p］ n. 陳規，刻板印象

4） gender ［'d?end?］ n. 性別

5） factor ［'f?kt?］ n. 因素，要素

6） think less of 看低……

7） pigment ［'p?gm?nt］ n. 色素

8） complexion ［k?m'plek??n］ n. 膚色（尤指面部）

9） accomplishment ［?'k?mpl??m?nt］ n. 成就

10） guard ［gɑ?d］ v. 保護

11） shape ［?e?p］ v. 影響

注：即腎上腺素筆。病人在發生嚴重過敏反應，或過敏癥狀表現較重時可立即用其注射腎上腺素，及時挽救生命。

The Things I Carry