No 不

by Traci E. Langston

景一 選譯

If you want to do something， go for it—youve got nothing to lose. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? —Louis Tomlinson

My palms1 were sweating. I was sure I could hear my heart pounding2. This was the worst. Why did I even think I could do this？ I thought I was completely out of my mind. I hated feeling this way， but I had to do what I was about to do. I found a small bit of my inner strength and opened my mouth.

“Excuse me. I was just wondering. Would it be possible to maybe get that table over there by the window instead？” I asked. My voice sounded hollow3 and strange to me， as if a stranger from afar had asked the question instead of me. I waited.

“No， Im sorry， but that table is reserved4，” the waitress replied kindly as she led me into the dining area.

As I followed her to my table， I realized that the earth had not opened up and swallowed5 me. I had not passed out or died of humiliation6. No one in the restaurant was laughing at my asking for a table by the window. I had asked and been told “no”. That was all. Nothing more.

For someone like me， who is always shy and lack of confidence， asking for a different table was a huge challenge. But Ive started doing it on a regular basis because of a simple piece of advice my mother told me， “The worst they can say is ‘no.”

And so， I have learned to actually ask for what I want. Ive learned to reach for my dreams and make efforts to achieve my goals. Ive auditioned7 for plays. I got a job that I wanted. Ive even gotten prices reduced on a huge number of goods. Because I asked. Because my mom was right.

Sure， I have been turned down. I cant say I have never been embarrassed. I have been， but I keep trying. I will continue to ask for what I want out of life and from other people. What could happen？ The worst they can say is “no”.

如果你想做什么事，就放手去做吧。你沒什么可以失去的。 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ——路易斯·湯姆林森

我的手心出汗了。我確信我能聽到自己的心跳。這是最糟糕的。為什么我認為自己能做到？我覺得自己完全瘋了。我討厭這種感覺，但我必須做要做的事情。我在內心找到了一點的力量，開了口。

“對不起。我只是想知道。我們能不能換成那邊靠窗的桌子？”我問。我的聲音聽起來空洞而怪異，就像是一個來自遠方的陌生人代替我問了這個問題。我等著對方的回答。

“抱歉，不能，那張桌子被預訂了。”服務員引我進就餐區時親切地回答道。

跟著她來到我的桌邊時，我意識到地面并沒有張開大嘴吞沒我。我沒有昏過去，也沒有因丟臉而死。餐館里沒有人嘲笑我要靠窗的桌子。我已經問過了，然后被告知“不能”，僅此而已，沒別的了。

對于我這樣一個總是害羞、缺乏自信的人來說，要求換個桌子是一個巨大的挑戰。但我已經開始經常這么做了，因為我母親給了我一個簡單的建議：“最糟糕的情況不過是他們說‘不。”

所以，我學會了開口問我想要的東西。我學會了伸手去追尋夢想和努力去實現我的目標。我已經參加過試鏡了。我找到了我想要的工作。我甚至以更低的價格買到了很多商品。因為我開口問了。因為我母親是對的。

當然，我被拒絕過。我不能說從來沒覺得尷尬過，但我一直在努力。我會繼續向生活和其他人開口問我想要的東西。會發生什么呢？最糟糕的情況不過是他們說“不”。……