这就是我喜欢做的事

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.

在我人生的头20年，我总会因为别人对我的看法而担心害怕。比如，我会躺在床上睡不着觉，为同学们是不是不喜欢我的背包这类事情惶恐不安。所以，我尽可能地让自己身上那种与生俱来的古怪显得低调，尤其是我最隐秘的“嗜好”——拯救世界。

我热爱环保的怪癖始于13岁那年。那天我收到了自己最喜爱的一本少年杂志的邮件包裹，杂志的封面上赫然写着“拯救地球吧，女孩！”。时至今日，我都清楚地记得这句话。那本杂志里列出了各种各样简单易行的环保小贴士。

就在那一天，我了解到许多关于环保的菜鸟入门知识，其中一条是：“刷牙时关上水龙头，每人每年便可节约200加仑的水！”这么说吧，我当时立马就开始那么做了。我觉得，这样做太重要了，因为地球上的淡水并不是取之不尽、用之不竭的（我了解到，将海水转化为饮用水超级困难，而且耗资巨大）。

我的“嬉皮士”父母也都热切想要开始回收再利用行动，我们仨就理所应当地成了“环保之家”。我们会把 I Cant Believe Its Not Butter牌黄油的罐子洗净用来储物；我们去食品店时会带上帆布手提袋；我们去咖啡店时会带上自己的杯子，即使这样的行为在很久之后都算不上很酷。

虽然我知道我们这样做对环境有利，可每当妈妈从公共垃圾箱中扒拉出一个塑料瓶并把它放进她在汽车后备箱准备的回收袋里时，我总是畏畏缩缩的。

一天，我们学校最受欢迎的女生朱莉·M.在AP英语课上当着全班同学的面嘲笑我，说我喝的不是从商店买的瓶装水，竟然是用可重复使用的保温瓶装的水。

说实话，我觉得自己当时都快要丢死人了。那天，我偷偷地溜回家，把这件让我倍感羞辱的事详详细细给妈妈讲了一遍。

“那你更喜欢哪个呢？朱莉还是咱们的地球？”妈妈若无其事地说，显然对这种来自于公众的审视早已习以为常。

就在那一刻，我恍然大悟。我其实很讨厌朱莉，她很坏，而且很可笑。我为什么要在意她——或任何人——怎么看待我的环保爱好呢？那天晚上，我开始对自己的环保行为感到自豪，而且我知道，自己是在做该做的事。

于是——终于——我开始让自己“环保怪咖”的旗帜尽情飘扬了！我会当众制止那些在公共场所乱扔废物的人，从朋友那里收集杂志进行回收利用，并带上自己的杯子去星巴克喝咖啡。渐渐地，最意想不到的事发生了：人们开始效仿我。

我的朋友们一个接一个地开始随手关灯，购买再生纸做的笔记本，将用过一面的纸放进打印机再用另一面。他们这样做并不是因为他们对环保有多么热衷，而是被我对环保的那份笃信吸引了。

最受欢迎的人正是那些始终保持骄傲的姿态宣称“嗯，这就是我喜欢做的事，那又怎样？”的人。不仅在高中校园是这样，在生活中也同样如此。即使别人未必有和你一样的热忱之心，他们也会羡慕你那份笃信，进而想要成为你那样的人。这就意味着，他们会以你为榜样，并效仿你。

注释

1. inherent adj. 固有的；内在的

2. closet adj. 秘密的，私下的

3. obsession： n.着魔，萦绕；使人痴迷的人（或物）

4. dork n. <口>笨蛋，呆子

5. convert vt. 使转变，使转化

6. hippie n. 嬉皮士，20世纪60年代出现于美国的青年颓废派，反越战，对社会现实抱不满情绪，信奉非暴力或神秘主义，穿奇装异服。

7. I Cant Believe Its Not Butter： 美国植物性黄油的一个品牌

8. canvas n. （制帐篷、船帆、画布等的）帆布

9. tote n. 大手提袋（或购物袋）

10. remotely adv. （程度）最低地，极小地

11. cringe vi. 畏缩

12. call sb. out： 把某人所做的事公之于众

13. AP： 大学预修课程，全称Advanced Placement，美国在高中阶段开设的具有大学水平的课程

14. slink vi. 偷偷摸摸地移动（或行动）

15. nonchalantly adv. 无动于衷地

16. scrutiny n. 密切的观察

17. click vi. <口> （在头脑或记忆里）变得明白

18. vile adj. <口>极坏的；恶劣的

19. litterbug n. <美口> 乱扔废物的人

20. flick vt. 啪地开动（开关等）