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.

我要做第一个说自己并不物质的人。我的朋友们把我标注为假正经。我爸妈说我穿衣服太保守、太拘谨。我不穿比基尼，不穿膝盖以上的短裙或短裤。这是我的选择。

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.

可是为什么，为什么我曾经感觉到那样被诱惑？我和我的家人在塔吉特服装店里，哇，它等在那里了！一条短裙，显然不是为了遮身蔽体而设计的。它是棕褐色的，看起来就像是日本动漫女生才会去穿的那种裙子。

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.

我走进试衣间去试穿。相当自信地以为这件短裙会将我改变，以一种神奇的方式把我改变成不是我现在的样子，而是我希望变成的样子。我脱下我的牛仔裤，把它换上。现在是做决定的时候了。我注视着镜子里面，瞧，这个身穿超人T恤衫和运动鞋，令人讨厌的女孩就是我。我哭了起来，泪水模糊了我的眼镜。

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.

短裙没有改变我。尽管它十分合身，并且在当今世界的审美中看起来也许还不错，但这不是我。我不是一个卖弄风情、或穿酷装以求认同的女孩。

我脱下短裙换回我那质朴舒适的牛仔裤。妈妈敲了敲门：“艾米丽，你没事吧？”

我擦干眼泪：“挺好的。”我再次注视着镜子里面，看见一个戴着傻傻的眼镜、扎着马尾辫、精精瘦瘦的金发女孩儿。我看到了我自己。

（译/王世跃 刘书恩）