My name is Taylor. I'm 17 years old， and I just recently finished my junior year of high school. I guess that means I'm a senior， but I'm a little afraid for fall to roll around1） because that means I will finally have to come face-to-face with my biggest fear： college admissions.
I often feel as though I should already have my life figured out. A lot of my peers already have plans for their post-high school careers， but I find myself shrugging my shoulders every time somebody asks me， "What are you doing after high school？" Not to mention the fact that I'm constantly bombarded2） with reminders from the adults in my life to choose a career path now， right now， specifically one that will make me lots of money and set me on a comfortable path for the rest of my life. Sadly， I know I'm not alone in my distress3）.
In a world filled with Taylor Swifts， Justin Biebers and Beyoncés， high schoolers assume that we must know what we're good at and perfect that while we're young. We should be winning awards and going to good schools and starting life-long careers before we can legally drink. We are pressured to take the hardest classes， to get the highest grades， to get into the best colleges， etc. We do this because we are told by society that if we fail while we are young we won't be able to succeed in the future. The fact of the matter4） is that this pressure will never end. We will one day feel pressured to get the best jobs， to get promotions and raises and in turn， we forget to be happy. We forget to do what we actually like because we are too much focused on "succeeding".
Here's the thing.
This is not true. We are young， and we are allowed to be indecisive. We are allowed to change our minds. We are allowed to try something out， realize we don't like it， and switch paths towards things that make us happier. Sure， Taylor Swift was winning Grammys at 18， but Van Gogh didn't start painting until his twenties. J. K. Rowling published the first Harry Potter book in her thirties， and Walt Disney was fired from his job as a newspaper editor because he wasn't creative enough. Despite the pressure we often feel to succeed as soon as possible， these people prove to us that it is possible， and maybe even necessary to try and fail before we truly succeed.
I encourage everyone reading this to choose to do what makes you happy―what fulfills you. It is never ever too late to do anything. So if you know what you want to do now， do it. If you decide you want to do something else when you're 50， do it. And if you don't know what you want to do， take solace5） in the fact that one day you will find your place in the world. For now， all we can do is be confident in ourselves. We are all talented in different ways. We are all beautiful and complex creatures who are capable of amazing things， so it's OK if it takes a few of us a while to figure out what we're going to major in. After all， the most amazing things always take extra time. 我叫泰勒，今年17岁，最近刚刚读完11年级（编注：相当于国内高二，美国高中有四年，即9～12年级）。我想那就意味着我是一名12年级的学生了，但是我有点儿害怕今年秋天的到来，因为那意味着我终将不得不直面自己最大的恐惧：大学录取。
我经常有这种感觉――好像自己早应该确定了人生目标。我的很多同龄人都已对高中毕业后的职业生涯有了规划，但是我发现每次有人问我“你高中毕业以后要做什么？”时，我总是耸耸肩表示不确定。更别提生活中那些大人们总是连珠炮似的提醒我现在去选一条职业道路，现在就选，特别是要选一个能让我赚很多钱并能让我今后的人生都十分安逸的工作。悲哀的是，我知道不止我一个人面临着这样的苦恼。
在这个到处是泰勒・斯威夫特们、贾斯汀・比伯们和碧昂丝们的世界，高中生们都认为我们必须了解自己的特长并趁年轻时将其完善；我们应该斩获奖项，迈进名校，并在我们能合法饮酒（编注：美国大部分州的合法饮酒年龄是21岁）前就踏上毕生的职业道路。我们迫于压力去上最晦涩难懂的课程，获得最高的分数，考上最好的大学等等。我们这样做是因为社会告诉我们，如果我们在年轻的时候失败了，就无法在将来取得成功。事实上，这种压力将无穷无尽。有一天，我们将会在寻找最佳工作、谋求晋职提薪方面备感压力，从而忘记要快乐地生活，忘记要去做自己真正喜欢的事情，因为我们太过于关注“成功”了。
可是下面的才是事实。
这种观念并不正确。我们还年轻，我们可以举棋不定，我们可以改变主意，我们可以去尝试某些事情，并在意识到自己不喜欢之后另寻他路，朝那些令我们更加快乐的事情前行。没错，泰勒・斯威夫特在18岁时就获得了格莱美奖，但梵高是20多岁时才开始画画的，J. K. 罗琳在30多岁时才出版了她第一部《哈利・波特》，沃尔特・迪士尼在做报纸编辑时还曾因缺乏创造力而被解雇。尽管我们经常会感到要趁早成功带来的压力，但以上这些人却向我们证明，我们在真正成功之前进行尝试并失败都是可能发生的，甚至是有必要经历的。
我鼓励每个正在读这篇文章的人选择做令你感到快乐的事情――让你得以满足的事情。无论何时做任何事情都不会晚。因此，如果你知道现在想做什么，那就去做。如果你50岁时决定做些别的事情，那就去做。如果你不知道自己想做什么，要用这样的事实安慰自己：总有一天你会找到自己在世界上的立足之地。现在，我们能做的就是对自己充满信心。我们都有才能，只是所擅长的方面不同。我们都是美丽而复杂的生物，有能力成就惊人之举，因此，即使我们中有些人需要花一段时间想清楚专业方向，也没有关系。毕竟，最牛的惊人之举总是需要多花些时间才能完成的。
1. roll around： （时间、季节等）到来；（事件）发生
2. bombard [b?m?b?d] vt. 连珠炮似的质问（或批评）；使大量面对
3. distress [d??stres] n. 悲伤；痛苦；忧虑
4. the fact of the matter： 事实，真相
5. solace [?s?l?s] n. 安慰；慰藉
