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18岁的时候，你在做什么？是畅游于高考模拟题海？还是整日沉迷于变化万千的网络？
在美国密歇根州希尔斯代尔市，一名刚满18岁的高中生通过选举击败现任市长，成为一市的父母官……面对这样的事实，你一定会瞠目结舌吧？下面就跟我们一起走近这位“高中生市长”,来一睹他的风采！
Igrew up in a small town in Michigan called Hillsdale. One day in 2003, when I was 15, my dad came home from his job as a supervisor for a local auto-parts factory where he’d worked for 26 years.”Our company’s moving to Mexico,”he said sadly to my mom, my sister and me, “I was laid off.” We were stunned—how could he be fired from a job he’d been so devoted to? Money was tight as dad went back to school. We had a hard time buying what we needed—no more dinners out or family vacations. Two long years later, dad finally got a job as a medical assistant.
In September 2005, after senior year started, I was reading an article in the local paper about Hillsdale’s upcoming city elections. The mayor at the time, Doung Ingles, was running unopposed, but a lot of Hillsdale residents didn’t like him. Local companies were continuing to move out of town and lay people off, and the mayor wasn’t giving them incentives1 to stay. Basically more and more families were going through the same bad things my family had just recovered from—and Hillsdale was losing its tax-paying residents since people had to move to look for work.
I know it sounds crazy, but out of nowhere I thought, why don’t run for mayor? I knew Hillsdale could be more prosperous, like it used to be. I mean, it used to be a great place to work and live—there had to be a way to keep companies here.
I didn’t have any political experience, but I was 18 and eligible2 to run—and I figured I had the positive energy that people would love. So on October 8, I drove to city hall, and went right up to the deputy city clerk and told her,”I want to run for mayor.”Once I had the forms, I decided it was time to tell my parents and friends.”You’re kidding!”my mom said, laughing—she didn’t believe me at all. But after I convinced her I really wanted to change things in Hillsdale, she encouraged me to go for it.
I created signs and flyers3 with the money I’d saved from my summer job, and posted them all over town. Then I scheduled my first speech at a popular record store—I talked to 20 people about the loss of jobs in Hillsdale. Next I spoke with local firefighters and told them I’d commit to hiring more staff to help them. Finally I began knocking on doors every day after school, introducing myself. “I’d like your vote for mayor,”I’d say immediately. When they’d ask me why, I’d explain that I really cared about Hillsdale and that I could truly relate to their issues.
When I got out of school on Election Day, November 8, I was too nervous to do anything except drive around town waiting for the polls to close. I really wanted to win, but I thought there would be no way I’d beat an adult. Still, around 8:30 p.m., my family turned on the TV to see the results. None of the local stations mentioned the race—but then a reporter called.”I just spoke to an election official,”he said.”You won!”All I could think was, I can’t believe it.
Being mayor is like having a part-time job: Every day after school I meet with city officers and business owners. Right now I’m in listening mode—like, the police chief just asked for more funding—so I can figure out how to help. I’ll be mayor for four years, so in the fall I’ll go to a college nearby. And someday I’ll probably run for another office. After all, anything is possible!
我在密歇根州一个叫希尔斯代尔的地方长大。2003年，我只有15岁。一天，我的爸爸——他在当地一家汽车公司做了26年管理员——下班回到家后，忧心地告诉妈妈、姐姐还有我 ：“我们的公司要迁往墨西哥。我被解雇了。”听到这个消息，我们一下子懵了，难道爸爸真的被解雇了？他可是在那份工作上倾注了毕生的心血啊！从爸爸回到学校的那一刻起，我们家就变得捉襟见肘起来。在那一段艰难的日子里，我们甚至连自己所需要的东西都支付不起——我们既不能去餐馆吃饭，也不能全家外出旅行。在这漫长的两年之后，爸爸终于找到了一份工作——医药助理员。
那是2005年的春天，学校刚刚开学。我在当地的报纸上突然读到一则消息：希尔斯代尔的城市选举马上就要到了。没有人能与当时的市长——杜恩·英格尔——相抗衡。但是，希尔斯代尔的很多居民都不太喜欢他。当地的公司仍然大批量地向外地迁移，这就迫使更多的人没了饭碗，因为这个市长并没有给这些公司任何物质条件刺激他们留下来。越来越多的家庭遭受着我们曾经经历过而现在已经基本恢复的折磨。而就希尔斯代尔市本身来说，它失去了更多的纳税居民，因为人们都为了另谋生路而离开了这里。
我无时无刻不在想着一个问题：自己为什么不去竞选市长呢？你们听了后一定在想我是不是疯了。我知道，希尔斯代尔市一定会比从前更加繁荣。我的意思是说，以前这里是一个适合工作和生活的好地方——那么现在我们依旧可以继续保持这种美好的情形。
我没有任何政治经验，但是我已经18岁了，而且也符合竞选的条件——我坚信自己一定会受欢迎、人们一定会支持我。于是，10月8号那天，我驱车前往市礼堂，径直走向城市代理的秘书那里并告诉她说 ：“我要竞选市长。”我一拿到申请表格，便做了一个决定：告诉我的父母和朋友。“你一定是在开玩笑！”妈妈听到后一边笑一边说道——她根本不相信我。但是当我告诉她我真的想要改变希尔斯代尔的现状时，妈妈便鼓励我努力去争取，为我加油。
我用暑假打工攒的钱做了很多签名标牌和传单，并且把它们张贴在市里的各个角落。接着我在一家流行唱片行安排了自己的第一次宣传演讲——我与20个人谈论了当前希尔斯代尔的失业状况。后来，我又和当地的消防员谈话，并且答应他们一定会雇佣更多的人员帮助。最后，我开始在放学后挨家挨户地敲门拜访，并作自我介绍。我会立即告诉他们：“希望在竞选市长时，你们能为我投票。”他们会问，为什么？我就向他们解释，我真的很关心希尔斯代尔的现在和将来，并且还告诉他们我会设身处地地为他们考虑。
11月8号正是竞选的日子，我出了学校，紧张地不知道该做什么，于是开着车在市里到处闲逛，等待着选举结果的揭晓。我真的想赢，但是我知道自己无论从哪一方面讲都无法击败一个成年竞争对手。不知不觉已经到了8点半，我的家人打开电视机，对悬而未决的竞选结果翘首以盼。可是当地没有哪个电台关注这次竞选——但是后来一个记者打来了电话。“我刚才和一个选举官通过电话了，”他说，“你赢了！”当时在我脑中盘旋的只有一句话：真的是太难以置信了。
成为市长就好似我有了一份兼职工作 ：每天放学后我都要接见很多市政官员和一些商店业主。忽而，我又得扮演一个聆听者的角色——比如说，警署长官要申请更多的资金等等——这样我就能够确定该如何解决这些问题。这一届市长我要做4年，所以秋天我要进入附近的一所大学继续学业。也许有一天我又会竞选其他的公职。毕竟，万事皆有可能。
魔魔果摘译自Seventeen
在美国密歇根州希尔斯代尔市，一名刚满18岁的高中生通过选举击败现任市长，成为一市的父母官……面对这样的事实，你一定会瞠目结舌吧？下面就跟我们一起走近这位“高中生市长”,来一睹他的风采！
Igrew up in a small town in Michigan called Hillsdale. One day in 2003, when I was 15, my dad came home from his job as a supervisor for a local auto-parts factory where he’d worked for 26 years.”Our company’s moving to Mexico,”he said sadly to my mom, my sister and me, “I was laid off.” We were stunned—how could he be fired from a job he’d been so devoted to? Money was tight as dad went back to school. We had a hard time buying what we needed—no more dinners out or family vacations. Two long years later, dad finally got a job as a medical assistant.
In September 2005, after senior year started, I was reading an article in the local paper about Hillsdale’s upcoming city elections. The mayor at the time, Doung Ingles, was running unopposed, but a lot of Hillsdale residents didn’t like him. Local companies were continuing to move out of town and lay people off, and the mayor wasn’t giving them incentives1 to stay. Basically more and more families were going through the same bad things my family had just recovered from—and Hillsdale was losing its tax-paying residents since people had to move to look for work.
I know it sounds crazy, but out of nowhere I thought, why don’t run for mayor? I knew Hillsdale could be more prosperous, like it used to be. I mean, it used to be a great place to work and live—there had to be a way to keep companies here.
I didn’t have any political experience, but I was 18 and eligible2 to run—and I figured I had the positive energy that people would love. So on October 8, I drove to city hall, and went right up to the deputy city clerk and told her,”I want to run for mayor.”Once I had the forms, I decided it was time to tell my parents and friends.”You’re kidding!”my mom said, laughing—she didn’t believe me at all. But after I convinced her I really wanted to change things in Hillsdale, she encouraged me to go for it.
I created signs and flyers3 with the money I’d saved from my summer job, and posted them all over town. Then I scheduled my first speech at a popular record store—I talked to 20 people about the loss of jobs in Hillsdale. Next I spoke with local firefighters and told them I’d commit to hiring more staff to help them. Finally I began knocking on doors every day after school, introducing myself. “I’d like your vote for mayor,”I’d say immediately. When they’d ask me why, I’d explain that I really cared about Hillsdale and that I could truly relate to their issues.
When I got out of school on Election Day, November 8, I was too nervous to do anything except drive around town waiting for the polls to close. I really wanted to win, but I thought there would be no way I’d beat an adult. Still, around 8:30 p.m., my family turned on the TV to see the results. None of the local stations mentioned the race—but then a reporter called.”I just spoke to an election official,”he said.”You won!”All I could think was, I can’t believe it.
Being mayor is like having a part-time job: Every day after school I meet with city officers and business owners. Right now I’m in listening mode—like, the police chief just asked for more funding—so I can figure out how to help. I’ll be mayor for four years, so in the fall I’ll go to a college nearby. And someday I’ll probably run for another office. After all, anything is possible!
我在密歇根州一个叫希尔斯代尔的地方长大。2003年，我只有15岁。一天，我的爸爸——他在当地一家汽车公司做了26年管理员——下班回到家后，忧心地告诉妈妈、姐姐还有我 ：“我们的公司要迁往墨西哥。我被解雇了。”听到这个消息，我们一下子懵了，难道爸爸真的被解雇了？他可是在那份工作上倾注了毕生的心血啊！从爸爸回到学校的那一刻起，我们家就变得捉襟见肘起来。在那一段艰难的日子里，我们甚至连自己所需要的东西都支付不起——我们既不能去餐馆吃饭，也不能全家外出旅行。在这漫长的两年之后，爸爸终于找到了一份工作——医药助理员。
那是2005年的春天，学校刚刚开学。我在当地的报纸上突然读到一则消息：希尔斯代尔的城市选举马上就要到了。没有人能与当时的市长——杜恩·英格尔——相抗衡。但是，希尔斯代尔的很多居民都不太喜欢他。当地的公司仍然大批量地向外地迁移，这就迫使更多的人没了饭碗，因为这个市长并没有给这些公司任何物质条件刺激他们留下来。越来越多的家庭遭受着我们曾经经历过而现在已经基本恢复的折磨。而就希尔斯代尔市本身来说，它失去了更多的纳税居民，因为人们都为了另谋生路而离开了这里。
我无时无刻不在想着一个问题：自己为什么不去竞选市长呢？你们听了后一定在想我是不是疯了。我知道，希尔斯代尔市一定会比从前更加繁荣。我的意思是说，以前这里是一个适合工作和生活的好地方——那么现在我们依旧可以继续保持这种美好的情形。
我没有任何政治经验，但是我已经18岁了，而且也符合竞选的条件——我坚信自己一定会受欢迎、人们一定会支持我。于是，10月8号那天，我驱车前往市礼堂，径直走向城市代理的秘书那里并告诉她说 ：“我要竞选市长。”我一拿到申请表格，便做了一个决定：告诉我的父母和朋友。“你一定是在开玩笑！”妈妈听到后一边笑一边说道——她根本不相信我。但是当我告诉她我真的想要改变希尔斯代尔的现状时，妈妈便鼓励我努力去争取，为我加油。
我用暑假打工攒的钱做了很多签名标牌和传单，并且把它们张贴在市里的各个角落。接着我在一家流行唱片行安排了自己的第一次宣传演讲——我与20个人谈论了当前希尔斯代尔的失业状况。后来，我又和当地的消防员谈话，并且答应他们一定会雇佣更多的人员帮助。最后，我开始在放学后挨家挨户地敲门拜访，并作自我介绍。我会立即告诉他们：“希望在竞选市长时，你们能为我投票。”他们会问，为什么？我就向他们解释，我真的很关心希尔斯代尔的现在和将来，并且还告诉他们我会设身处地地为他们考虑。
11月8号正是竞选的日子，我出了学校，紧张地不知道该做什么，于是开着车在市里到处闲逛，等待着选举结果的揭晓。我真的想赢，但是我知道自己无论从哪一方面讲都无法击败一个成年竞争对手。不知不觉已经到了8点半，我的家人打开电视机，对悬而未决的竞选结果翘首以盼。可是当地没有哪个电台关注这次竞选——但是后来一个记者打来了电话。“我刚才和一个选举官通过电话了，”他说，“你赢了！”当时在我脑中盘旋的只有一句话：真的是太难以置信了。
成为市长就好似我有了一份兼职工作 ：每天放学后我都要接见很多市政官员和一些商店业主。忽而，我又得扮演一个聆听者的角色——比如说，警署长官要申请更多的资金等等——这样我就能够确定该如何解决这些问题。这一届市长我要做4年，所以秋天我要进入附近的一所大学继续学业。也许有一天我又会竞选其他的公职。毕竟，万事皆有可能。
魔魔果摘译自Seventeen