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I remember meeting Sara in sixth grade math class. She was trying to 1)fit in with us girls, talking about fashion and showing off her new make-up, but no one paid much attention to her. Not that Sara wasn’t nice or friendly with us… She was just labeled as “the fat girl”, from the moment she stepped in the classroom. As if being overweight wasn’t bad enough, we reminded her every day of her inadequate status. I can’t even count the number of times we 2)shunned her. Our insecurities were probably bigger than hers, because we 3)took it upon ourselves to be mean to her.
There was no explanation for our malice. No one gave a second thought as to why we tortured her with 4)obnoxious comments and 5)intimidating stares. It just became part of our routine, and we never considered the emotional damage we might be causing her. And so, that’s how the whole year passed.
And then—we were in the seventh grade. That year, on my first day back to school, I walked into our classroom and sat next to a girl I didn’t quite recognize. I figured I’d be friendly and introduce myself.
“Hi, I’m Lindsay. What’s your name?” The girl looked up and my heart stopped. There was something familiar about her. Her coffee-colored eyes and my blue ones seemed to clash; our eyes locking 6)triggered vague memories. I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn’t 7)put my finger on it. I looked at her 8)backpack and saw her name 9)embroidered: Sara. It took me a minute to process the information. How could it be? This girl was so skinny and pretty! I couldn’t imagine her ever being fat.
“Hi, Lindsay. How are you?” said Sara, interrupting my thoughts.
Her voice didn’t contain a drop of resentment; it was pure and sincere. How could she be so friendly, knowing how I had treated her? Had she put all that behind her? Had she forgotten the daily torture, the mocking, and her continuous attempts to fit in, only to be put down by our 10)sneering remarks? I felt disgusted. All these disturbing memories rushed back into my head.
Faster than I could respond, Sara was talking to a good-looking guy. A 11)mind-boggling thought occurred to me: If Sara had been fat, would I have reacted this way? Would this boy even have talked to her? How could I have overlooked her personality, and judged so cruelly, based on appearance? Did I even realize how superficial my actions were? I was disappointed with myself, but absolutely astonished by her. By the way she acted, it seemed she had always been skinny and popular. It was remarkable—how weight-loss had changed Sara’s image, from that of a loser, to a popular girl.
I wasn’t the only shallow one. Everyone immediately accepted Sara, erasing her old image. The contrast in her social status from one year to the next was like fire and ice.
Day by day, Sara got skinnier, and she made even more friends. I would say “Hi” to her in the hallways, but felt guilty every time. Here was a girl who lost some weight over the summer, but hadn’t changed her personality. She had always been a sweet, friendly girl, yet no one had given her a chance, until she met the appearance expectations of the middle-school “cool” crowd.
This was the first time I realized how cruel and 12)narrow-minded people (including myself) could be, without even knowing. I became aware of the absurd link between being skinny and being pretty. Sara’s experience has taught me a lot about society’s values and the 13)inexplicable 14)reasoning that shapes us all. I wonder what the world would be like if we didn’t have to 15)live up to these social standards just to gain acceptance ... I may never know the answer.
我还记得六年级时在数学班上认识萨拉的情形。当时，她百般努力想融入我们这群女孩中。她谈论流行时尚，炫耀着她的新妆扮，但没有人搭理她。这并不是因为萨拉人不好，或者是对我们不友善，而是因为从她走进教室的那一刻起，她就被公认为是个“小胖妞”，仅此而已。本来偏胖已经够不好受的了，我们还每天让她意识到自己身材欠佳。我甚至记不清有多少次，我们故意避开她。我们大概比她有更强烈的不安全感，因为我们不由分说地对她很刻薄。
我们之所以这样做，并没有任何缘由。没有人想过为什么我们会用尖酸的话语挖苦她，用威胁的眼神盯着她。“折磨” 萨拉简直成了我们日常生活的一部分，而且我们从来没有考虑过我们可能会给她带来情感上的伤害。就这样，一整年过去了。
接着，我们升上了七年级。那一年，在我重返校园的第一天，我走进教室，坐在一个我不认识的女孩身边。我觉得，我应该表示友好并向她介绍我自己。
“嗨，我是林赛。你叫什么名字？”女孩抬起头来，那一瞬间，我的心停止了跳动。她有点面熟。她那咖啡色的双眸和我蓝色的双眼似乎相撞在一起。我们目光交汇那一刻，一些模糊的记忆突然变得清晰起来。我肯定在哪里见过她，但我不能确切地指出是在哪里了。我看着她的背包，那上面绣着她的名字：萨拉。我好不容易回过神来，终于意识到这是怎么一回事。这怎么可能呢？眼前这个女孩是如此苗条动人！我甚至无法想象她曾经是个胖妞。
“嗨，林赛。你好吗？”萨拉说。她的话打断了我的沉思。
她的声音不含一丝怨恨，纯净而真诚。她知道过去我是如何对待她的，她怎么会如此友好呢？难道她把所有的往事都抛诸脑后了吗？难道她忘了她过去每天遭受的折磨、嘲笑以及她不断努力尝试融入我们当中，结果都只换来我们冷嘲热讽的拒绝的那段往事了吗？我感到一阵恶心。所有那些令人不安的往事一股脑地涌现在我的脑海中。
我还没来得及作出反应，萨拉就已经在和一位帅气的男生交谈。这时，一个十分惊人的想法闪过我的脑海：如果萨拉还是像以前那么胖，我今天对她的态度会改变吗？这个男生还会和她说话吗？过去，我怎么会单凭她的外表就对她作出残忍的判断，而忽略了她的品格呢？我竟没有意识到我的做法是多么肤浅吗？我对自己感到失望，但也对她的转变感到极度惊讶。从她的言谈举止来看，她似乎一直都身材苗条，招人喜欢。成功减肥改变了萨拉的形象，使她从一名失败者变成了一个招人喜欢的女孩，这是很不寻常的。
我不是惟一一个肤浅的人。所有人都立刻接受了萨拉，并把她过去的模样从记忆中抹去。前后两年时间里，萨拉的社会地位如同是冰与火一般差异分明。
时间一天天过去，萨拉越来越苗条，她的朋友也越来越多。在走廊上遇见萨拉时，我会和她打招呼，但每次都感到很内疚。这个女孩在暑假里减轻了一些体重，但并没有改变她的个性。她一直都是一个可爱而友善的女孩，但之前没有任何人给她机会，直到她的形象发生变化，符合了中学里“酷一族”的标准，她才被大家所接受。
这是我第一次意识到人们可以多么残忍且目光短浅（其中包括我自己），我们甚至意识不到这一点。我开始意识到大家都荒唐地把“苗条”和“漂亮”联系在一起。萨拉的经历，让我对社会价值观，对深深影响我们所有人的那套难以解释的逻辑了解了很多。我想知道，如果我们无须为了获得他人的认同而遵从各种各样的社会标准去生活，那这个世界将会是什么样的呢？……或许我永远也不会知道答案。
There was no explanation for our malice. No one gave a second thought as to why we tortured her with 4)obnoxious comments and 5)intimidating stares. It just became part of our routine, and we never considered the emotional damage we might be causing her. And so, that’s how the whole year passed.
And then—we were in the seventh grade. That year, on my first day back to school, I walked into our classroom and sat next to a girl I didn’t quite recognize. I figured I’d be friendly and introduce myself.
“Hi, I’m Lindsay. What’s your name?” The girl looked up and my heart stopped. There was something familiar about her. Her coffee-colored eyes and my blue ones seemed to clash; our eyes locking 6)triggered vague memories. I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn’t 7)put my finger on it. I looked at her 8)backpack and saw her name 9)embroidered: Sara. It took me a minute to process the information. How could it be? This girl was so skinny and pretty! I couldn’t imagine her ever being fat.
“Hi, Lindsay. How are you?” said Sara, interrupting my thoughts.
Her voice didn’t contain a drop of resentment; it was pure and sincere. How could she be so friendly, knowing how I had treated her? Had she put all that behind her? Had she forgotten the daily torture, the mocking, and her continuous attempts to fit in, only to be put down by our 10)sneering remarks? I felt disgusted. All these disturbing memories rushed back into my head.
Faster than I could respond, Sara was talking to a good-looking guy. A 11)mind-boggling thought occurred to me: If Sara had been fat, would I have reacted this way? Would this boy even have talked to her? How could I have overlooked her personality, and judged so cruelly, based on appearance? Did I even realize how superficial my actions were? I was disappointed with myself, but absolutely astonished by her. By the way she acted, it seemed she had always been skinny and popular. It was remarkable—how weight-loss had changed Sara’s image, from that of a loser, to a popular girl.
I wasn’t the only shallow one. Everyone immediately accepted Sara, erasing her old image. The contrast in her social status from one year to the next was like fire and ice.
Day by day, Sara got skinnier, and she made even more friends. I would say “Hi” to her in the hallways, but felt guilty every time. Here was a girl who lost some weight over the summer, but hadn’t changed her personality. She had always been a sweet, friendly girl, yet no one had given her a chance, until she met the appearance expectations of the middle-school “cool” crowd.
This was the first time I realized how cruel and 12)narrow-minded people (including myself) could be, without even knowing. I became aware of the absurd link between being skinny and being pretty. Sara’s experience has taught me a lot about society’s values and the 13)inexplicable 14)reasoning that shapes us all. I wonder what the world would be like if we didn’t have to 15)live up to these social standards just to gain acceptance ... I may never know the answer.
我还记得六年级时在数学班上认识萨拉的情形。当时，她百般努力想融入我们这群女孩中。她谈论流行时尚，炫耀着她的新妆扮，但没有人搭理她。这并不是因为萨拉人不好，或者是对我们不友善，而是因为从她走进教室的那一刻起，她就被公认为是个“小胖妞”，仅此而已。本来偏胖已经够不好受的了，我们还每天让她意识到自己身材欠佳。我甚至记不清有多少次，我们故意避开她。我们大概比她有更强烈的不安全感，因为我们不由分说地对她很刻薄。
我们之所以这样做，并没有任何缘由。没有人想过为什么我们会用尖酸的话语挖苦她，用威胁的眼神盯着她。“折磨” 萨拉简直成了我们日常生活的一部分，而且我们从来没有考虑过我们可能会给她带来情感上的伤害。就这样，一整年过去了。
接着，我们升上了七年级。那一年，在我重返校园的第一天，我走进教室，坐在一个我不认识的女孩身边。我觉得，我应该表示友好并向她介绍我自己。
“嗨，我是林赛。你叫什么名字？”女孩抬起头来，那一瞬间，我的心停止了跳动。她有点面熟。她那咖啡色的双眸和我蓝色的双眼似乎相撞在一起。我们目光交汇那一刻，一些模糊的记忆突然变得清晰起来。我肯定在哪里见过她，但我不能确切地指出是在哪里了。我看着她的背包，那上面绣着她的名字：萨拉。我好不容易回过神来，终于意识到这是怎么一回事。这怎么可能呢？眼前这个女孩是如此苗条动人！我甚至无法想象她曾经是个胖妞。
“嗨，林赛。你好吗？”萨拉说。她的话打断了我的沉思。
她的声音不含一丝怨恨，纯净而真诚。她知道过去我是如何对待她的，她怎么会如此友好呢？难道她把所有的往事都抛诸脑后了吗？难道她忘了她过去每天遭受的折磨、嘲笑以及她不断努力尝试融入我们当中，结果都只换来我们冷嘲热讽的拒绝的那段往事了吗？我感到一阵恶心。所有那些令人不安的往事一股脑地涌现在我的脑海中。
我还没来得及作出反应，萨拉就已经在和一位帅气的男生交谈。这时，一个十分惊人的想法闪过我的脑海：如果萨拉还是像以前那么胖，我今天对她的态度会改变吗？这个男生还会和她说话吗？过去，我怎么会单凭她的外表就对她作出残忍的判断，而忽略了她的品格呢？我竟没有意识到我的做法是多么肤浅吗？我对自己感到失望，但也对她的转变感到极度惊讶。从她的言谈举止来看，她似乎一直都身材苗条，招人喜欢。成功减肥改变了萨拉的形象，使她从一名失败者变成了一个招人喜欢的女孩，这是很不寻常的。
我不是惟一一个肤浅的人。所有人都立刻接受了萨拉，并把她过去的模样从记忆中抹去。前后两年时间里，萨拉的社会地位如同是冰与火一般差异分明。
时间一天天过去，萨拉越来越苗条，她的朋友也越来越多。在走廊上遇见萨拉时，我会和她打招呼，但每次都感到很内疚。这个女孩在暑假里减轻了一些体重，但并没有改变她的个性。她一直都是一个可爱而友善的女孩，但之前没有任何人给她机会，直到她的形象发生变化，符合了中学里“酷一族”的标准，她才被大家所接受。
这是我第一次意识到人们可以多么残忍且目光短浅（其中包括我自己），我们甚至意识不到这一点。我开始意识到大家都荒唐地把“苗条”和“漂亮”联系在一起。萨拉的经历，让我对社会价值观，对深深影响我们所有人的那套难以解释的逻辑了解了很多。我想知道，如果我们无须为了获得他人的认同而遵从各种各样的社会标准去生活，那这个世界将会是什么样的呢？……或许我永远也不会知道答案。