Life isn’t about keeping score. It’s not about how many friends you have. Or how many people call you. Or how accepted or unaccepted you are. Not about if you have plans this weekend. Or if you’re alone. It isn’t about who you’re dating, who you used to date, how many people you’ve dated, or if you haven’t been with anyone at all. It isn’t about who you have kissed. It isn’t about who your family is or how much money they have. Or what kind of car you drive. Or where you’re sent to school.
It’s not about how beautiful or ugly you are. Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on, or what kind of music you listen to. It’s not about if your hair is blond[金发的], red, black, brown, or green. Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
It’s not about what grades you get, how smart you are, how smart everyone else thinks you are, or how smart standardized tests say you are. Or if this teacher likes you, or if this guy/girl likes you. Or what clubs you’re in, or how good you are at your sport. It’s not about representing[表现] your whole being on a piece of paper and seeing who will accept the written you.
But life is about who you love and who you hurt. It’s about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully. It’s about keeping or betraying[背叛] trust. It’s about friendship, used as sanctity[神圣], or as a weapon. It’s about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening[鼓舞人的]. About starting rumors and contributing to petty[小的] gossip. It’s about what judgments you pass and why. And who your judgments are spread to.
It’s about who you’ve ignored with full control and intention. It’s about jealousy[嫉妒], fear, pain, ignorance, and revenge[报复]. It’s about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow and spreading it.
But most of all, it’s about using your life to touch or poison other people’s hearts in such a way that could never have occurred alone. Only you choose the way these hearts are affected, and those choices are what life is all about.
人生并不是一场得分赛。人生不在于你拥有多少朋友，有多少人给你打电话，或者你有多么受欢迎或不受欢迎；不在于这个周末你是有安排，还是独自度过；不在于你和谁约会，约过谁，约过多少人，又或者你从未尝过约会的滋味；不在于你吻过谁；不在于你的家里都有谁，他们多么富有，你开什么车，或者被送去什么学校就读。
人生不在于你长相的美或丑，穿什么衣服，穿什么鞋，或者听什么样的音乐；不在于你的头发是金色、红色、黑色、褐色或是绿色，你的肤色太浅或是太深。
人生不在于你的成绩如何，你有多聪明，其他人认为你有多聪明，或智力标准测验说你有多聪明；不在于这位老师是否喜欢你，或者这个男孩/女孩是否喜欢你；不在于你加入了什么社团，或者你有多擅长某项运动；不在于你将自己整个人展现在一张纸上，看看谁会接受“纸上的你”。
然而，人生在于你爱着谁，又伤害了谁；在于你特意逗谁开心，或是惹人生气；在于你是否值得信赖，还是背叛了别人的信任；在于你是否将友谊奉为圣物，还是用来攻击别人；在于你的言语及其意味——也许令人伤心，也许让人振奋；在于你是否散布谣言，为闲言碎语提供谈资；在于你做出的判断及其原因，并将你的意见散播给什么人。
人生在于你出于本心、有意而为地忽视了谁；在于你的嫉妒、恐惧、痛苦、无知和报复；在于你如何对待内心的恨与爱，任其繁衍，影响他人。
但最重要的是，人生在于你用自己的生命如何感动或者毒害他人的心灵——人对自己的心灵绝不可能产生这样的影响。只有你才能选择以何种方式影响他们的心，而这些选择就是人生的全部意义所在。
