TED：What makes you different？
Thank you so much. I am a journalist. My job is to talk to people from all walks of life, all over the world.
非常感謝，我是一個記者，我的工作是和來自全世界不同地方的人交流。
Today , I want to tell you , why I decaed to do this with my life and what I`ve learned. My story begins in Caracas, Venezuela, in South America, where I grew up; a place that to me was, and always will be filled with magice and wonder.
今天，我想告訴你們，我決定做這一行的原因以及我從中學(xué)到的東西，我的故事要從南美洲委內(nèi)瑞拉的加拉加斯開始講起，那是我長大的地方，一個對我來說永遠(yuǎn)是充滿魔力和奇跡的地方。
From a very young age, my parents wanted me to have a wider view of the world. I remember one time when I was around seven years old, my dad came up to me and said, “Mariana, I`m going to send you and your little sister,,,,,” who was six at the time, “to a place where noboday speaks Spanish. I want you to experience different cultures.”
從我很小的時候開始，我的父母就希望我能對世界有更廣闊的認(rèn)識。沃基的又一次大概在我七歲的時候，我爸爸走到我身邊對我說：“瑪麗娜，我打算送你和你妹妹····”我妹妹那時候六歲，去一個沒有人會說西班牙語的地方，我想讓你們?nèi)ンw驗不同的文化。
He went on and on about the benefits of spending an entire summer in this summer camp in the Untied States, stressing a little phrase that I didn`t pay too much attention to at the time; “You never know what the future holds.”
他不停的說著這個美國的夏令營，度過整個夏天的好處，并且強(qiáng)調(diào)了一些，我那時并沒有太過關(guān)注的句子，你永遠(yuǎn)不會知道未來會發(fā)生什么。
Meanwhile, in my seven-year-old mind, I was thinking, we were going to get to summer camp in Miami, Maybe it was going to be even better, and we were going to go a little furture north , to Orlando, where Mickey Mouse lived. I got really excited.
那時，在我七歲的腦海里，我想的是我們要去參加邁阿密的夏令營啦，可能還更好，我們也許會到有點遠(yuǎn)的北方，到奧蘭多去，米老鼠居住的地方。我特別的激動。
My dad, however, had a slightly different plan. Form Caracas, he sent us to Brainerd, Minnesota. Mickry Mouse was up there, and with no cell phone , no Snapchat, or Instagram, I couldn`t look up any information.
然而我父親有一個略微不同的計劃，他把我們從拉加斯送到明尼蘇達(dá)州的布雷納德，哪里沒有米老鼠，沒有電話，沒有Snapchat或者Instagram ,我沒有半點發(fā)刷任何消息。
We got there, and one of the first things I noticed was that the other kid`s hair was several shades of blonde, and msot of them had blue eyes. meanwhile, this is what we looked like. The first night, the camp director gathered eveyone around the campfire and said, “kids ,we have a very international camp this year; the Atencios are here from Venezuela.”
我們到了那里，最先關(guān)注的事情之一是其他小孩的頭發(fā)是金黃色的，并且他們中的大多數(shù)有著藍(lán)眼睛，與此同時，這是我們看起來的樣子。第一天晚上，營地負(fù)責(zé)人把所有人聚集在篝火旁，然后說：孩子們，今年我們有一個非常國際化的夏令營，這對姐妹來自委內(nèi)瑞拉。
The other kids looked at us as if we were from another planet. They would ask us things like, “Do you know what a hamburger is ?” or , “Do you go to school on a donkey or a canoe?”
其他小孩子打量著我們，仿佛我們來自其他星球似的，他們問我們一些事情，像“你們知道漢堡是什么嗎？”或者“你們是騎驢還是劃著獨(dú)木舟去上學(xué)的？”
I would try to answer in my broken English, and they would just laugh. I know they were not trying to be mean; they were just trying to understand who we were, and make a correlation with the world they knew. We could either be like them, or like characters out of a book filled with adcentures, like Aladdin or the Jungle Book.
我試著用我結(jié)巴的英語回答，然后他們就哈哈大笑，我知道他們不是要可以的對待我們，他們只是想試著了解我們是什么樣的人，然后和他們所知的世界進(jìn)行聯(lián)系。我們要么像他們一樣，要么像一本充滿冒險的書里的任務(wù)一樣。就像阿拉丁或者奇幻森林。
We certainly didn`t look like them, we didn`t speak their language, we were different. When you`re seven years old, that hurts. But I had my little sister to take care of, and she cried every day at summer camp. So I decided to put on a brave face, and embrace everything I could about the American way of life.
我們看起來確實不像他們，我們不會說他們的語言，我們是不同的，在你七歲時候，你會覺得很受傷，但是我的照顧我的沒滅，她在夏令營的每一天都會哭。因此我決定裝出一副勇敢的樣子，并且欣然接受任何我可以適應(yīng)的美國人的生活方式。
We later did what we called “the summer camp experment,” for eight years in different cities that many Americans haven`t even heard of. What I remember most about these mnments was when I finally clicked with someone.
我們之后完成了被我們叫做“夏令營體驗”的事，在許多甚至美國人都沒聽說過的城市帶了八年，我對這些瞬間記憶最深的便是我最后和別人打成一片的時候。
Making a friend was a special reward. Everybody wants to feel valued and accepted, and we think it should happen spontaneously, but it doesn`t. When you`re different, you have to work at belonging. You have to be either really helpful, smart, funny , anything to be cool for the crowd you want to hang out with.
交到一個朋友就是一個特別的獎勵，每個人都希望自己是有價值并且被接納的，并且我們認(rèn)為這應(yīng)該是自然而然的發(fā)生的，但是它并不是，當(dāng)你是異類的時候，你不得不為了歸屬感而努力。你也必須是有用的，聰明的，有趣的，任何對你想要融入群體來說都是出色的東西。
Later on , when I was in high school, my dad expanded on his summer plan, and from Caracas he sent me to Wallingford, Connecticut, for the senior years of high school. This time , I remember daydreaming on the plane about “the American high school experience”-with a locker. It was going to be perfect, just like in my favourite TV show; “Saved by the Bell.”
之后，當(dāng)我讀高中的時候，我父親拓展了他的計劃，他把我從加拉斯送到了康乃狄克州的瓦林福德來上高中。這次，我還記得在飛機(jī)上做夢，關(guān)于“在美國上高中的經(jīng)歷”它將會很完美，就像我最喜歡的電視綜藝：“緊急救援?！?/p>
I get there , and they tell me that my assigned roommate is eagerly waiting. I opened the door, and there she was, sitting on the bed, with a headscarf. Her name was Fatima, and she was Muslim from Bahrain, and she was not what I expected.
我到了這里，然后他們告訴我，分配好的室友已經(jīng)急切的在等著我，我推開門，她就在哪兒，坐在床上，戴著頭巾，她叫法蒂瑪，是來自巴瑞的穆斯林教徒，并且她不像我所期望的那樣。
She probably sensed my disappointment when I looked at her because I didn`t do too much to hide it . See , as a teenager, I wanted to fit in even more, I wanted to be popular, maybe have a boyfriend for prom, and I felt that Fatima just got in the way with her shyness and her strict dress code.
在我看著她時，她可能感覺到了我的失望，因為我沒有太過掩飾，看，作為一個青少年，我想要更高大上的東西，我渴望被歡迎，可能還有一個陪我參加舞會的男友，而我局的法蒂瑪?shù)暮π吆蛧?yán)格的穿衣準(zhǔn)則，就是一個障礙。
I didn`t realize that I was making her feel like the kids at summer camp made me feel . This was the high school equivalent of asking her, “Do you know what a hamburger is ?” I was consumed by my own selfshness and unable to put myself in her shoes.
我沒有意識到我使她感覺到了夏令營孩子讓我感覺的那樣，這可是高中啊，就相當(dāng)于在問她：“你知道漢堡是什么嗎？”我的內(nèi)心被自私充斥了，并且無法換位思考。
I have to be honest with you , we only lasted a couple of months together, because she was later sent to live with a counselor instead of other students.
我必須對你們說實話，我們只一起度過了幾個月，因為她后來被分去和一個輔導(dǎo)員一起住，而不是和其他學(xué)生。
I remember thinking, “Ah, she`ll be okey. She`s just different.” You see , when we label someone as different, it dehumanzies them in a way. They become “the other.” They`re not worthy of our time, not our problem, and in fact, they, “the other,” are probaly the cause of our problems.
我記得我曾經(jīng)想過“她將會很好，她只是與眾不同，”你們看，當(dāng)我們把一些人貼上與眾不同的標(biāo)簽時，在某種程度上就是將他們排除在外。他們變成了其他人，他們不懂的我們花費(fèi)時間，不是我們的問題。事實上，他們“其他人，”才可能是造成我們的麻煩的原因。
So , how do we recognize our blind spots? It begins by understanding what makes you different, by embracing those traits. Only then can you begin to appreciate what makes others special. I remember when this hit me . It was a couple months after that. I had found that boyfriend for prom, made a group of friends, and practically frogotten about Fatima, until everybody signed on to participate in this talent show for charity.
因此我們怎樣才能認(rèn)識到我們的盲區(qū)呢？首先要通過接納這些特質(zhì)，明白是什么使你與眾不同，只有這樣你才能開始欣賞別人特別的地方，我記得當(dāng)我土人提示到這個時，已經(jīng)國外去幾個月了。我已經(jīng)找到了參加舞會的男友，交到了一群朋友，并且已經(jīng)基本忘掉了法蒂瑪。直到大家為了慈善報名參加才藝展示。
You needed to offter a talent for aution. It seemed like everybody had somehing spething special to offer. Some kids were going to play the violin, other were going to recite a theater monologue, and I remember thinking, “we don`t practice talents like these back home.”
你需要提供一項才藝來競拍。似乎每個人都有特殊的東西來展示，一些人打算拉小提琴，其他人打算背誦一段戲劇獨(dú)白，而我記得我在想“我們在家里沒有練習(xí)過這類才藝啊”
But I was determined to find something of value. The day of the telent show comes, and I get up on stage with my little boom box, and put it on the side and press “Play,” and a song by my favorite emerging artist, Shakira, comes up. And I go , “Whenever, wherever, we`re meant to be together, ” and I said , “My name is Mariana, and I`m going to auction a dance class. ” it seemed like the whole school raised their hand to bid.
但是我決定找一些喲價值的事情。才藝展示的時候到了，我?guī)е业男∶芊夂械桥_，然后把它放在了邊上按下“播放，”一首出自我喜歡的當(dāng)代藝術(shù)家，夏奇拉的歌播放出來，然后我開始了“無論何時，無論何地，我們都將會在一起，”然后我說：“我叫瑪麗娜，我要為舞蹈班競拍”。似乎整個學(xué)校都舉起了他們的手來競標(biāo)。
My dance class really stood out from, like, the 10th violin calss offered that day. Going back to my drom room, I didn`t feel different. I felt really special.
我的舞蹈班真的從那天的十個小提琴班中脫穎而出?；氐剿奚?，我沒有感覺到不同。我感覺非常奇妙。
That`s when I stared thinking about Fatima, a person that had failed to see as special, when I first met her, she was from the Middle East, just like Shakira`s family was from the Middle East. She could have probably taught me a thing or two about belly dancing, had I been open to it . now , I want you to take that ticker that was given to you at the beginning of our session today, where you wrote down what makes you special, and I want you to look at it.
那是當(dāng)我開始思考法蒂瑪?shù)臅r候，當(dāng)我第一次與她相遇的時候，我可能沒有注意到她的特殊之處，她來自中東，和夏克拉的家族一樣來自中東。她大概能教我一兩樣關(guān)于肚皮舞的東西，但是我并不在意?，F(xiàn)在，我想要你們拿出那張紙，那是在今天演講開始的時候給你們的，在上邊寫下你的特殊之處，我想讓你們看一看。
If you`re wacthing at home, take a piece of paper, and write down what makes you different. You may feel guarded when you look at it, maybe even a little ashamed , maybe even proud.
當(dāng)你在家觀看時，請你拿出一張紙，寫下什么使你不同，當(dāng)你看到時，你可能有所保留，你可能感到害羞或者自豪。
But you need to begin to embrace it . Remember, it is the first step in appreciating what makes others special. When I went back home to Venezula, I began to understand how those experiences were changing me. Being able to speak different languages, to natigate all these different people and places, it give me a unique sensibility.
但是你需要開始去接受他，記住，它是欣賞他人與眾不同的第一步。當(dāng)我回到委內(nèi)瑞拉的時候，我開始明白那些經(jīng)歷是怎么改變我的，說不同的語言，找到正確方法處理不同 人和事。它給了我一個獨(dú)特的意識。
I was finally beginning to understand the importance of putting myself in other people`s shoes. That is a big part of the reason why I decided to become a journalist. Especially being from a part of the world that is often labeled “the backyard, ” “the illegal alines, ”“third-world.” “the other,” I wanted to do something to change that.
最后我開始領(lǐng)悟換位思考的重要性，那是我決定成為一個新聞工作者的主要原因。尤其當(dāng)我貼上“后院”，“違法外星人”，“第三世界”，“其他人”，我想做些事情去改變它。
It was right around the time, however, when the Venezuelan government shut down the biggest television station in our country. Censorship was growing, and my dad came up to me once again and said, “how are you going to be a journalist here? you have to leave.”
并且這是很合適的時間，無論如何，當(dāng)委內(nèi)瑞拉政府關(guān)閉的時候面我們國家最大的電視臺，審查越來越嚴(yán)，我父親再一次找到我并問我，“你是怎么想到去那里當(dāng)新聞工作者的？ 你必須離開?！?/p>
That`s when it hit me. That`s what he had been perparing me for. That`s is what the future held for me. So in 2008, I packed my bags, and I came to the United States, without a return ticket this time.
當(dāng)時就點醒了我，那是他一直以來為我準(zhǔn)備的，給我的未來。因此，在2008年，我打包我的行李，來到美國，這次沒有回程票。
I was painfully aware that , at 24 yeas old, I was becoming a refugee of sorts , an immigrant, the othetr, once again , and now for good. I was able to come on a scholarship to study jouralism. I remember when they gave me my first addignment to cover the historic election
of President Barack Obama. I felt so luckly , so hopeful.
我在24歲的時候傷心的意識到，我將又一次或者永遠(yuǎn)要成為一個難民或者移民。我獲得了獎學(xué)金去學(xué)習(xí)新聞，我記得他們分配給我的第一個任務(wù)是去采訪創(chuàng)造了歷史性選舉的奧巴馬總統(tǒng)。我感到如此興奮，充滿希望。
I was , like ,”yes ,this is it, I`ve come to post-racial America, where the notion of us and them is being eroded, and will probaly be eradicated in my lifetime. ” boy , was I wrong , right? Why didn`t Barack Obama`s presidendcy alleviate racial tensions in our country?
我好想感覺到“使得，就是這次，”我來到了后種族主義的美國，我們與他們的區(qū)別正在削減，并且有可能在我有生之年被徹底消除。好吧，我想錯了，是吧？ 為什么巴拉克奧巴馬的任期內(nèi)沒有減輕我們國家種族間 的緊張關(guān)系？
Why do some people still feel threatened by immigrants, LGBTQ, and minortity grops who are just trying to find a space in this United States that should be for all of us?
為什么一些人還會覺得被移民，同志組織，和少數(shù)黨組織威脅，他們只想在美國尋找一些自己的空間。美國屬于我們所有人。
I didn`t have the answers back then, but on November 8th, 2016,
When Dnald Trump became our president, it became clear that a large part of the electorate sees them as “the others.” some see people coming to take their jobs, or potential terrorists who speak a different language.
我那時并沒有答案，但是在2016年11月8日，當(dāng)唐納德特朗普成為我們的總統(tǒng)，它變得清楚了，一大部分候選人把他們視為“其他人”，一些人看見別人來接替他們的工作。或者將不同語言的人當(dāng)作潛在的恐怖分子。
Meanwhile, minority groups oftentimes just see thtred, intolerance, and narrow-mindedness on the other side. It`s like we`re stuck in the these bubbles that nobody wants to burst. The only way to do it , the only way to get out of it. Is to realize that being different also means thinking differently .
與此同時，少數(shù)黨組織經(jīng)常只看到另一方的仇恨 不包容，和狹窄的思維，這就像我們被困在這些沒有人希望爆炸的氣球里，唯一能做的，唯一能從中逃離的方法，就是認(rèn)識到我們的不同，也意味著換一個思考方式。
It takes courage to show respect. In the words of Voltaire: “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will fight to the death to difend your right to say it.” Failing to see anything good on the other side makes a dialogue impossile. Without a dialogue, we will keep repeating the same mistakes, because we will not learn anything new.
它需要勇氣來表達(dá)尊重，如伏爾泰所說，我可能不會認(rèn)可你說的話，但是我將會抵抗來捍衛(wèi)你說話的權(quán)利，不能從另一個角度看到任何好的事物，使得交流變得不可能，缺少了溝通，我們將會重復(fù)犯同樣的錯誤，因為我們沒有學(xué)到任何新的東西。
I covered the 2016 election for NBC News. It was my first big assignment in this mainstream network, where I had crossed over from Spanish television. And I wanted to do something different. I watched election results with undocumented families. Few thought of sharing that moment with people who weren`t citizens, but actually stood the msot to lose that night. When it become apparent that Donald Trump was winning, this eight-years-old girl named Angelina rushed up to me in tears. She sobbed, and she asked me if her mom was going to be deported now. I hugged her back and I said, “it`s going to be okey, ” but I really didn`t hnow.
我為NBC新聞采訪了2016年的選舉，它是我在這個主流的廣播電視臺的第一個大任務(wù)，我已經(jīng)越過西班牙地電視臺，并且我想要做一些不同的事情，
我和無證家庭在一起觀看了選舉，只有少數(shù)人想和那些沒有市民身份的人分享那一時刻。而那些沒有合法身份的人在那天晚上也注定要失望。當(dāng)特朗普明顯贏了的時候，一個叫安格麗娜的八歲女孩哭著沖向我，她抽噎著問我，
她媽媽現(xiàn)在是否將要被驅(qū)逐出境，我拍拍她的背說，一切都會好的，但是我真的不知道。
This was the photo we took that night, forever ingrained in my heart. Here was this little girl who was around the same age I was when I went to camp in Brainerd. She already knows she is “the other. ” she walks home from school in fear, every day, that her mom can be takes away.
這就是我們那晚照的照片，我永遠(yuǎn)把它留在心底，那就是這個小女孩，和我當(dāng)時去露營時的年紀(jì)差不多。她已經(jīng)只到它是其他人。她每天從學(xué)校走路回家時，都會害怕她的媽媽被帶走。
So , how do we put ourselves in Angelina`s shoes? How do we make her understand she is special, and not simply unworthy of having her family together? By giving camera time to her and families like hers, I tired to make people see them as human beings, and not simply “illegal aliens. ” yes , they broke a law, and they should pay a penalty for it, but they`ve also given everything for this country, like many other immigrants before them have.
I`ve already told you how my path to personal growth started. To end , I want to tell you how I hit the wrose bump in the road yet, one that shook me to my very core. The day , April 10th , 2014, I was driving to the studio, and I got a call from my parents. “are you on the air?” they asked. I immediately knew something was wrong. “What happened?” I said. “it`s your sister, she`s been in a car accident. ”
It was as if my heart stopped. My hands gripped the steering wheel, and I remember hearing the words; “it is unlikely she will ever walk again.” they say your life can change in a split second. Mine did at that moment. My sister went from being my successful other half, only a year apart in age, to not being able to move her legs, sit up , or get dressed by herself.
This wasn`t like summer camp, where I could magically make it better. This was terrifying. Throughout the course of two years, my sister underwent 15 surgeries, and she spent the most of that time in a wheelchair. But that wasn`t even the worst of it . the worst was something so painful, it`s hard to put into wards, even now. It was the way people looked at her, looked at us , changed. People were unable to see a successful lawyer or a millennial with a sharp wit and a kind heart.
Everywhere we went , I realizeed that people just saw a poor girl in a wheelchair. They were unable to see anything beyond that. After fight lie a warrior, I can thankfully tell you that today my sister is walking. And has recovered beyond anyone`s expectations. Thank you .
But during that traumatic ordeal, I learned there are different that simply suck, and it`s hard to find positive in them. My sister`s not brtter off because of what happened. But she taught me : you can`t let those differences define you . being able to reimagine yourself beyond what other people see, that is the toughest task of all, but it`s also the most beautiful.
You see , we all come to this world in a body . peple with physical or neurological difficulties, environmentally impacted communities, immigrants, boys, girl, boys who want to dress as girls, girls with veils, women who have been sexually assaulted, athletes who bend their hnee as a sign of protest, black, white Asian, Native American, my sister, you , or me . we all want what everyone wants : to dream and to achieve. But sometimes, society tells us , and we tell ourselves, we don`t fit the mold.
Well , if you look at my story, from being born somewhere different, to belly dancing in high school, to telling stories you wouldn`t normally see on TV, what makes me different is what has made me stand out and be successful. I have traveled the world, and talked to people from all walks of life. You know what I`ve learned?
The sigle thing every one of us has in common is being human. So take a stand to defend your race, the human race. Let`s appeal to it, Let`s be humanists, before and after everthing else.
To end , I want you to take that sticker, that piece of paper where you wrote down what makes you different, and I want you to celebrate it today and every day, shout it from the rooftops. I also encourage you to be curious and ask, “What is on other people`s pieces of paper?” “What makes them different?”
Let`s cerebrate those imperfections that make us special. I hope that it teaches you that nobody has a claim on the word “normal. ” We are all different. We are all quirky, and unique, and that is what makes us wonderfully human.
Thank you so much!
