I received a devastating blow to my self-confidence in the first interview of my college years. I applied to be a host in our Student Acting Troupe and felt confident that I would be accepted. But one of the panel members told me: "You seem inadequate and you are a little vertically-challenged." My life has never been the same since. I used bigger heels to complement my height and psychological maneuvers and tricks to hide my lack of confidence. But no matter how hard I tried to look the part, there was still something missing.
As president of English Club, I organized the rehearsal of Snow White for an English party. Unfortunately, we could not find an actor to be the last dwarf. It had to be someone who was humorous by nature and fluent in English. Suddenly, all eyes turned to me, and I knew I would have to be the dwarf. To my great surprise and delight, once on stage, I was totally absorbed in the performance and my humorous nature was put to full use. As the dwarf, I was a big hit.
Yes, each of us is only one among millions of others, but each of us is an individual and each of us is unique. Cultivating our individuality will transform our lives, making of them a kaleidoscope of new colors and textures.
A world deprived of diversity would be a bland and boring place. The real tragedy is not being short or shy or ugly, but having your identity lost in a world in which everyone is a clone of a model cool boy or a flawless charming girl.
Given a choice, I would rather be ugly than live in such a world. I'd rather be a genuine dwarf accompanying a Snow White than be a Snow White among nothing but Snow Whites. I would rather be myself. I would contribute my individual and unique colors to create a more diverse universe. Please, be yourself.
譯文:重樹信心
大學生活的幾年里，當我參加第一次面試時，我的自信心受到了沉重的打擊。我向“學生劇團”申請出演一個主角，而且我十分自信地認為我會被錄用。但是,其中有個劇團成員告訴我:“你似乎不太合適出演這個角色，因為你的身高有點問題。”我從未遇到過這種情況。我穿著高跟鞋來彌補我的身高，采用心理策略和技巧來掩蓋自己信心的缺乏。但是，不論我怎樣努力進入角色，感覺還是缺少些什么。
作為英語俱樂部的主席，我為英語晚會組織排演了《白雪公主》短劇。不幸的是，我們找不到合適的人選出演最后一個小矮人。這個角色必須生性幽默，英語流利。突然，所有人的目光都轉向了我，我知道那個小矮人就是我了。讓我極度奇怪而又高興的是，一上臺，我完全投入到演出中，而且我那幽默的天性被發揮得淋漓盡致。作為一個‘’小矮人”，我取得了巨大的成功。
的確，我們中的任何一個人都是千百萬中的一員，但我們中的每個人都是一個與眾不同的個體。發揮我們自己的個性會改變我們的生活，使它們成為美麗的萬花筒。
失去了多樣性的世界是個冷漠、乏味的地方。真正的悲劇不是個矮、害羞或丑陋，而是將自己的個性迷失在一個克隆的世界里，那里到處都是典型的酷男孩或無瑕、迷人的好姑娘。
如果讓我選擇，我寧可面貌五陋，也不愿生活在這樣一個世界里。我寧可做一個伴隨“白雪公主”的真實的小矮人，也不愿做“白雪公主”世界里的一個白雪公主，而隨波逐流。我寧可作為一個真實的自我而出現。我愿將自己獨特的、與眾不同的色彩奉獻給多姿多彩的世界。“走自己的路，讓別人去說吧!”