A Moment in Time

By Sophie Zhang

One famous expression that has been repeated over and over to overachievers, ambitious future planners, and constant worriers is:“Live in the present.”1. 有一句很有名的话经常会被用来劝诫那些过于强求成功、对未来充满雄心壮志的规划者以及成天杞人忧天的人，那就是“活在当下”。overachiever: 过于强求成功人。According to this mantra2. mantra: 准则，原则。, we need to stop worrying about tomorrow, planning for next year, and just enjoy life as it is in the moment. As a person who constantly wonders about how my present actions will affect my life down the line3. down the line: 完全，全面地。, I have always struggled to just enjoy the simple pleasures of life as they come. And, finally, I think I’ve figured out the deeper implications of this message and why exactly I shouldn’t follow it.

Once, when I was in the first grade, I wet my pants in art class. I remember the teacher going over the Mona Lisa very enthusiastically, and I was too shy and embarrassed to raise my hand and interrupt her impassioned4. impassioned: 充满热情的，热烈的。explanation. All of a sudden, I felt a trickle5. trickle: 细流。of hot liquid run down my leg, and before I knew, it was happening. My face turned red as everyone turned to look at me and the yellow puddle6. puddle: 水洼。that had formed at my feet. Quietly, I whispered, “I think I wet my pants.” I was escorted to the nurse to clean myself up, and I had to borrow an uncomfortable,stiff pair of jeans from the Lost and Found box.7. stiff: 僵硬的，僵直的；Lost and Found box: 失物招领箱。

In that particular moment, I could feel nothing else but the urine8. urine: 尿。running down my pants. My senses were heightened; every part of me could feel what was happening. I could feel my heartbeat pound through my chest, and my brain shrieking in embarrassment.9. 我感觉自己的胸腔内心跳如鼓，而且大脑因为尴尬而不停地尖叫。shriek: 尖叫。In that moment, my small bladder10. bladder: 膀胱。was my entire life.There was nothing else except for my wet pants and my classmates’ judgmental11. judgmental: 下判断的，批判的。stares. My ability to recount this memory to you is indicative of how deeply humiliating the entire incident was.12. indicative: 暗示的；humiliating: 屈辱的，丢脸的。

在小学一年级的一次美术课上，我突然尿裤子了。当时老师在热情地介绍着巨作《蒙娜·丽莎》，尴尬和羞愧让我无地自容。我没有举手示意老师，不敢打断她的讲话。从此以后，我背负上了“尿裤子”的臭名，同学们一直对这件事评头论足，给我的童年造成了阴影。然而现在再回想起那尴尬的一刻，我却有了截然不同的感受。

Oftentimes, moments like these can feel like the defining point in your life. You forget how time can numb13. numb: 使失去知觉。pain,embarrassment, and heartbreak. You forget that five years in the future, people will forget and move on. Of course, it is wonderful to live in the moment when you are happy, but by doing so, we also forget the bigger picture of what life means. I sometimes hear people kiddingly say, “My entire life has built up to this moment” or “I have been waiting for this moment all my life.” We do not live life for one isolated hour or happiness, or one particular incident. We live life for accumulated14. accumulated: 累积的，积聚的。happiness, for a series of memories, and for the prospect of feeling hopeful and excited of what is yet to come.When we have a collection of memories, the embarrassing ones are cancelled out by the happy ones. In any particular moment, if we recognize the bigger picture, we can escape that burning feeling of embarrassment that I once felt as a fiveyear-old by saying to ourselves, “Well, this sure does suck15. suck: 〈美俚〉糟糕透顶，令人极讨厌（不愉快）。now, but at least in ten years, everyone will have forgotten.”

In my opinion, we should never let a particular moment completely envelop16. envelop: 遮盖，掩盖。our identities. We should never think that one particular second at any second can define our lives, even if it is just for a second. By doing so, we completely discredit17. discredit: 不信，怀疑。the value of the other moments we have had in our lives, the experiences that other people have made positive for you, and the obstacles and struggles you yourself have overcome. Of course,it is also wise to concentrate on the present and give it your all, but recognize that if a specific plan doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. So instead of living in the moment, I suggest we live the “moment” in three ways:remember where you come from, give the present your all, and look at the future as an opportunity for a second chance.

If I could go back in time and talk to my red-faced18. red-faced:（因尴尬而）涨红脸的。five-year-old self, I would tell her to stop feeling so upset, because in 2014, no one cares that you wet your pants as a child. Of course, I am now advertising this fact to all of my readers, but soon, they will forget too.Next time, take the initiative19. take the initiative: 采取主动。to raise your hand and speak up when you need to. Learn the lesson that the moment gives you and move on.