Alone in the Darkroom 一个人的欢喜

I have spent seven weeks every summer for the past seven years at a camp in a small town called Poland， Maine.

Poland Springs is the only major attraction in Poland and the town itself is tiny by my big city standards， but it is the perfect place to spend my summers. There I am surrounded by a few ice cream parlors2） and lobster restaurants， a beautiful lake， my best friends and great tasting water. There are many places on the camp that I love， one of them being the darkroom in the photography lab. I love black and white film3） photography， especially when I get to develop4） pictures of one of my favorite places in the world.

One day this past summer I was lucky enough to be alone in the darkroom， something that rarely happens， since the darkroom is usually packed with all seven enlargers5） occupied. To those of you who have never been in a darkroom： number one， an enlarger is the machine that projects the image from your film onto paper， and number two， try your hardest to go into one someday； it really is an incredible experience that I highly recommend. It's amazing to take a picture of something， to capture a single object or moment， and then to be able to watch the image slowly appear before your eyes. I was so incredibly happy during those 45 minutes. I had absolutely nothing to worry about， and the images all came out better than I could have imagined. I still have one mounted6） on my wall in my room， of a loose single feather， alone on the gravel7） pathway. The room was filled with the strong smell of the photo chemicals and Taylor Swift's "Fearless" was blasting8） from the iPod speakers （another benefit of being alone in the darkroom is being able to choose the background music without the opinion of ten other girls）. "'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this，" I sang along to the familiar lyrics.

In that moment， I felt I could do anything. A wave of reassurance9） rushed over me， making me feel that no matter what happens in the future， everything would end up okay. I realized how incredibly lucky I am to be able to spend my summers in a place where I know my best friends are never farther than a two-minute walk away. I thought about how although I was alone during that time， camp is a place where I constantly feel surrounded by support and love. I promised myself that I would remember to be grateful for the small， seemingly insignificant moments like this one in my life that make me who I am.

过去的七年里，每年夏天我都会去缅因州一个名叫波兰的小镇，在那里的一处营地待上七周。

波兰泉是那儿唯一的主要景点，而且按照我对大城市的界定标准，波兰镇本身很小。不过，它却是我度过暑期的完美去处。在那里，我的周围就有几家冰淇淋店和龙虾餐厅，有一个美丽的湖，有味道饴人的饮用水，还有挚友们相伴。营地里有很多地方我都非常喜欢，摄影工作室里的暗室便是其中之一。我喜欢用黑白胶卷摄影，尤其热衷于把世界上自己最喜爱的地方的黑白照片冲洗出来。

在刚刚过去的这个夏天，有一日我很幸运地得以独自一人待在暗室里，这种情况很少出现，因为这里常常被总共七台照片放大机塞得满满当当的。针对那些从未进过暗室的人，有几点要说明一下：第一，放大机是把胶卷上的影像投射到相纸上的一种机器；第二，尽可能争取哪天进暗室里看一看，这真的是一种非凡的体验，我向大家强烈推荐。拍一张照片，照下某件物品或是捕捉到某个瞬间，然后还可以看着它的影像在你眼前慢慢显现，这个过程太神奇了。在这45分钟里，我感到无比幸福，根本无须担心任何事情，而且所有影像的显影效果都好得超乎我的想象。我房间的墙壁上至今还裱挂着一张这样冲洗出来的照片，照片上是一片散落的羽毛孤零零地躺在砾石小路上。暗室里充斥着洗照片用的化学制剂散发出来的浓烈气味，用iPod播放的泰勒·斯威夫特的歌曲“Fearless”震天价响——独自待在暗室的另一个好处便是你可以随意选择背景音乐，而不必在意其他十位女生的意见。“因为我不知道如何变得比这更好。”我跟着熟悉的歌词一起唱了起来。

在那一刻，我觉得自己无所不能。一阵慰藉涌上心头，让我觉得无论未来发生什么，一切都将有不错的结局。我意识到，能在这样一个我知道自己离好友永远不超过两分钟路程之遥的地方度过夏天，我是何等的幸运。回想起来，虽然在暗室的那段时间我是孤身独处，但营地这个地方就是能让我始终感到被爱和支持包围着。我向自己保证，我会记得对自己人生中类似这样渺小的、看似微不足道的瞬间心怀感恩，正是它们的存在成就了今天的我。