梦想与你，只有一个机会的距离

By+Carissa+Hyland++安落实

Growing up， I was always totally in love with fashion. I'm the type of girl that spends two hours in Forever 212）， stalks3） Fashion Week trends and spends way too much money on clothes. And while I have dreamed about building a career in fashion， I'm well aware that it's not easy to make a name for yourself in the field. Despite this， I decided against pursuing a career in medicine to follow my dream and went to West Virginia University to study Fashion Design and Merchandising4）.

When I landed an internship at Girls' Life （GL） this past spring， I was thrilled to be able to write articles for the website， sit in on5） editorial meetings and help pick the cover for the August/September issue. But when GL editor-in-chief Karen asked if anyone wanted to help out in the fashion closet （our home for all of the clothes， accessories6）， shoes and beauty products used for our shoots7））， I jumped at the opportunity. At first， my job was to take credits8） for the upcoming denim9） shoot. After spending so much time with the clothes， I knew I just had to go onsite for the shoot. My parents always told me to speak up when I want something， so I gathered up the courage to ask Karen if I could help out on the shoot.

Not only did she say yes， but she told me that I could help out at both the denim shoot and the athleisure10） shoot the following week. The denim shoot was totally amazing， so I couldn't wait for the on-location athleisure shoot （held at a local soccer complex11）） the next day. When the photographer asked me to help him test the lighting for a few shots， I was super excited. When one of the two models didn't show up and I was asked to step in12） for her， I was blown away13）.

Before I knew it， I was sitting in hair and makeup， being fitted for my outfit and standing in front of the photographer， striking a pose. It's still such a surreal14） experience， but one that I will remember for the rest of my life. （And my mom won't let me forget it either—I swear she buys an issue every time she goes to the grocery store.） Never in a million years did I think I would be in a magazine， let alone on four pages of a major fashion spread15）. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity， but it would never have happened if I didn't speak up and ask to be a part of it. So， don't give up on your dreams ... but don't be afraid to do everything you can to help reach them， either.

从小到大，我一直都对时装充满了迷恋。我是那种能在Forever 21服装店逛上两个小时，会追赶各种时装周潮流，还会花大把钱买衣服的女孩。虽然我一直梦想着在时装界创立一番事业，但我很清楚，想在这个领域成名并没那么容易。尽管如此，我还是决定不去从医，而要去追随我的梦想。于是，我上了西弗吉尼亚大学，去学服装设计和营销。

在刚刚过去的这个春季（编注：英文原文发表于2016年2月），我在《女孩生活》杂志社得到一个实习机会，我很高兴能够为该杂志的网站撰写文章、参加编辑会议、帮着挑选8-9月合刊的封面。但当《女孩生活》杂志主编卡伦询问是否有人想去时装间（这是我们存放拍摄用的所有衣服、饰品、鞋子和化妆品的地方）帮忙时，我立马抓住了这个机会。起初，我的工作是为即将进行的牛仔服拍摄活动记账。在和衣服打了很长时间的交道后，我知道我得去拍摄现场。我的父母总是告诉我，想要什么就说出来，于是我鼓起勇气去问卡伦我是否可以去拍摄现场帮忙。

她不仅同意了，而且还告诉我，下周要进行的牛仔服拍摄和运动休闲服拍摄我都可以去帮忙。牛仔服拍摄真是太棒了，所以我迫不及待地想参加第二天的运动休闲服外景拍摄（在当地的一个足球场进行）。当摄影师要给我拍几张照片来帮他测试照明设备时，我感到无比兴奋。当两名模特中有一位缺席，我被要求代替她时，我欣喜若狂。

不知不觉中，我就已经在做头发和化妆，穿上了适合我的服装，站在了那位摄影师面前，摆出了造型。时至今日，这经历依旧是那么不真实，但在有生之年，我都不会忘记它。（我妈妈也不会让我忘记它——我敢打包票，她每次去杂货铺都要买一期《女孩生活》杂志回来。）我做梦也没想到自己会出现在一本杂志上，更不用说出现在一个四页的时装广告中，而且还是那种跨页的大广告。我非常感激有这次机会，但如果我当时不说出来，也没去争取参与其中的话，这一切就永远不可能发生。所以，不要放弃你的梦想，但也一定不要害怕去做任何能够帮助你实现梦想的事情。