有這麽一個故事:有一個參加長跑比賽的選手在經過一片沙灘時,鞋子裏灌滿了沙子,他匆匆把鞋子脫下,胡亂地把沙子倒出,便又急忙地繼續往前跑。可是有一粒沙子仍留在他的鞋裏，在他以後的路程中，那粒沙子磨著他的腳，使他跑一步，痛一步。但他並沒有停下把鞋子脫掉，抖出那粒磨自己腳的沙子，而仍是匆匆前行，在離終點不遠的地方，因腳痛難忍，他不得不止步，最後放棄了比賽。當他忍著揪心的痛把鞋脫掉時，他發現自己痛苦並放放棄比賽的竟僅僅是一粒沙子。
看來，有時阻撓我們前進的不是高山、深淵，而是極細小的一粒沙子。為了避免因一次輕微的過失遭指責，我們便編出謊言來掩蓋。於是從編造第一個謊言開始，我們便背上了兩個沉甸甸的包袱：“過失”與“謊言”。以後的日子，便常常為掩飾“過失”與“謊言”而不得不再造出新的謊言，從此自己便不得不在緊張、擔心、痛苦的歲月中熬過。那第一個謊言，就是一粒沙。
Part of being a teenager is discovering who we are. It is not something that happens overnight. We test ourselves by seeing how we respond to different situations. We try different styles and a different look until we find something that feels right for us. We test out different value systems to see which ones feel good and which ones don’t.
The thing to remember is that you are sculpting you. In order to do that, you have to make mistakes. You have to try things on for size. Many of those things will clearly be you – and many of those things won’t.
This is why some teenagers have struggles with their parents. You have to figure out for yourself what is important to you and what your values are. You may go through a period where you disregard everything your parents have taught you. But as time passes, you will see that it isn’t about accepting everything they taught you or rejecting all of it, it is about making the things you agree with your own and lovingly setting aside the things you don’t.
Just remember that when you do make discoveries about yourself, don’t shy away form them. Keep them as yours and know that each time another discovery is made you are closer to knowing yourself.
大海邊,一個漁夫張網捕魚。
突然他覺得網被什麽拽了一下。
他猛地把網繩一拉，網就收緊了，原來是一只小海龜。“雖然你很小，但是我把你拿到市場上還能賣一筆小錢呢。”
漁夫說。
“我求求你放了我，千萬不要把我賣了。”
海龜衷求道。
“放了你可以，但是你拿什麽報答我呢？”
“我會給你帶來一大群海龜，把它們拿到市場上，可以賣更多的錢。此外，我還會給你一個讓你終生受益的忠告。”
漁夫喜上眉梢。
他馬上把海龜放進了海裏，海龜一蹬腳就鑽入了大海，遊了很遠，它才把腦袋浮出水面：“你就永遠等待那一大群海龜去吧，出賣同伴的事，我才不幹呢！但是送給你的忠告我現在可以說出來：現在擁有的，遠比別人許諾的重要！”