Life According to Sam|小山姆的幸福人生

Life According to Sam

by Olivia Wycech

Even a short life can be a happy life.

　　Life does not have to be long to be happy and fruitful. For Sam Berns, there was no time to waste dwelling on his terminal illness. Instead, he decided to use his short time on this planet to his fullest potential. When Sam was two years old, he was diagnosed with progeria, an extremely rare disease that causes rapid premature aging in children. The average lifespan of a child with progeria is 13 years, but Berns refused to let that stop him from creating goals and setting out to achieve them.

　　Berns' dream was to play the snare drum in his school marching band, and so he did. Even though he weighed only 50 pounds, with the help of his parents and engineers, he was outfitted with a special harness that allowed him to march with the rest of the students. He earned awards, went to the prom, and even built complex towns out of Lego as a way to live out his dreams of going to MIT and becoming an inventor.

　　Berns used every opportunity he could to show people that they did not need to feel sorry for him because he was happy. He spoke motivationally at a TEDx conference, and he also participated in an HBO documentary that followed him for three years called Life According to Sam. He did this so people could get to know him and see how he overcame obstacles so that they could do the same and adopt his philosophy for a happy life. Sam passed away earlier this year at the age of 17, but his memory, spirit, and outlook on life lives on and continues to inspire people every day.

 

小山姆的幸福人生

即使是一段短暂的人生也可以过得很幸福。

　　人生不一定要很长才会幸福又充实。对于山姆‧伯恩斯而言，他没有时间可以浪费在整天想着自己的绝症。相反地，他决定用他生活在这世界上短暂的时间来充份发挥自己的潜能。山姆两岁的时候被诊断出患有早衰症，那是一种会造成儿童迅速提早老化的极罕见疾病。患有早衰症的孩童平均寿命为十三年，但是伯恩斯不愿让这种疾病阻扰他设下目标和着手去完成它。

　　伯恩斯的梦想就是在学校的军乐队中打小鼓，因此他做到了。虽然他的体重只有五十磅，但在他的父母与工程师的帮助之下，他配备了一条特制的绳子，让他得以与其他学生一同行进。他赢得奖项、参加舞会，甚至用乐高建造出错综复杂的城镇，作为他实现梦想的一种方式，他的梦想就是就读麻省理工学院和成为一位发明家。

　　伯恩斯把握每一个机会告诉世人他们不需要为他感到难过，因为他很快乐。他在 TED（编按：TED 是一个跨界的智库，也是一个对话的平台，TED 三个字母分别代表了科技（technology）、娱乐（entertainment）及设计（design）。）大会上发表了一场激励人心的演讲，他也参与了一部 HBO 纪录片《山姆的幸福人生》的拍摄，这部片跟拍他长达三年之久。他之所以这么做是为了让人们能够了解他，并看看他如何克服障碍，如此一来，他们也可以同样这么做并采用他的幸福人生哲学。山姆在今年年初离开了人世，得年十七岁，但他的回忆、精神和观点将会留存下来，而且每天都持续鼓舞着世人。