Jennifer’s Photo Stories (21) 曾錚的圖片故事（21）-The Awakening of Self-consciousness 十六歲時的傷感
This photo was taken on my 16th birthday. That was the year when I started to have self-awareness, self-consciousness and even self-pity… If I were a flower, I had started “anticipating” my withering and falling even before I fully blossomed.
這張照片是十六歲時的生日照。那一年是我自我意識開始覺醒的時候吧，很多時候還會陷入自憐，正如一朵還未開放，就開始預想著自己何時會凋零的花朵一樣，內心無比敏感柔弱。
Sometimes I was as sensitive as Lin Daiyu in the Dream of the Red Chamber. A breeze of wind, a dry leaf, or a faded petal was enough to stir my heart. Life was so short, so uncertain, and so easy to be hurt…So I made a decision to take a photo of myself at each and every birthday in all the coming years, so that I could have something hold on in the future…
一陣風，一片葉，一瓣花，都可能讓我像葬花的黛玉一般，黯然神傷。人生是如此短暫，歲月是如此易逝，生命是如此無助……
And so, this is the first of a series of birthday photos.
也就是從那一年起，我決定：以後每年的生日都要照一張相片留下來。這樣，都其他都逝去之後，最起碼我還有照片……就這樣，我照下了人生中第一張由自己做主要照下來的生日紀念照。
8/11/2017 *
Click here for info about where to read or buy Jennifer’’s book in English and Chinese, as well as where to watch award-winning documentary based on Jennifer’’s story: “ Free China: The Courage to Believe”
Originally published at https://www.jenniferzengblog.com on May 2, 2018.
