PREFACE

PREFACE
I refuse to acknowledge time, famously so. I’ve made a lot of jokes and memes about it,but it’s a very real belief for me. I cried on my eighteenth birthday. I thought I was afailure because I didn’t have a record deal yet. That was my only goal. It was as if I washolding my breath until I could hold a physical thing, an album that had “Mariah Carey”
printed on it. Once I got my deal I exhaled¹, and my life began. From that day on, Icalculated my life through albums, creative experiences, professional accomplishments,and holidays. I live Christmas to Christmas, celebration to celebration, festive² moment tofestive moment, not counting my birthdays or ages. (Much to the chagrin³ of certainpeople.)
Life has made me find my own way to be in this world. Why ruin the journey bywatching the clock and the ticking away of years? So much happened to me before anyoneeven knew my name, time seems like an inadequate⁴ way to measure or record it. Notliving based on time also became a way to hold on to myself, to keep close and keep alivethat inner child of mine. It’s why I gravitate toward enduring characters like Santa Claus,the Tooth Fairy, and Tinker Bell. They remind me we can be timeless.
It is a waste of time to be fixated on time. Often time can be bleak⁵, dahling, so whychoose to live in it? Life is about the moments we create and remember. My memory is asacred place, one of the few things that belong entirely⁶ to me. This memoir⁷ is a collectionof the moments that matter, the moments that most accurately⁸ tell the story of who I am,according to me. It will move back and forth⁹, up and down, moment to moment, adding upto the meaning of me now.
But then again, who’s counting?

1 exhaled   

v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气

参考例句：

• He sat back and exhaled deeply. 他仰坐着深深地呼气。
• He stamped his feet and exhaled a long, white breath. 跺了跺脚，他吐了口长气，很长很白。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

2 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

3 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

4 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

5 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

8 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。