美国年轻人独立且节俭

她说，我最享受的一些东西并不非常贵，我最喜欢在纽约四处闲逛。
'The things I enjoy most aren't very expensive,' she says. 'The thing I love most about New York City is walking around.'

当她和朋友出去玩时，她会怂恿朋友们在出去之前先喝瓶葡萄酒，这样她在夜店里就不会太想喝酒了。不错，有几次她把葡萄酒藏在外套里偷偷带进了夜店，而不是在那里买酒喝。夜店店主们：我向你们道歉。这就是我养大的女儿。
When she did go out with friends, she would encourage friends to share a bottle of wine before so she wouldn't feel like drinking much at the club. And, yes, a couple of times she smuggled in a bottle of wine under her coat instead of buying drinks. Nightclub owners: You have my apologies. This is the daughter I raised.

玛丽安娜这样节俭地度日会感到缺少点什么吗？没有。她甚至还进行了两次旅行，一次是去荷兰，一次是去俄勒冈州波特兰市，两次都是住在朋友家里，一共花了她2,000美元。
Did Mariana feel deprived by living on the cheap? Not really. She even managed to take a couple of trips, one to the Netherlands, the other to Portland, Ore., staying with friends both times. The two trips cost her a total of $2,000.

我虽然对玛丽安娜的节俭引以为豪，却并不想让大家把她当作榜样。由于奖学金丰厚，加上父母的资助，她大学毕业的时候无债一身轻。而很多年轻人必须借钱才能完成学业，这就意味着他们毕业的时候必须赚更多的钱。
While I'm proud of Mariana's thrift, I'm not trying to hold her up as a model for the masses. She came out of college with no debt, thanks to some big scholarships and help from Mom and Dad. Many youths can only get through by borrowing money, and it means they have to earn more money when they graduate.

其他一些同龄的年轻人已经结婚生子了，而玛丽安娜的游戏计划对他们也不适用。不管怎么说，她节俭度日的能力让她有更大的自由来做自己想做的事。
Other young adults her age already have started families, and Mariana's game plan wouldn't work for them either. Nonetheless, her ability to live cheaply gives her more freedom to do what she wants to do.
　　
或许她的自由太多了。几个月前，玛丽安娜知会我们她打算辞去出版工作，这样她就能搬到北卡罗来纳州埃什维尔了，在那儿她仍是与一个朋友合用一个房间。她的房租每月只有350美元。她发现，通过做兼职和动用积蓄，她能把更多的时间放在自己新的爱好──画画上。她认为，在埃什维尔比在竞争高度激烈的纽约艺术圈更容易展示自己的才能。
Perhaps too much freedom. A couple of months ago, Mariana informed us she planned to quit her publishing job so that she could move to Asheville, N.C., where she will share a room with a friend. Her rent: just $350 a month. She figures by working part-time and drawing on her savings, she can devote more time to her new passion: painting. And she thinks it will be easier getting showings in Asheville than in the hypercompetitive New York art scene.

我和妻子都告诉她，在衰退正当头之际辞去一份有健康保险的工作是疯狂的做法。不过，玛丽安娜再次追随自己的梦想。事情就是这样。孩子们要过他们自己的生活，而不是我们希望他们过的生活。
Both my wife and I told her it was crazy to quit a job with health insurance in the middle of the recession. But once again, Mariana is following her own star. That's the way it goes. Our kids live their lives, not the ones we want them to live.

至于玛丽安娜，自12月初辞职以来，她只有一个变化。她说，因为没了收入，我过得更加节俭了。
As for Mariana, she has already made one change since quitting her job in early December. 'I'm living more cheaply since I don't have an income,' she says.

真不愧是我的女儿。
That's my girl.