给2020届美高新生的一封信 | 美高学子心声

Hey, whoever is reading this, I don’t know much about you but I’m sure you’re stressing over decision day right this second. Rest assured, so are millions of students all over the world, surrounding a computer with their family, anxiously awaiting the results. Believe it or not, so was I exactly a year ago. 

嘿，无论是谁在读这篇文章，尽管我对你的了解不多，但是我敢肯定，你会在第二天的决策日压力很大。放心，全世界有数百万名学生和他们的家人一起坐在电脑旁，急切地等待着结果。信不信由你，一年前我也是这样。

What I wish someone would’ve told me is: acceptance letters don’t equate to success in life or any form of validation, it is merely a response to the compatibility of you and that school. The last thing I want to do is to sugarcoat the unbearable disappointment of opening a letter and reading that you haven’t been accepted to your dream school. It IS tough, and it IS sad, for a while. I've been through the exact same process, the heartache, it hurts when you aren't accepted, and it feels terrible. 

我希望那时有人告诉我：录取通知书并不等于生活成功或任何形式的确认，它只是对你和学校的兼容性的回应。我想做的最后一件事，是消除令人难以忍受的失望——当读到一封信里自己未被梦想学校录取时感到的失望。有一段时间，这很艰难，也很难过。我经历了完全相同的过程，心痛，当你不被接受时会很痛，而且感觉很糟糕。

But then you open another letter, and another, or maybe a few more, and you will open the next one and it’s going to start with big bold letters that spell “Congratulations _(insert your name here_!” and it will all be worth it. All those classes preparing for the SSATs, all the restless nights drafting your applicant essays, it will all be worth it. Promise me to take a deep breath, and be proud of all you have accomplished, and I promise you, it will be a relief. Trust me, it will be so invigorating to find out which schools you did get into, imagine the journey you will embark on, the people you will encounter from different diverse backgrounds. Please be reminded that this is the end of that chapter in your life, but it marks the start of a new one, and a more thrilling adventure awaits I believe that you are someone with amazing character and thus you will certainly excel wherever you go. 

但是，当你打开另一封信，再另一封，甚至更多，也许下一封你打开的信里，以大写的字母开头，这些字母拼写为“恭喜_（在此插入您的名字_ !!”），一切都变得值得！那些准备SSAT课程的日子，那些起草申请文书的不安夜晚，一切都是值得的。答应我，深吸一口气，并对你所取得的成就感到骄傲，我保证，这会使你放松，你会为发现自己将进入哪所学校，将要踏上的旅程，以及将会遇到来自不同背景的人而兴奋不已。请注意，这是你人生中一个篇章的结束，它标志着新人生的开始，更令人激动的冒险等待着你，我相信你的性格如此出众，无论你走到哪里，你都会出类拔萃。

Lastly, know that my heart is with you as you reach the deadline, and I wish you the best of luck! 

接近终点的日子，我心与你同在，祝你好运！

还有几个小时就到310了，每个人心怀的梦想都希望在这一天实现。准备了长达一年多的成果，大家都想以满心欢喜的结果收场。

此时此刻，回想到了365天前正坐在电脑前焦眉苦脸的我。总共申请了十所高中，我面对着一封又一封的wl候补名单和rejection拒信。等到了最后一封来自北野山充满未知的来信，不巧，是录取信。坦白来讲，我当时是有些崩溃的。到头来，我还是高估自己了。所以呢，我有几个建议献给从前的我，以及正在与offer斗争的你们，和将来也要申请的学弟学妹们。

首先，成长比申请更重要，请专注于过程，而不是最后仅仅与结果较真。当时的我，可能因为周围的人都被牛校录取，我攀比的心理也从而萌生。“他们都能被录，我也没差到哪儿去啊？这不公平。” 在说这句话的时候，我并没有反思自己。回去想想，其实我有很多做的不足的地方。材料的前期准备，我也是比较仓促地做的。不能说没有用心，但是不能说是一件我拿出去会特别特别自豪的事。其实，我们应该更加注重项目的完成，而不是想着如何呈现给招生官面前。至于标化，我认为我做到比较满意的水平就停了，但其实我还能做到更好。后期，我的表白信没能打动招生官，互动也不频繁，提交完材料也没有密切关心学校的情况。这些零零碎碎的因素，最后加在一块，在我的材料里面形成了一个又一个的漏洞。但是作为一个新手，在顾问没有很多帮助下，我认为这没有什么值得后悔的。重要的是，我有没有吸取教训，在将来的路上不犯同样的错误？

其次，决定你是否录取有太多不可控制的外界因素。做到你自己的最好，我相信你们都会有回报的。你所在的申请池子，机构不靠谱，推荐信出问题，面试当天面试官心情不好，都不能怪你！如果你觉得 this is the best I can be（注：这是最好的我）, 学校自然会看出来的。很多时候，不是拥有最好的背景、高标化成绩的申请者拿到了心仪的offer，而是那些与众不同，想对社会做贡献的人被真正匹配的学校青睐。选校一定不要以排名为唯一参考标准。每个学校都有自己独特的氛围和气质，而这种氛围和气质是你想要的吗？

最后，你去到的学校无法衡量你从前的履历，你现在的实力，以及你未来的潜力。俗话说得好，宁做鸡头，不做凤尾。很多时候，排名不是一件值得纠结的事情。拿到前十的录取，当然去，但是如果只拿到了保底校的录取，请不要灰心。你当时选的保底，也是即使被录也会去的。况且，你也从来没有真正去经历过那里的生活，所以不要轻易下定论。从你踏入你即将去向的学校的那一刻，抛掉那些偏见也好，期望也好。如果下定决心要在接下来的四年活出你的四年，那就请不要拿别人的四年做比较。请记住，无论你在哪个学校，你都可以当那颗闪闪发光的星星。你的使命就是努力突破昨天的你，做一个崭新的自己。

I’m a big believer in fate. Destiny, God, or whatever omnipotent supernatural beings you believe in. I believe that whatever happens now was meant to happen, in the present, and forever. I believe that sometimes the universe deals you a bad hand, but every bad hand dealt is an opportunity to become better, and every good one is a chance to rejoice. I believe that last year I took a chance on boarding school, and the universe as my dealer dealt me an exceptional hand. However, until then March 10th was all that mattered to me. The most important day of my life so far, and a day that would shape me. 

我坚信命运。命运，上帝或你所信仰的任何无所不能的超自然生物。我相信，无论现在或将来发生什么，都是要发生的。我相信，有时候宇宙会给你带来不利影响，但是每一个不利的影响都会使你变得更好，每一个有利的机会都会给你带来欢乐。我相信去年我在申请寄宿学校时得到了机会，我的顾问为我提供了非常出色的帮助。然而，直到3月10日这天，才对我真正重要。到目前为止，这是我一生中最重要的一天，这一天将塑造我。

Now, a year later, and that day has creeped up on me as I blissfully dismissed any recollections of that harrowing fall and winter. As you all know too well, the hard part isn’t applying, it’s the sense of being unable to do anything as you wait. It eats away at you, filling every nook and cranny in your head, draining your energy and soul, and feeding off your stress and thoughts. I felt the same feelings too, the helplessness. Yet, none of that mattered in the end. I’ve all but forgotten what it was like. 

一年后的今天，感觉那天已经过去了，而在过去的秋天和冬天，我都拒绝那令人痛苦的回忆。大家可能都有这种感觉，你在等待时无法做任何事情，困难的部分没有得到解决。它吞噬了你，填补了你脑海中的每个角落和缝隙，耗尽了你的精力和灵魂，供养了你的压力和思想，深深的无力感。然而，这些最后都算不了什么，我现在已经完全忘了。

Understand that none of this will matter in a year’s time. Because like I said, every bad hand you’re dealt is an opportunity to become better. Maybe your top choice school waitlists you, or perhaps every school waitlists you. It might be that every school accepts you. You just don’t know yet. So don’t. Realize that it’s out of your hands, and it has been this whole time. Wait until tomorrow to worry about pursuing a waitlisted school. Relax. Fate and destiny will guide your path. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. All we can do is try our best.

要知道，一年之后这些都将不再重要。因为，在我看来，每当遇到不利情况时，你都有机会变得更好。也许你被梦校候补，也许你被每所学校候补，也许你被每所学校录取，这是你无法控制的，并且一直以来都是如此。所以，请等到明天，再去担心。放松。命运将指引你的道路，我们能做的就是尽力而为。

With a day left before the most important decision in your lives so far, give yourself credit for your hard work. Stress no more about the result, because the result isn’t, and was never up to you. All you could do was try your best, so be happy that you did. Tonight when you sleep, I implore you, have faith in yourself. Trust, and believe that you did, and are going to do all you can to get accepted, because there are no bad hands dealt in this game of life, only new, and greater opportunities.

距离最重要的时刻还有一天的时间，你将为自己的辛勤工作赢得荣誉。不要再强调结果了，因为结果永远不会取决于你。你所能做的就是尽力而为，并为你的努力感到高兴。今晚你入睡时，我恳求你，对自己有信心。相信自己做到了，并且会竭尽所能被接受，因为在这种生活游戏中，没有坏手，只有新的和更大的机会。

310的今天是对于很多学生很重要的一天，想祝福所有的同学们可以申请到自己的梦想学校, 想告诉你，你值得，努力你的努力，荣耀你的荣耀。想告诉那些结果似乎不理想的同学们，你们之前以及现在所有的努力都是以后幸运的伏笔。你们都是那以后即将展翅高飞的海鸥，现在的跌倒或尝试都是一次一次的在练习飞翔，就是为了以后更好的自己。

If I have a chance to speak to myself from the past: to myself at March the tenth, 2019, I would tell my past self not to worry and that everything is going to be alright. 

如果我有机会与2019年3月10日的自己对话，我会告诉他，不要担心，一切都会好起来的。

I know the intense feeling of anxiety and expectations combined together, mixed with nervousness and excitement: I’ve been there before. It’s natural to feel this way at this particular day when so much is on the line and I am not saying that such emotions are wrong in any way. But if we just slow down and review carefully the process, we need to believe in ourselves, to have faith in ourselves. If you sincerely gave it your all, if you spent day and night memorizing the SSAT vocals, going through the TOEFL reading mock tests, then everything is going to be alright. Trust the process. If you grinded through all the hardships and numerous endeavors, then hard work will yield satisfying results. 

强烈的焦虑感和期待感杂糅，充满了紧张和兴奋：我以前去过那里。这是特别的一天，有那么多事情即将发生，那些情绪并非错误，都是很自然的感觉。如果我们放慢脚步并仔细复盘，我们需要相信自己，要对自己有信心。如果你全心全意付出过，起早摸黑地记SSAT单词，还通过了托福阅读模拟测试，那么一切都会好起来的。相信过程。经历过艰辛和努力，终将产生令人满意的结果。

I was just like you on this particular day, feeling that I could have done a bit more: maybe to score a few more points in the exams, to perform better in the interviews, but when the offers finally came out, I found that all my anxiety were mere whims conjured by my imagination; in fact, when in reflection, I find such feelings and behaviors of myself on that day rather laughable and childish. All I want to say is, this is the final day. There is not that much which you can do, honestly. So just put down your phone, sit back, relax, and wait for your venture to blossom like the most delicate flowers.

这是特别的一天，我曾像你一样，觉得我可以做得更多：也许可以在考试中获得更高分，在面试中表现得更好。但是当录取最终出来时，我发现所有的焦虑只是因我的想像而产生的幻想。事实上，当我再次回首反思时，我发现自己那天的感觉和行为相当可笑和幼稚。临近发榜前的最后一天，能够做的已无太多。你只需放下电话，坐下，放松一下，然后等待未来像最精致的花朵一样绽放。