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College essay 范文：哈佛大学
This past summer, I had the privilege of participating in the University of Notre Dame’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program . Under the mentorship of Professor Wendy Bozeman and Professor Georgia Lebedev from the department of Biological Sciences, my goal this summer was to research the effects of cobalt iron oxide cored (CoFe2O3) titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles as a scaffold for drug delivery, specifically in the delivery of a compound known as curcumin, a flavonoid known for its anti-inflammatory effects. As a high school student trying to find a research opportunity, it was very difficult to find a place that was willing to take me in, but after many months of trying, I sought the help of my high school biology teacher, who used his resources to help me obtain a position in the program.
Using equipment that a high school student could only dream of using, I was able to map apoptosis (programmed cell death) versus necrosis (cell death due to damage) in HeLa cells, a cervical cancer line, after treating them with curcumin-bound nanoparticles. Using flow cytometry to excite each individually suspended cell with a laser, the scattered light from the cells helped to determine which cells were living, had died from apoptosis or had died from necrosis. Using this collected data, it was possible to determine if the curcumin and/or the nanoparticles had played any significant role on the cervical cancer cells. Later, I was able to image cells in 4D through con-focal microscopy. From growing HeLa cells to trying to kill them with different compounds, I was able to gain the hands-on experience necessary for me to realize once again why I love science.
Living on the Notre Dame campus with other REU students, UND athletes, and other summer school students was a whole other experience that prepared me for the world beyond high school. For 9 weeks, I worked, played and bonded with the other students, and had the opportunity to live the life of an independent college student.
Along with the individually tailored research projects and the housing opportunity, there were seminars on public speaking, trips to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and one-on-one writing seminars for the end of the summer research papers we were each required to write. By the end of the summer, I wasn’t ready to leave the research that I was doing. While my research didn’t yield definitive results for the effects of curcumin on cervical cancer cells, my research on curcumin-functionalized CoFe2O4/TiO2 core-shell nanoconjugates indicated that there were many unknown factors affecting the HeLa cells, and spurred the lab to expand their research into determining whether or not the timing of the drug delivery mattered and whether or not the position of the binding site of the drugs would alter the results. Through this summer experience, I realized my ambition to pursue a career in research. I always knew that I would want to pursue a future in science, but the exciting world of research where the discoveries are limitless has captured my heart. This school year, the REU program has offered me a year-long job, and despite my obligations as a high school senior preparing for college, I couldn’t give up this offer, and so during this school year, I will be able to further both my research and interest in nanotechnology.
附：中文译文
去年夏天，我有幸参加了圣母大学本科生研究体验 (REU) 项目。在生物科学系的 Wendy Bozeman 教授和 Georgia Lebedev 教授的指导下，我今年夏天的目标是研究以钴铁氧化物为核心的 (CoFe2O3) 二氧化钛 (TiO2) 纳米粒子作为药物输送支架的效果，特别是在输送一种称为姜黄素的化合物，一种以其抗炎作用而闻名的类黄酮。作为一个想找研究机会的高中生，很难找到一个愿意收我的地方，但经过几个月的努力，我找到了高中生物老师的帮助，他利用了他的资源帮助我在该计划中获得职位。
使用高中生梦寐以求的设备，在用结合姜黄素的纳米颗粒处理后，我能够绘制出宫颈癌系 HeLa 细胞的凋亡（程序性细胞死亡）与坏死（损伤导致的细胞死亡）的图谱. 使用流式细胞仪用激光激发每个单独悬浮的细胞，来自细胞的散射光有助于确定哪些细胞是活的，哪些细胞死于凋亡或死于坏死。使用这些收集的数据，可以确定姜黄素和/或纳米颗粒是否对宫颈癌细胞发挥了重要作用。后来，我能够通过共焦显微镜对细胞进行 4D 成像。从培养 HeLa 细胞到试图用不同的化合物杀死它们，
与其他 REU 学生、UND 运动员和其他暑期学校学生一起住在圣母大学校园里是另一种体验，让我为高中以外的世界做好了准备。在 9 周的时间里，我与其他学生一起工作、玩耍并建立联系，并有机会过上独立大学生的生活。
除了量身定制的研究项目和住房机会外，还有关于公开演讲的研讨会、费米国家加速器实验室的旅行，以及暑期研究论文结束时的一对一写作研讨会，我们每个人都被要求撰写。到夏天结束时，我还没有准备好离开我正在做的研究。虽然我的研究没有对姜黄素对宫颈癌细胞的影响产生明确的结果，但我对姜黄素功能化 CoFe2O4/TiO2 核壳纳米缀合物的研究表明，影响 HeLa 细胞的未知因素很多，并促使实验室扩大他们研究确定药物输送的时间是否重要，以及药物结合位点的位置是否会改变结果。通过这个夏天的经历，我实现了从事研究事业的雄心。我一直都知道我想追求科学的未来，但令人兴奋的研究世界有着无限的发现吸引了我的心。本学年，REU 项目为我提供了一份为期一年的工作，尽管我作为一名准备上大学的高中生承担了义务，但我无法放弃这份工作，因此在本学年，我将能够进一步加深我对纳米技术的研究和兴趣。
College essay 范文：哈佛大学
I believe that humans will always have the ability to rise above any situation, because life is what you make of it. We don’t know what life is or why we are in this world; all we know, all we feel, is that we must protect it anyway we can. Buddha said it clearly: “Life is suffering.” Life is meant to be challenging, and really living requires consistent work and review. By default, life is difficult because we must strive to earn happiness and success.
Yet I’ve realized that life is fickler than I had imagined; it can disappear or change at any time. Several of my family members left this world in one last beating symphony; heart attacks seem to be a trend in my family. They left like birds; laughing one minute and in a better place the next.
Steve Jobs inspired me, when in his commencement address to Stanford University in 2005, he said “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma–which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.” I want to make mistakes, because that is how I learn; I want to follow the beat of my own drum even if it is “out of tune.” The important thing is to live without regrets, so when my heart ceases to beat, it will make one last happy note and move on.
I want to live my life daily. Every day I want to live. Every morning when I wake up, I want to be excited by the gift of a new day. I know I am being idealistic and young, and that my philosophy on life is comparable to a calculus limit; I will never reach it. But I won’t give up on it because, I can still get infinitely close and that is amazing.
Every day is an apology to my humanity; because I am not perfect, I get to try again and again to “get it right.” I breathe the peace of eternity, knowing that this stage is temporary; real existence is continuous. The hourglass of life incessantly trickles on and we are powerless to stop it.
So, I will forgive and forget, love and inspire, experience and satire, laugh and cry, accomplish and fail, live and die. This is how I want to live my life, with this optimistic attitude that every day is a second chance. All the time, we have the opportunity to renew our perspective on life, to correct our mistakes, and to simply move on. Like the phoenix I will continue to rise from the ashes, experienced and renewed. I will not waste time for my life is already in flux.
In all its splendor
The Phoenix rises
In a burst of orange and yellow
It soars in the baby blue sky
Heading to that Great Light
Baptized in the dance of time
Fearless, eternal, beautiful
It releases a breathtaking aurora
And I gasp at the enormity
附：中文译文
我相信人类将永远有能力超越任何情况，因为生活是你创造的。我们不知道生命是什么，也不知道我们为什么会在这个世界上；我们所知道的，我们所感受到的，就是我们必须尽我们所能保护它。佛陀说得很清楚：“生命是痛苦的。” 生活本来就是充满挑战的，真正的生活需要持续的工作和回顾。默认情况下，生活很艰难，因为我们必须努力获得幸福和成功。
然而我已经意识到生活比我想象的更变幻无常；它可以随时消失或改变。我的几个家人在最后一首交响乐中离开了这个世界；心脏病发作似乎是我家的一种趋势。他们像鸟儿一样离开；笑一分钟，下一分钟在一个更好的地方。
史蒂夫·乔布斯（Steve Jobs）在 2005 年斯坦福大学的毕业典礼演讲中启发了我，他说：“你的时间是有限的，所以不要把它浪费在过别人的生活上。不要被教条所困——这是与结果一起生活别人的想法。” 我想犯错，因为那是我学习的方式；即使“走调”，我也想跟随自己的鼓声。重要的是生活没有遗憾，所以当我的心脏停止跳动时，它会发出最后一个快乐的音符并继续前进。
我想每天过我的生活。每一天我都想活下去。每天早上醒来时，我都想为新的一天的礼物感到兴奋。我知道我很理想主义，很年轻，我的人生哲学堪比微积分极限；我永远也达不到。但我不会放弃它，因为我仍然可以无限接近，这太棒了。
每一天都是对我人性的道歉；因为我并不完美，我会一次又一次地尝试“做对”。我呼吸着永恒的平静，知道这个阶段是暂时的；真实的存在是连续的。生活的沙漏不停地流淌，我们无力阻止。
所以，我会原谅和忘记，爱和启发，体验和讽刺，笑和哭，成就和失败，生与死。这就是我想要的生活，以这种每天都是第二次机会的乐观态度。一直以来，我们都有机会更新我们对生活的看法，纠正我们的错误，然后继续前进。像凤凰一样，我将继续从灰烬中崛起，经历和更新。我不会浪费时间，因为我的生活已经在不断变化。
绚丽多姿
凤凰升起
橙黄相间
它翱翔在淡蓝色的天空
奔向那伟大的光明
在时间的舞蹈中受洗
无畏、永恒、美丽
它释放出令人窒息的极光
我为浩瀚而倒吸一口凉气
College essay 范文：杜克大学
As soon as the patient room door opened, the worst stench I have ever encountered hit me square in the face. Though I had never smelled it before, I knew instinctively what it was: rotting flesh. A small, elderly woman sat in a wheelchair, dressed in a hospital gown and draped in blankets from the neck down with only her gauze-wrapped right leg peering out from under the green material. Dr. Q began unwrapping the leg, and there was no way to be prepared for what I saw next: gangrene-rotted tissue and blackened, dead toes.
Never before had I seen anything this gruesome–as even open surgery paled in comparison. These past two years of shadowing doctors in the operating room have been important for me in solidifying my commitment to pursue medicine, but this situation proved that time in the operating room alone did not quite provide a complete, accurate perspective of a surgeon’s occupation. Doctors in the operating room are calm, cool, and collected, making textbook incisions with machine-like, detached precision. It is a profession founded solely on skill and technique–or so I thought. This grisly experience exposed an entirely different side of this profession I hope to pursue.
Feeling the tug of nausea in my stomach, I forced my gaze from the terrifying wound onto the hopeful face of the ailing woman, seeking to objectively analyze the situation as Dr. Q was struggling to do himself. Slowly and with obvious difficulty, Dr. Q explained that an infection this severe calls for an AKA: Above the Knee Amputation. In the slow, grave silence that ensued, I reflected on how this desperate patient’s very life rests in the hands of a man who has dedicated his entire life to making such difficult decisions as these. I marveled at the compassion in Dr. Q’s promise that this aggressive approach would save the woman’s life. The patient wiped her watery eyes and smiled a long, sad smile. “I trust you, Doc. I trust you.” She shook Dr. Q’s hand, and the doctor and I left the room.
Back in his office, Dr. Q addressed my obvious state of contemplation: “This is the hardest part about what we do as surgeons,” he said, sincerely. “We hurt to heal, and often times people cannot understand that. However, knowing that I’m saving lives every time I operate makes the stress completely worth it.”
Suddenly, everything fell into place for me. This completely different perspective broadened my understanding of the surgical field and changed my initial perception of who and what a surgeon was. I not only want to help those who are ill and injured, but also to be entrusted with difficult decisions the occupation entails. Discovering that surgery is also a moral vocation beyond the generic application of a trained skill set encouraged me. I now understand surgeons to be much more complex practitioners of medicine, and I am certain that this is the field for me.
附：中文译为
病房门一打开，我遇到的最恶臭就扑面而来。虽然我以前从未闻过它，但我本能地知道它是什么：腐烂的肉。一位身材矮小、年迈的老妇人坐在轮椅上，身着病号服，脖子以下盖着毯子，只有她裹着纱布的右腿从绿色材料下向外张望。Q 医生开始解开腿的包裹，我无法为接下来看到的情况做好准备：坏疽腐烂的组织和变黑的死脚趾。
我以前从未见过如此可怕的事情——相比之下，即使是开放式手术也相形见绌。过去两年在手术室跟随医生对我坚定我追求医学的承诺很重要，但这种情况证明，仅在手术室的时间并不能完全准确地了解外科医生的职业。手术室里的医生们沉着冷静，镇定自若，以机器般的超脱精准做出教科书般的切口。这是一个完全建立在技能和技术基础上的职业——至少我是这么认为的。这种可怕的经历暴露了我希望从事的这个职业的完全不同的一面。
感觉胃里一阵恶心，我强行将目光从可怕的伤口上移到生病的女人满怀希望的脸上，试图客观地分析Q博士正在努力做自己的情况。Q 博士缓慢而明显地困难地解释说，如此严重的感染需要 AKA：膝盖以上截肢术。在随之而来的缓慢而严肃的沉默中，我反思了这个绝望的病人的生命是如何掌握在一个毕生致力于做出这些艰难决定的人的手中。我对 Q 博士承诺这种激进的方法将挽救该妇女的生命的同情心感到惊讶。病人擦了擦水汪汪的眼睛，露出一个长长的、悲伤的笑容。“我相信你，博士。我相信你。” 她握了握 Q 医生的手，医生和我离开了房间。
回到他的办公室，Q 博士谈到了我明显的沉思状态：“这是我们作为外科医生所做的最困难的部分，”他真诚地说。“我们为了治愈而受伤，而且很多时候人们无法理解这一点。然而，每次手术都在挽救生命，这让我觉得压力完全值得。”
突然，对我来说一切都到位了。这种完全不同的观点拓宽了我对外科领域的理解，改变了我最初对外科医生是谁和什么的看法。我不仅想帮助那些生病和受伤的人，而且还想被委以职业需要做出的艰难决定。发现手术也是一种道德使命，超越了训练有素的技能的一般应用，这让我很受鼓舞。我现在明白外科医生是更复杂的医学从业者，我确信这就是我的领域。
College supplemental essay 范文：斯坦福大学
In most conventional classrooms, we are taught to memorize material. We study information to regurgitate it on a test and forget it the following day. I thought this was learning. But this past summer, I realized I was wrong.
I attended the SPK Program, a five-week enrichment program with New Jersey’s best and brightest students. I lived on a college campus with 200 students and studied a topic. I selected Physical Science. On the first day of class, our teacher set a box on the table and poured water into the top, and nothing came out. Then, he poured more water in, and everything slowly came out. We were told to figure out what had happened with no phones or textbooks, just our brains. We worked together to discover in the box was a siphon, similar to what is used to pump gas. We spent the next weeks building solar ovens, studying the dynamic of paper planes, diving into the content of the speed of light and space vacuums, among other things. We did this with no textbooks, flashcards, or information to memorize.
During those five weeks, we were not taught impressive terminology or how to ace the AP Physics exam. We were taught how to think. More importantly, we were taught how to think together. Learning is not memorization or a competition. Learning is working together to solve the problems around us and better our community. To me, learning is the means to a better future, and that’s exciting.
附：中文译文
在大多数传统的教室里，我们被教导要记住材料。我们研究信息以在测试中反刍它并在第二天忘记它。我以为这是在学习。但在过去的这个夏天，我意识到我错了。
我参加了 SPK 计划，这是一个为期五周的与新泽西州最优秀和最聪明的学生一起参加的充实计划。我住在一个有 200 名学生的大学校园里，并且研究了一个主题。我选择了物理科学。第一天上课，我们的老师在桌子上放了一个盒子，往上面倒了水，什么都没有出来。然后，他又往里倒了些水，一切都慢慢的涌了出来。我们被告知要弄清楚发生了什么，没有手机或教科书，只有我们的大脑。我们一起工作，发现盒子里有一个虹吸管，类似于用来抽气的东西。在接下来的几周里，我们建造了太阳能烤箱，研究了纸飞机的动态，深入研究了光速和太空真空的内容，等等。我们在没有教科书、抽认卡或需要记忆的信息的情况下做到了这一点。
在这五周里，我们没有学到令人印象深刻的术语或如何在 AP 物理考试中取得好成绩。我们被教导如何思考。更重要的是，我们被教导如何一起思考。学习不是记忆或竞争。学习是共同努力解决我们周围的问题并改善我们的社区。对我来说，学习是通往更美好未来的途径，这很令人兴奋。
College essay 范文：宾夕法尼亚大学
When I was thirteen and visiting Liberia, I contracted what turned out to be yellow fever. I met with the local doctor, but he couldn’t make a diagnosis simply because he didn’t have access to blood tests and because symptoms such as “My skin feels like it’s on fire” matched many tropical diseases. Luckily, my family managed to drive me several hours away to an urban hospital, where I was treated. Yellow fever shouldn’t be fatal, but in Africa it often is. I couldn’t believe that such a solvable issue could be so severe at the time—so I began to explore.
The exploration led me to the African Disease Prevention Project (ADPP), a non-profit organization associated with several universities. I decided to create the first high school branch of the organization; I liked its unique way of approaching health and social issues. Rather than just raising money and channeling it through third parties, each branch “adopts” one village and travels there to provide for its basic needs. As branch president, I organize events from small stands at public gatherings to 60-person dinner fundraisers in order to raise both money and awareness. I’ve learned how to encourage my peers to meet deadlines, to work around 30 different schedules at once, and to give presentations convincing people why my organization is worth their donation. But overall, ADPP has taught me that small changes can have immense impacts. My branch has helped raise almost $3,000 to build water sanitation plants, construct medical clinics, and develop health education programs in the small village of Zwedru. And the effect doesn’t stop there—by improving one area, our efforts permeate into neighboring villages as they mimic the lifestyle changes that they observe nearby—simple things, like making soap available—can have a big effect. The difference between ADPP and most other organizations is its emphasis on the basics and making changes that last. Working towards those changes to solve real life problems is what excites me.
I found that the same idea of change through simple solutions also rang true during my recent summer internship at Dr. Martin Warner’s lab at UCLA. Dr. Martin’s vision involves using already available digital technologies to improve the individualization of healthcare. By using a person’s genome to tailor a treatment for them or using someone’s personal smartphone as a mobile-monitor to remotely diagnose symptoms, everyday technology is harnessed to make significant strides forward. At the lab, I focused on parsing through medical databases and writing programs that analyze cancerous genomes to find relationships between certain cancers and drugs. My analysis resulted in a database of information that physicians can use to prescribe treatments for their patients’ unique cancerous mutations. Now, a pancreatic cancer patient does not need to be the “guinea-pig” for a prototype drug to have a shot at survival: a doctor can choose the best treatment by examining the patient individually instead of relying on population-wide trends. For the first time in my science career, my passion was going to have an immediate effect on other people, and to me, that was enthralling. Dr. Martin’s lab and his book, Digital Healthcare: A New Age of Medicine, have shown me that changing something as simple as how we treat a disease can have a huge impact. I have found that the search for the holy grail of a “cure for cancer” is problematic as nobody knows exactly what it is or where to look—but we can still move forward without it.
Working with Project ADPP and participating in medical research have taught me to approach problems in a new way. Whether it’s a complex genetic disease or a tropical fever, I’ve found that taking small steps often is the best approach. Finding those steps and achieving them is what gets me excited and hungry to explore new solutions in the future.
附：中文译文
当我 13 岁访问利比里亚时，我染上了黄热病。我见到了当地的医生，但他无法做出诊断，因为他无法进行血液检查，而且“我的皮肤感觉像是着火了”等症状与许多热带疾病相匹配。幸运的是，我的家人设法开车几个小时把我送到了一家城市医院，在那里我接受了治疗。黄热病不应该是致命的，但在非洲却经常如此。我无法相信这样一个可以解决的问题在当时会如此严重——于是我开始探索。
这次探索将我带到了非洲疾病预防项目 (ADPP)，这是一个与几所大学有关联的非营利组织。我决定创建该组织的第一个高中分支；我喜欢它处理健康和社会问题的独特方式。每个分支机构不只是筹集资金并通过第三方渠道筹集资金，而是“收养”一个村庄并前往那里满足其基本需求。作为分会会长，我组织各种活动，从公共集会的小摊位到 60 人的晚宴筹款活动，以筹集资金和提高认识。我已经学会了如何鼓励我的同事按时完成工作，一次完成大约 30 个不同的时间表，并通过演示说服人们为什么我的组织值得他们捐赠。但总的来说，ADPP 告诉我，微小的变化可以产生巨大的影响。我的分支机构帮助筹集了近 3,000 美元，用于在 Zwedru 小村庄建造水卫生设施、建造医疗诊所和开展健康教育项目。而且效果还不止于此——通过改善一个地区，我们的努力渗透到邻近的村庄，因为他们模仿他们在附近观察到的生活方式变化——简单的事情，比如提供肥皂——可以产生很大的影响。ADPP 与大多数其他组织的不同之处在于它强调基础知识并做出持久的改变。努力实现这些改变以解决现实生活中的问题是令我兴奋的。我们的努力渗透到邻近的村庄，因为他们模仿他们在附近观察到的生活方式变化——简单的事情，比如提供肥皂——可以产生很大的影响。ADPP 与大多数其他组织的不同之处在于它强调基础知识并做出持久的改变。努力实现这些改变以解决现实生活中的问题是令我兴奋的。我们的努力渗透到邻近的村庄，因为他们模仿他们在附近观察到的生活方式变化——简单的事情，比如提供肥皂——可以产生很大的影响。ADPP 与大多数其他组织的不同之处在于它强调基础知识并做出持久的改变。努力实现这些改变以解决现实生活中的问题是令我兴奋的。
我最近在加州大学洛杉矶分校的 Martin Warner 博士的实验室进行暑期实习时，发现通过简单解决方案进行变革的相同想法也是正确的。Martin 博士的愿景包括使用现有的数字技术来改善医疗保健的个性化。通过使用一个人的基因组为他们量身定制治疗方案或使用某人的个人智能手机作为移动监视器来远程诊断症状，日常技术被利用来取得重大进展。在实验室，我专注于解析医学数据库并编写程序来分析癌症基因组，以发现某些癌症和药物之间的关系。我的分析产生了一个信息数据库，医生可以使用该数据库来为他们的患者独特的癌性突变开具治疗方案。现在，胰腺癌患者不必成为原型药物的“豚鼠”，也能获得生存机会：医生可以通过单独检查患者来选择最佳治疗方法，而不是依赖于整个人群的趋势。在我的科学生涯中，我的热情第一次对其他人产生了直接的影响，而对我来说，这令人着迷。Martin 博士的实验室和他的著作《数字医疗保健：医学的新时代》向我展示了改变我们治疗疾病的方式这样简单的事情会产生巨大的影响。我发现寻找“治愈癌症”的圣杯是有问题的，因为没有人确切知道它是什么或在哪里寻找——但没有它我们仍然可以继续前进。医生可以通过单独检查患者来选择最佳治疗方法，而不是依赖于整个人群的趋势。在我的科学生涯中，我的热情第一次对其他人产生了直接的影响，而对我来说，这令人着迷。Martin 博士的实验室和他的著作《数字医疗保健：医学的新时代》向我展示了改变我们治疗疾病的方式这样简单的事情会产生巨大的影响。我发现寻找“治愈癌症”的圣杯是有问题的，因为没有人确切知道它是什么或在哪里寻找——但没有它我们仍然可以继续前进。医生可以通过单独检查患者来选择最佳治疗方法，而不是依赖于整个人群的趋势。在我的科学生涯中，我的热情第一次对其他人产生了直接的影响，而对我来说，这令人着迷。Martin 博士的实验室和他的著作《数字医疗保健：医学的新时代》向我展示了改变我们治疗疾病的方式这样简单的事情会产生巨大的影响。我发现寻找“治愈癌症”的圣杯是有问题的，因为没有人确切知道它是什么或在哪里寻找——但没有它我们仍然可以继续前进。一个新的医学时代向我展示了改变像我们如何治疗疾病这样简单的事情可以产生巨大的影响。我发现寻找“治愈癌症”的圣杯是有问题的，因为没有人确切知道它是什么或在哪里寻找——但没有它我们仍然可以继续前进。一个新的医学时代向我展示了改变像我们如何治疗疾病这样简单的事情可以产生巨大的影响。我发现寻找“治愈癌症”的圣杯是有问题的，因为没有人确切知道它是什么或在哪里寻找——但没有它我们仍然可以继续前进。
与 Project ADPP 合作并参与医学研究教会了我以新的方式解决问题。无论是复杂的遗传病还是热带热，我发现经常采取小步骤是最好的方法。找到这些步骤并实现它们是让我兴奋和渴望在未来探索新解决方案的原因。
College essay 范文：伯克利大学
The phenomenon of interdependency, man depending on man for survival, has shaped centuries of human civilization. However, I feel, the youth of today are slowly disconnecting from their community. For the past few years, human connection has intrigued me and witnessing the apathy of my peers has prompted me to engage in various leadership positions in order to motivate them to complete community service and become active members of society.
Less than a year before ninth grade began, my cousin and close friend passed away from cancer, and in the hodge-podge of feelings, I did not emotionally deal with either death. However, a simple tale helped me deal with these deaths and take action.
I was never fully aware of how closely humans rely upon each other until I read The Fall of Freddy the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia in freshman year. The allegory is about a leaf that changes with the seasons, finally dying in the winter, realizing that his purpose was to help the tree thrive. After reading it, I was enlightened on the cycle of life and realized the tremendous impact my actions had on others.
Last year, I joined the American Cancer Society‘s Relay for Life, a twenty-four-hour relay walk-a-thon designed to raise funds for cancer research and create awareness about its early detection. I started a team at school, gathered thirty students and chaperones, and raised $800 for the cause. I watched as each student created friendships with other students on our team and members of the Phoenix community. This year, I let a team in the relay for life again with the schoolwide team of 95 members, and we raised $2,900 for the cure for cancer. At first the group leader ship consisted of only my advisor in me; however, I gained the support of the administrators. I spent well over an hour a day preparing for the event, and it was all worth it!
The Sonora Eagles were students of different grade levels, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and educational ability. We joked and played football while volunteering. The most important moment occurred during the night’s luminaria ceremony, during which cancer patients of the past and present were commemorated. Our whole team gathered around, and I asked people to share how they have been affected by cancer. As I went through the crowd, their faces illuminated by candlelight, their cheeks were wet with cleansing tears, I realize the impact I had on them, the purpose I was fulfilling; but most importantly, I realized the impact they had had on me. The Sonora Eagles were my means for dealing with the death of my loved ones to cancer.
The theme for relay for life is a hope for a cure. Through this experience as a leader, I have come to realize, as a community, we hope together, we dream together, we work together, and we succeed together. This is the phenomenon of interdependency, the interconnectedness of life, the pivotal reason for human existence. I have continued this momentum by starting a Sonora High School chapter of American Cancer Society Youth, a club dedicated to youth involvement and several aspects of the American Cancer Society, including the recent Arizona Proposition 45.
Each one of us leaves find a legacy as we for fill our purpose in life. I believe my purpose as a student is to encourage others to become active community members and motivate them to reach new heights. As a student of the University of California, I will contribute my understanding of the human condition and student motivation to help strengthen student relationships within the campus and throughout the community.
附：中文译文
人类赖以生存的相互依存现象，塑造了几个世纪的人类文明。然而，我觉得，今天的年轻人正在慢慢地与他们的社区脱节。在过去的几年里，人际关系让我很感兴趣，目睹同龄人的冷漠促使我担任各种领导职务，以激励他们完成社区服务并成为社会的活跃成员。
在九年级开始前不到一年，我的表弟和密友因癌症去世，在感情的大杂烩中，我没有在情感上处理任何死亡。然而，一个简单的故事帮助我处理了这些死亡事件并采取了行动。
直到我在大一读了 Leo Buscaglia 的 The Fall of Freddy the Leaf 之前，我从未完全意识到人类之间的相互依赖程度。这个寓言是关于一片随季节变化的叶子，最后在冬天死去，意识到他的目的是帮助树茁壮成长。读完之后，我对生命的轮回有所启迪，并意识到我的行为对他人的巨大影响。
去年，我加入了美国癌症协会的生命接力活动，这是一个 24 小时的接力步行马拉松，旨在为癌症研究筹集资金并提高人们对癌症早期发现的认识。我在学校组建了一个团队，召集了 30 名学生和监护人，并为此筹集了 800 美元。我看着每个学生与我们团队中的其他学生和凤凰城社区的成员建立了友谊。今年，我让一个团队与全校 95 名成员的团队一起参加了生命接力赛，我们筹集了 2,900 美元用于治疗癌症。起初，组长只由我的顾问组成。但是，我得到了管理员的支持。我每天花了一个多小时准备活动，这一切都值得！
Sonora Eagles 是不同年级、种族、社会经济背景和教育能力的学生。我们在志愿服务的同时开玩笑和踢足球。最重要的时刻发生在当晚的灯饰仪式上，纪念过去和现在的癌症患者。我们整个团队聚集在一起，我请人们分享他们是如何受到癌症的影响的。当我穿过人群，他们的脸被烛光照亮，他们的脸颊被洁净的泪水打湿，我意识到我对他们的影响，我正在实现的目的；但最重要的是，我意识到他们对我的影响。索诺拉老鹰队是我处理亲人死于癌症的手段。
生命接力的主题是治愈的希望。通过这次作为领导者的经历，我开始意识到，作为一个社区，我们一起希望，一起梦想，一起工作，一起成功。这是相互依存的现象，是生命的相互联系，是人类存在的关键原因。我通过创办美国癌症协会青年的索诺拉高中分会来延续这一势头，这是一个致力于青年参与和美国癌症协会多个方面的俱乐部，包括最近的亚利桑那州第 45 号提案。
我们每个人离开时都会找到一份遗产，因为我们要实现我们的人生目标。我相信我作为一名学生的目的是鼓励其他人成为活跃的社区成员并激励他们达到新的高度。作为加州大学的一名学生，我将贡献我对人类状况和学生动机的理解，以帮助加强校园内和整个社区的学生关系。
College essay 范文-康奈尔大学
My fingers know instinctively, without a thought. They turn the dial, just as they have hundreds of times before, until a soft, metallic click echoes into my eardrum and triggers their unconscious stop. I exultantly thrust open my locker door, exposing its deepest bowels candidly to the wide halls of the high school. The bright lights shine back, brashly revealing every crevice, nook, and cranny, gleaming across its scintillating, bare surfaces. On this first day of senior year, I set out upon my task. I procure an ordinary plastic grocery bag from my backpack. The contents inside collectively represent everything about me in high school – they tell a story, one all about me.
I reach in and let my fingers trail around the surfaces of each object. I select my first prey arbitrarily, and as I raise my hand up to eye level, I closely examine this chosen one. A miniature Flamenco dancer stares back at me from the confines of the 3-D rectangular magnet, half popping out as if willing herself to come to life. Instantly, my mind transports me back a few summers before, when I tapped my own heels to traditional music in Spain. I am reminded of my thirst to travel, to explore new cultures utterly different from my familiar home in Modesto, California. I have experienced study abroad in Spain, visited my father’s hometown in China five times, and traveled to many other places such as Paris. As a result, I have developed a restlessness inside me, a need to move on from four years in the same high school, to take advantage of diverse opportunities whenever possible, and to meet interesting people.
I take out the next magnet from my plastic bag. This one shows a panoramic view of the city of Santa Barbara, California. Here, I recall spending six weeks in my glory, not only studying and learning, but actually pursuing new knowledge to add to the repertoire of mankind. I could have easily chosen to spend my summer lazing about; in fact, my parents tried to persuade me into taking a break. Instead, I chose to do advanced molecular biology research at Stanford University. I wanted to immerse myself in my passion for biology and dip into the infinitely rich possibilities of my mind. This challenge was so rewarding to me, while at the same time I had the most fun of my life, because I was able to live with people who shared the same kind of drive and passion as I did.
After sticking up my magnets on the locker door, I ran my fingers across the bottom of the bag, and I realized that one remained. It was a bold, black square, with white block letters proclaiming my motto, “Live the Life You Imagine.” In my four years at Cornell University, I will certainly continue to live life as I imagine, adding my own flavor to the Cornell community, while taking away invaluable experiences of my own.
附：中文译文
我的手指本能地知道，不假思索。他们转动拨号盘，就像他们以前做过数百次一样，直到我的耳膜里回荡着柔软的金属咔哒声，触发了他们无意识的停止。我兴高采烈地推开我的储物柜门，将它最深处的内脏坦诚地暴露在高中宽阔的大厅里。明亮的灯光反射回来，粗暴地露出每一个缝隙、角落和缝隙，在它闪闪发光的光秃秃的表面上闪闪发光。在大四的第一天，我开始了我的任务。我从背包里买了一个普通的塑料购物袋。里面的内容共同代表了我在高中的一切——它们讲述了一个故事，一个关于我的故事。
我伸手进去，让我的手指在每个物体的表面上滑动。我任意选择我的第一个猎物，当我将手举到视线水平时，我仔细检查了这个选择的猎物。一个微型的弗拉门戈舞者从 3-D 矩形磁铁的范围内盯着我，半跳出来，好像愿意自己活过来。瞬间，我的思绪把我带回了几年前的夏天，当时我踩着自己的脚跟听西班牙的传统音乐。我想起了我对旅行的渴望，去探索与我在加利福尼亚州莫德斯托熟悉的家完全不同的新文化。我经历了西班牙的留学经历，五次访问了我父亲在中国的家乡，还去过巴黎等许多其他地方。结果，我内心产生了不安，需要从同一所高中的四年中继续前进，
我从塑料袋里取出下一块磁铁。这张照片展示了加利福尼亚州圣巴巴拉市的全景。在这里，我回忆起在我的荣耀中度过的六个星期，不仅是学习和学习，而且实际上是在追求新知识以增加人类的曲目。我本可以很容易地选择在我的夏天懒洋洋地度过；事实上，我的父母试图说服我休息一下。相反，我选择在斯坦福大学进行高级分子生物学研究。我想沉浸在对生物学的热情中，沉浸在我脑海中无限丰富的可能性中。这个挑战对我来说是非常有益的，同时我也享受到了我一生中最有趣的事情，因为我能够与和我有着同样动力和激情的人一起生活。
将磁铁贴在储物柜门上后，我用手指抚过包的底部，我意识到还剩下一个。这是一个大胆的黑色正方形，上面有白色的大写字母，宣扬着我的座右铭：“过你想象的生活”。在康奈尔大学的四年里，我一定会继续过我想象的生活，为康奈尔社区增添我自己的味道，同时带走我自己的宝贵经验。
College essay 范文：西北大学
As I sip a mug of hot chocolate on a dreary winter’s day, I am already planning in my mind what I will do the next summer. I briefly ponder the traditional routes, such as taking a job or spending most of the summer at the beach. However, I know that I want to do something unique. I am determined to even surpass my last summer, in which I spent one month with a host family in Egypt and twelve days at a leadership conference in New York City The college courses I have taken at Oregon State University since the summer after 7th grade will no longer provide the kind of challenge I seek.
Six months later, I step off the airplane to find myself surrounded by palm trees, with a view of the open-air airport. I chuckle to myself about the added bonus of good weather, but I know I have come to Palo Alto, California, with a much higher purpose in mind. I will spend six weeks here in my glory, not only studying and learning, but actually pursuing new knowledge to add to the repertoire of mankind. Through the Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program, I will earn college credit by conducting original molecular biology research, writing my own research paper, and presenting my findings in a research symposium.
I decided to spend my summer doing research because I knew that I liked scientific thought, and that I would passionately throw myself into any new challenge. I always want to know more – to probe deeper into the laws of the universe, to explore the power and beauty of nature, to solve the most complicated problems. I have an insatiable curiosity and a desire to delve deeper down in the recesses of my intellect. At the Summer Research Program, I found out how much I enjoy thinking critically, solving problems, and applying my knowledge to the real world.
While pursuing research in California, I was also able to meet many similarly motivated, interesting people from across the United States and abroad. As I learned about their unique lifestyles, I also shared with them the diverse perspectives I have gained from my travel abroad and my Chinese cultural heritage. I will never forget the invaluable opportunity I had to explore California along with these bright people.
I could have easily chosen to spend that summer the traditional way; in fact, my parents even tried to persuade me into taking a break. Instead, I chose to do molecular biology research at Stanford University. I wanted to immerse myself in my passion for biology and dip into the infinitely rich possibilities of my mind. This challenge was so rewarding to me, while at the same time I had the most fun of my life, because I was able to live with people who share the same kind of drive and passion as I do.
附：中文译文
当我在一个沉闷的冬日啜饮一杯热巧克力时，我已经在心里计划着明年夏天要做什么。我简要地思考了传统路线，例如找工作或在海滩度过大部分夏天。但是，我知道我想做一些独特的事情。我决心要超越去年夏天，我在埃及的寄宿家庭待了一个月，在纽约市的领导会议上待了十二天。我在俄勒冈州立大学七年级后的夏天所修的大学课程将不再提供我寻求的那种挑战。
六个月后，我走下飞机，发现自己被棕榈树包围，可以看到露天机场。我为好天气带来的额外好处自嘲一笑，但我知道我来到加利福尼亚的帕洛阿尔托，心中有一个更高的目标。我将在这里度过六个星期的荣耀时光，不仅学习和学习，而且实际上追求新知识以增加人类的曲目。通过斯坦福大学医学院暑期研究计划，我将通过进行原创分子生物学研究、撰写自己的研究论文以及在研究研讨会上展示我的发现来获得大学学分。
我决定用我的暑假做研究，因为我知道我喜欢科学思想，而且我会热情地投入到任何新的挑战中。我一直想知道更多——更深入地探索宇宙的规律，探索自然的力量和美丽，解决最复杂的问题。我有一种永不满足的好奇心，渴望更深入地研究我的智力。在暑期研究计划中，我发现我非常喜欢批判性思考、解决问题以及将我的知识应用于现实世界。
在加利福尼亚从事研究的同时，我还结识了许多来自美国和国外的同样积极、有趣的人。在了解他们独特的生活方式的同时，我也与他们分享了我从国外旅行和中国文化传承中获得的不同观点。我永远不会忘记与这些聪明人一起探索加利福尼亚的宝贵机会。
我本可以很容易地选择以传统方式度过那个夏天。事实上，我的父母甚至试图说服我休息一下。相反，我选择在斯坦福大学做分子生物学研究。我想沉浸在对生物学的热情中，沉浸在我脑海中无限丰富的可能性中。这个挑战对我来说非常有意义，同时我也享受到了我一生中最快乐的时光，因为我能够与和我有着同样动力和激情的人一起生活。
College essay 范文：哈佛大学
When I turned twelve, my stepdad turned violent. He became a different person overnight, frequently getting into fights with my mom. I didn’t deal with it well, often crying to my mom’s disappointment, afraid that my life would undo itself in a matter of seconds. You might say that my upbringing was characterized by my parents morphing everyday objects into weapons and me trying to morph into the perfect white walls that stood unmoving while my family fell apart.
This period in my life is not a sob story, but rather, the origin story of my love of writing. During a fight once, my stepdad left the house to retrieve a baseball bat from his truck. He didn’t use it, but I’ll never forget the fear that he would, how close he’d gotten. And in that moment, I did not cry as I was prone to do, but I pulled out a book, and experienced a profound disappearance, one that would always make me associate reading with escapism and healing.
Soon I came to write, filling up loose ruled paper with words, writing in the dark when we didn’t have money to pay for electricity. And as I got older, I began to think that there must be others who were going through this, too. I tried to find them. I created an anonymous blog that centered what it meant for a teenager to find joy even as her life was in shambles. In this blog I kept readers updated with what I was learning, nightly yoga to release tension from the day and affirmations in the morning to counter the shame that was mounting as a result of witnessing weekly my inability to make things better at home.
At that time, I felt uncertain about who I was because I was different online than I was at home or even at school where I was editor of my high school literary journal. It took me a while to understand that I was not the girl who hid in the corner making herself small; I was the one who sought to connect with others who were dealing with the same challenges at home, thinking that maybe in our isolation we could come together. I was able to make enough from my blog to pay some bills in the house and give my mom the courage to kick my stepfather out. When he exited our home, I felt a wind go through it, the house exhaling a giant sigh of relief.
I know this is not the typical background of most students. Sharing my story with like-minded teens helped me understand what I have to offer: my perspective, my unrelenting optimism. Because even as I’ve seen the dark side of what people are capable of, I have also been a star witness to joy and love. I do not experience despair for long because I know that this is just one chapter in a long novel, one that will change the hearts of those who come across it. And I can’t wait to see how it will end.
附：中文译文
当我十二岁时，我的继父变得暴力。他一夜之间变了一个人，经常和我妈妈吵架。我没有很好地处理它，经常哭着让妈妈失望，害怕我的生活会在几秒钟内消失。你可能会说，我的成长过程的特点是我的父母将日常物品变成了武器，而我试图变成完美的白色墙壁，当我的家人分崩离析时，这些墙壁一动不动。
我生命中的这段时间不是一个哭泣的故事，而是我热爱写作的起源故事。有一次打架时，我的继父离开家从他的卡车上取回一个棒球棒。他没有使用它，但我永远不会忘记他会使用它的恐惧，他有多接近。而那一刻，我并没有像往常那样哭泣，而是拿出一本书，经历了一场深刻的消失，让我总把阅读与逃避现实和治愈联系起来。
很快我就来写字了，在松散的格子纸上填满文字，在我们没有钱付电费的时候在黑暗中写字。随着年龄的增长，我开始认为肯定还有其他人也在经历这种情况。我试图找到他们。我创建了一个匿名博客，重点关注青少年在生活一团糟的情况下寻找快乐的意义。在这个博客中，我让读者了解我正在学习的内容，夜间瑜伽以释放白天的紧张情绪，并在早上进行肯定，以消除由于每周目睹我无法在家中让事情变得更好而不断增加的耻辱。
那时，我对自己是谁感到不确定，因为我在网上和在家里，甚至在我担任高中文学杂志编辑的学校里都不一样。我花了一段时间才明白，我不是那个躲在角落里把自己变小的女孩；我是那个试图与在家中面临同样挑战的人建立联系的人，我认为也许在我们孤立的情况下，我们可以走到一起。我能够从我的博客中赚到足够的钱来支付家里的一些账单，并让我妈妈有勇气把我继父踢出去。当他离开我们家时，我感到一阵风吹过，整个房子都松了一口气。
我知道这不是大多数学生的典型背景。与志同道合的青少年分享我的故事有助于我了解我必须提供什么：我的观点，我不懈的乐观。因为即使我看到了人们能力的阴暗面，我也是欢乐和爱的明星见证人。我不会长期感到绝望，因为我知道这只是一部长篇小说中的一章，它将改变那些遇到它的人的心。我迫不及待地想看看它会如何结束。
College essay 范文：耶鲁大学
I was a straight A student until I got to high school, where my calm evenings cooking dinner for my siblings turned into hours watching videos, followed by the frantic attempt to finish homework around 4 am. When I got an F on a chemistry pop quiz my mom sat me down to ask me what was happening. I told her I couldn’t focus or keep track of all my materials for classes. I thought she would call me lazy, accuse me of wasting the gift of being an American that she and my father gave me. Instead, she looked around at the walls covered in sticky notes, the index cards scattered on the computer desk, the couch, the table, and she said, “How are your friends managing it?”
It turned out while my peers were struggling to juggle the demands of high school it didn’t seem like they were working as hard to complete simple tasks. They only had to put things in a planner, not make sure the deadlines were placed in multiple locations, physical and digital. At my next doctor’s appointment my mom mentioned that I had a learning problem, but the doctor shook his head and said that I didn’t seem to have ADHD. I was just procrastinating, it’s natural.
My mom took off from her grocery store job to take me to two more appointments to ask about ADHD, the term the doctor had used, but other doctors were not willing to listen. I had As in every class except for World Literature. But I knew something was wrong. After our third doctor visit, I worked with the librarian after school to sift through research on ADHD and other learning disabilities until we came across the term executive functioning. Armed with knowledge, we went to a new doctor, and before my mom could insist that we get testing or get referred to a specialist, the doctor handed us a signed referral. She asked me about the folder in my hand. I told her it was full of my research. My mom mentioned that some doctors had refused to refer us to a specialist because my grades were too high. “It’s because we’re Asian,” she added.
I was shocked at this revelation. The last three doctors had mumbled something about grades but had never said a thing about race. Before I could deny it fervently, the doctor, who was from Taiwan, nodded sympathetically. She said it’s common to miss learning disabilities among different races due to biases. And some adolescents learn to mask symptoms by building systems. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. I believe you should get tested.” My mom thanked her fervently and the doctor said to her, “She’s going to be a great lawyer.”
The semester following the confirmation of my learning disability diagnosis was challenging to say the least. My school switched me out of all of my IB courses to “accommodate my special needs,” and I went back to the library, working with the librarian with numerous index cards and stacks of books to make a case for discrimination. The librarian, who had become my close confidante, introduced me to an academic tutor who specialized in learning disabilities and taught me skills like using redundancy and time management to make it easier for me to grapple with moving parts. He noted that with ADHD, the problem wasn’t always the inability to focus but rather the difficulty focusing without adequate perceived reward. It wasn’t that I was not capable but that I had to make myself sufficiently interested or reiterate why something mattered. This reframe changed my life, and when I came back to the library with my new schedule in hand, the most advanced courses my school had to offer, the librarian said, “You’re going to make a great lawyer.”
I smiled and said, “I’ve heard that before.”
附：中文译文
在我上高中之前，我一直是个全优的学生，在那里，我平静的晚上为我的兄弟姐妹做饭变成了几个小时观看视频，然后在凌晨 4 点左右疯狂地尝试完成作业。当我的化学测验得了 F 时，我妈妈让我坐下来问我发生了什么事。我告诉她我无法集中注意力或跟踪我所有的课程材料。我以为她会说我懒惰，指责我浪费了她和我父亲给我的作为美国人的礼物。她转头看了看贴满便签纸的墙壁，电脑桌、沙发、桌子上散落的索引卡，她说：“你的朋友们是怎么处理的？”
事实证明，当我的同龄人努力应对高中的要求时，他们似乎并没有努力完成简单的任务。他们只需要将事情放在计划器中，而不是确保最后期限被放置在多个位置，物理的和数字的。在我下次去看医生时，我妈妈提到我有学习问题，但医生摇摇头说我似乎没有多动症。我只是拖延，这很自然。
我妈妈从她在杂货店的工作离职，带我去另外两次约会，询问有关 ADHD 的问题，这是医生使用的术语，但其他医生不愿意听。除了世界文学，我在每一门课上都得了A。但我知道有些不对劲。在我们第三次看医生之后，我在放学后与图书管理员一起筛选了关于 ADHD 和其他学习障碍的研究，直到我们遇到了执行功能这个词。有了知识，我们去看了一位新医生，在我妈妈坚持要我们进行测试或转诊给专科医生之前，医生给了我们一份签名的转诊信。她问我手上的文件夹。我告诉她这充满了我的研究。我妈妈提到一些医生拒绝把我们推荐给专科医生，因为我的成绩太高了。“这是因为我们是亚洲人，”她补充道。
我对这个启示感到震惊。最后三位医生喃喃自语着关于成绩的事情，但从未说过种族的事情。我还没来得及否认，来自台湾的医生就同情地点了点头。她说，由于偏见而错过不同种族之间的学习障碍是很常见的。一些青少年学会通过建立系统来掩盖症状。“你不必向我证明什么。我相信你应该接受测试。” 我妈妈热切地感谢她，医生对她说：“她会成为一名伟大的律师。”
在确认我的学习障碍诊断后的那个学期至少可以说是具有挑战性的。为了“满足我的特殊需求”，我的学校让我退出了所有的 IB 课程，然后我回到图书馆，与图书管理员一起拿着大量索引卡和成堆的书籍为歧视辩护。图书馆员，他是我的知己，将我介绍给了一位专门研究学习障碍的学术导师，并教我使用冗余和时间管理等技能，使我更容易应对移动部件。他指出，对于多动症，问题并不总是无法集中注意力，而是在没有足够感知奖励的情况下难以集中注意力。并不是我没有能力，而是我必须让自己足够感兴趣或重申为什么某事很重要。
我笑着说：“我听说过。”
College essay 范文：宾夕法尼亚大学
My brother and I are exactly one year and one day apart. We look like twins — people confuse us — but we couldn’t be any more different. As children we wore the same clothes, received the same haircut. By the time we got to middle school it was clear that my older brother preferred quiet, indoor activities, while I was a born performer who preferred the theatrical, even when off stage. I took his relative silence to be disinterest and found it offensive. To the chagrin of my parents, we simply didn’t get along.
I didn’t mind having a tense relationship with my brother because I was involved at school. In particular I delved into the world of musical theater in addition to regularly singing solos at our high school choir concerts. I spent hours after school preparing for shows. And when I came home, I practiced as well, falling into a rigorous routine I thought I needed to remain at my best and be competitive for parts.
My bedroom was far enough from my parents so as not to disturb them, but space to practice became an issue with my brother because, well, we shared a room. Imagine him meditating on a window seat while I am belting, trying to sustain a high note. Needless to say, this created tension between us. From my point of view he could have meditated in the living room or while I was at practice, but he wasn’t willing to budge. From his point of view, high school was hard enough without the constant sound of Glee arrangements.
At the start of the semester, I practiced “Circle of Life” for a concert audition. While I could sing it fine in its original key, I had a hard time singing it along with the music because the arrangement of the song we were working on had a key change that was out of my range. I couldn’t change key without my voice cracking as I switched to a head voice. This was the first time I struggled to learn a song, and I was a week from the audition. I was irritable in that period and stopped practicing, declaring I had reached the height of my singing career. My brother experiencing quiet when I got home for the first time in years.
After a couple days of this, when I got home, he asked me to join him in meditation. And feeling my anger at my inability to navigate this song gracefully, I did. It was difficult at first. I was trying to clear my head. Later my brother told me that wasn’t the point. When your mind drifts away, you simply come back, no judgment. I liked the sound of that, and it became my new philosophy. I kept trying at the song, no longer getting angry at myself, and just in time for the audition I was able to maintain power in my voice despite the key change. It was important for me to learn you don’t have to always get everything right the first time and that good things come with continual effort. As for my brother, we no longer argue. I now understand why he prefers the quiet.
附：中文译文
我和弟弟正好相差一年零一天。我们看起来像双胞胎——人们把我们搞糊涂了——但我们已经完全不同了。小时候，我们穿同样的衣服，剪同样的发型。到我们上中学的时候，很明显我的哥哥更喜欢安静的室内活动，而我是一个天生的表演者，更喜欢戏剧，即使在舞台下也是如此。我认为他的相对沉默是不感兴趣的，觉得这很冒犯。令我父母懊恼的是，我们根本相处不来。
我不介意与我的兄弟关系紧张，因为我参与了学校。除了定期在我们的高中合唱团音乐会上独唱外，我尤其深入研究了音乐剧的世界。放学后我花了几个小时准备演出。当我回到家时，我也进行了练习，进入了一个严格的例行程序，我认为我需要保持最佳状态并在部分比赛中保持竞争力。
我的卧室离我父母很远，以免打扰他们，但练习的空间对我的兄弟来说成了一个问题，因为，好吧，我们共用一个房间。想象他在我系腰带时坐在靠窗的座位上冥想，试图维持一个高音。不用说，这在我们之间造成了紧张。从我的角度来看，他本可以在客厅或我练习时冥想，但他不愿意让步。在他看来，没有 Glee 安排的不断声音，高中就已经够难了。
在学期开始的时候，我为一场音乐会试镜练习了“生命循环”。虽然我可以用原来的调很好地唱出来，但我很难把它和音乐一起唱，因为我们正在制作的歌曲的编曲有一个超出我能力范围的调变化。当我切换到头部声音时，我无法在没有声音破裂的情况下改变键。这是我第一次努力学习一首歌，距离试听还有一周的时间。那段时间我脾气暴躁，停止了练习，宣称自己达到了歌唱事业的巅峰。当我多年来第一次回到家时，我的兄弟感到很安静。
几天后，当我回到家时，他让我和他一起冥想。我对我无法优雅地驾驭这首歌感到愤怒，我做到了。一开始很难。我试图理清头绪。后来我哥哥告诉我这不是重点。当你的思绪飘远时，你只是回来，没有判断力。我喜欢它的声音，它成为了我的新理念。我一直在尝试这首歌，不再对自己生气，而且在试听的时候，尽管换了键，我仍然能够保持声音的力量。对我来说，重要的是要知道你不必总是第一次就把所有事情都做好，好的事情伴随着不断的努力。至于我的兄弟，我们不再争论。我现在明白他为什么喜欢安静了。
College essay 范文：布朗大学
My parents are aerospace engineers, humble even as their work helps our society explore new frontiers. They believe that you make a stand through the work that you do, not what you say. This is what they taught me. This is what I believed until my sophomore year when I was confronted with a moment where I could not stay quiet.
I live outside of a major city in a small, rural town that’s majority white but for a small South Asian population. My high school wasn’t diverse by any standards. Some students were openly the children of skinheads. After a racist exchange with a student who insulted her and refused to sit at the same lunch table, my best friend, who was Muslim, did not stand for the pledge of allegiance in homeroom the next day.
I hadn’t heard about the encounter that sparked this move on her part and was surprised when she didn’t stand up beside me, hand against her heart, mouth chanting an oath. She hadn’t mentioned any mounting discomfort to me, nor had I noticed anything. Unlike my “patriotic” peers, I was less upset by her refusal to stand up for the pledge of allegiance and more upset that she didn’t share with me that she was hurting and what she was going to do to protest how she was treated because of her beliefs and the color of her skin.
She was suspended for insubordination and when I called her, she said that surely in this situation I might find a way to think of more than my own feelings. I felt ashamed. It didn’t even occur to me to seek to understand what was behind her decision in the first place. I apologized, asking how to best support her. She said it was just important that I listen and understand that she could not thrive in an environment that promoted sameness. She spoke to me with a vulnerability I had never heard before. At the end of our conversation, I apologized profusely. She said she did not need my words and what she needed from me was to take a stand.
This was the opposite of the belief my parents drilled in me. I felt conflicted at first, as if by speaking about the situation I was doing something wrong. However, my friend had to deal with a reality that I did not. And perhaps taking a stand would allow my institution and everyone in it to learn to be a more inclusive space for everyone. Maybe there was a way to take a stand and to do the necessary work to change things.
I started a petition with my friend’s permission to end her suspension and to take disciplinary action instead on the student who had taken racist actions in the first place. Of the 1000 students at my high school, over 200 signed, a number that far exceeded my expectation. When I shared the results with my friend, she said to me, “Because of who you are, you will always have supporters. Use your power to do good.”
Since then, I have tried to be more aware that not everyone experiences comfort in the same environments that I do. Rather than assume everyone feels safe and supported, it’s best to create space to listen and to ask how you can be supportive. My friend and I created a club to foster cross-cultural dialogue. In the past year two other clubs of its kind began at other local schools. More than anything I am proud that I have learned to be a better friend and a more thoughtful community member in a way that honors who I am and what I value.
附：中文译文
我的父母是航空工程师，即使他们的工作帮助我们的社会探索新领域，他们也很谦虚。他们相信你通过你所做的工作来表明立场，而不是你所说的。这是他们教给我的。这是我一直相信的，直到我大二的时候，我遇到了一个无法保持安静的时刻。
我住在一个主要城市以外的一个小乡村小镇，该小镇以白人为主，但南亚人口很少。从任何标准来看，我的高中都不是多样化的。一些学生公开地是光头党的孩子。在与一名侮辱她并拒绝坐在同一张午餐桌上的学生进行种族主义交流后，我最好的穆斯林朋友第二天没有在班主任宣誓效忠。
我没有听说过引发她这一举动的遭遇，当她没有站在我旁边，手放在她的心脏上，嘴里念着誓言时，我感到很惊讶。她没有向我提到任何越来越多的不适，我也没有注意到任何事情。与我的“爱国”同龄人不同，我对她拒绝为效忠誓言挺身而出并不那么沮丧，而对她没有与我分享她受到伤害以及她将如何抗议自己受到的对待方式感到更加不安因为她的信仰和她的肤色。
她因不服从而被停职，当我打电话给她时，她说在这种情况下，我肯定会找到一种方法来考虑比我自己的感受更多的东西。我感到很惭愧。我什至没有想到要寻求了解她的决定背后的原因。我道歉，问如何最好地支持她。她说重要的是我要倾听并理解她无法在一个提倡千篇一律的环境中茁壮成长。她带着我以前从未听过的脆弱和我说话。在我们谈话的最后，我连连道歉。她说她不需要我的话，她需要我的就是表明立场。
这与我父母在我身上培养的信念相反。起初我感到很矛盾，好像在谈论我做错了什么的情况。然而，我的朋友不得不面对一个我没有面对的现实。也许采取立场会让我的机构和其中的每个人学会成为一个对每个人都更具包容性的空间。也许有一种方法可以表明立场并做必要的工作来改变事情。
在我朋友的许可下，我开始了一份请愿书，以结束她的停学，并对最初采取种族主义行动的学生采取纪律处分。在我高中的 1000 名学生中，有 200 多人签名，这个数字远远超出了我的预期。当我与朋友分享结果时，她对我说：“因为你是谁，你总会有支持者。用你的力量做好事。”
从那时起，我一直试图更加意识到，并不是每个人都能在与我相同的环境中体验到舒适感。与其假设每个人都感到安全和受到支持，不如创造空间来倾听并询问您如何提供支持。我和我的朋友创建了一个俱乐部来促进跨文化对话。在过去的一年里，其他两个类似的俱乐部在当地的其他学校开始了。最让我感到自豪的是，我学会了成为更好的朋友和更体贴的社区成员，以尊重我的身份和我的价值。
College essay 范文：华盛顿大学（圣路易斯）
I held my breath as my steady hands gently nestled the crumbly roots of the lettuce plant into the soil trench that I shoveled moments before. Rainwater and sweat dripped from my brow as I meticulously patted and pressed the surrounding earth, stamping the leafy green creature into its new home. After rubbing the gritty soil off of my hands, I looked at Brian, a co-volunteer and nonverbal 20-year-old with autism, who extended his arm for a high-five. In the year that I’ve been working with him, I’ve watched him revel in planting, nurturing, and eventually harvesting his veggies, especially the grape tomatoes, which we enjoy eating fresh off the vine! Upon walking to the next row of hollowed cavities, we were not contemplating the lengthy work that lay ahead, but rather, we sought to liberate the helpless lettuces, imprisoned in produce cartons that were too small for them to grow in. Finally, after taking a step back to admire the day’s last plant, my chest swelled as a wave of contentment flushed through my body.
My love for gardening began when I moved to Georgia during my sophomore year. In the time I’ve spent learning how to garden, I’ve developed an affinity for watching my vegetables grow to maturity, eager to be harvested and sold at the Saturday market. Though many see gardening as tedious busywork, I find it meditative, as I lose track of time while combining peat moss and soil in the garden’s compost mixer. Saturday morning garden work has become a weekend ritual, ridding me of all extraneous responsibilities. My body goes into autopilot as I let my mind wander. I don’t actively focus on focusing, but rather I observe myself internally digest the week’s events. I’m a bystander to fireworks of thought that explode in my mind as my perception of important matters becomes trivial. Sometimes, it’s the physics midterm that suddenly seems less daunting or the deadlines I need to meet for my Spanish project that push back farther. Other times, I contemplate alternative endings to conversations or make perfect sense of the calculus answer that was at the tip of my tongue in class.
I met Brian, a close friend of mine who also basks in the tranquility of nature, through my gardening endeavors. While we aren’t able to communicate verbally, we speak the language of earth, water, peat, and seedlings. He doesn’t speak with words, but his face tells stories of newly found purpose and acceptance, a pleasant contrast to the typical condescension and babying he feels by those who don’t think he’s capable of independent thought.
Throughout my time in the garden with Brian, I began to understand that he, like everyone, has a particular method of communicating. There are the obvious spoken languages, body languages, facial expressions, and interactions we share on a day-to-day basis that reflect who we are and communicate what we represent. Brian expresses himself through various manifestations of unspoken language that he uses to signal how he feels or what he wants. But the nuanced combinations of different methods of communicating are oftentimes overlooked, raising a barrier to mutual understanding that prevents one from being capable of truly connecting with others. I began to understand that in order to reach people, I have to speak in their language, be it verbally or otherwise. Working with Brian over the past year has made me more aware that people can have difficulty expressing themselves. I found that I can positively lead people if I can communicate with them, whether on the track or in my Jewish youth group discussions. As I move into the next phases of my life, I hope to bring these skills with me because, in order to effectuate positive change in my community, I learned that I must speak in the language of those around me. Those are the words Brian taught me.
附：中文译文
我屏住呼吸，稳定的双手轻轻地将莴苣易碎的根部依偎在我刚刚铲过的土沟里。雨水和汗水从我的额头滴落，我小心翼翼地拍打压着周围的泥土，把绿叶生物踩进了它的新家。擦掉我手上的沙土后，我看着布莱恩，一个 20 岁的自闭症志愿者和不说话的人，他伸出手臂来击掌。在我和他一起工作的那一年里，我看到他陶醉于种植、培育和最终收获他的蔬菜，尤其是葡萄番茄，我们喜欢从葡萄藤上摘下来新鲜吃！走到下一排空洞的时候，我们并没有考虑前面的漫长工作，而是试图解放无助的生菜，
我对园艺的热爱始于我大二时搬到乔治亚州。在我学习如何园艺的时间里，我对看着我的蔬菜长到成熟产生了浓厚的兴趣，渴望在星期六的市场上收获和出售。虽然许多人认为园艺是乏味的忙碌工作，但我发现它是一种冥想，因为我在花园的堆肥搅拌机中混合泥炭藓和土壤时会忘记时间。周六早上的花园工作已成为周末的例行公事，让我摆脱了所有无关的责任。当我让我的思绪徘徊时，我的身体进入了自动驾驶仪。我不会主动专注于专注，而是观察自己在内部消化本周的事件。当我对重要事物的感知变得微不足道时，我是思想烟火的旁观者。有时，是物理期中考试突然看起来不那么令人生畏了，或者是我需要为我的西班牙项目赶上的最后期限。其他时候，我会考虑对话的替代结局，或者完全理解课堂上我舌尖上的微积分答案。
通过我的园艺工作，我认识了我的一位密友布莱恩，他也沉浸在大自然的宁静中。虽然我们无法进行口头交流，但我们会说泥土、水、泥炭和幼苗的语言。他不说话，但他的脸讲述了新发现的目标和接受的故事，这与那些认为他没有独立思考能力的人所感受到的典型的屈尊俯就和婴儿形成了令人愉快的对比。
在我和布莱恩一起在花园里的整个过程中，我开始明白他和每个人一样，有一种特殊的交流方式。我们日常分享的明显口语、肢体语言、面部表情和互动反映了我们是谁，并传达了我们所代表的东西。布赖恩通过各种不言而喻的语言来表达自己，他用这些语言来表达他的感受或他想要什么。但是，不同沟通方式的微妙组合常常被忽视，这给相互理解造成了障碍，阻碍了一个人真正与他人建立联系。我开始明白，为了接触人们，我必须用他们的语言说话，无论是口头还是其他方式。过去一年与布赖恩的合作让我更加意识到人们可能难以表达自己。我发现如果我能与他们交流，无论是在赛道上还是在我的犹太青年小组讨论中，我都能积极地领导人们。当我进入人生的下一个阶段时，我希望将这些技能带到我身边，因为为了在我的社区产生积极的变化，我了解到我必须用周围人的语言说话。这些是布赖恩教给我的话。我知道我必须用周围人的语言说话。这些是布赖恩教给我的话。我知道我必须用周围人的语言说话。这些是布赖恩教给我的话。
