Harvard PS范文
个人陈述不需要惊天动地的成就，
有时候，一次尴尬的购物经历，
就足够写出身份、成长和价值观。
能把“不一样”写得坦然又自豪，本身，
就是最强的自信来源。
情境引入与冲突抛出
I’m hiding behind the swing door of the dressing room when I text my mom just one word: “Traumatizing!” I’m on a bra-shopping expedition with my grandmother, and just in case it’s not abundantly clear, this trip was Not. My. Idea. Bra shopping has always been shrouded in mystery for me, and growing up in a household with two moms and two younger sisters hasn’t helped one bit: One of my moms doesn’t wear bras; the other proudly proclaims that her bras are older than me. A two-mom family without the faintest idea what a teenage girl needs—par for the course around here.
我躲在试衣间的推拉门后给妈妈发了条短信，只写了字：“太可怕了！”此刻我正陪祖母选购内衣——若还看不出来的话，这次购物绝对不是我的主意。买内衣对我而言始终充满谜团，而成长于两个妈妈和两个妹妹的家庭更雪上加霜：其中一位妈妈从不穿内衣；另一位则自豪宣称她的内衣比我还年长。在这个对少女需求一无所知的双亲家庭里——这般光景早已司空见惯。
So when my 78-year-old grandmother volunteered to take me bra shopping, my moms jumped at the chance. Here I was with my frugal grandmother, outlet-shopping among the racks of intimates that aren’t sized quite right, that have too much padding or too little…You can see my predicament, and it’s no surprise that my younger self was confused by the words “wire-free,” “concealing petals,” “balconette.”
所以当我78岁的祖母主动提出带我去买胸罩时，我妈妈们立刻抓住这个机会。我跟随节俭的祖母来到奥特莱斯，穿梭于那些尺寸总是不太合适、垫料过厚或过薄的内衣货架之间……你能想象我的窘境，年幼的我被“无钢圈”、‘隐形花瓣’、“露背式”这些词弄得一头雾水，也就不足为奇了。
The saleswoman called to my grandmother from across the store, “What cup size is she?”
店员隔着整个商店朝我祖母喊道：“她穿多大罩杯？”
“I don’t know,” my grandmother screamed back. “Can you measure her?”
“我不知道，”我奶奶尖叫着回道，“你能给她量量吗？”
差异呈现与价值冲突
Measure me? They have got to be kidding.
量我？他们肯定是在开玩笑。
“I just don’t want her to feel different,” I heard my grandmother say later that day. “Kids this age can be so mean.”
“我只是不希望她觉得自己与众不同，”那天晚些时候，我听见祖母这样说，“这个年纪的孩子可真会刻薄。”
I love my grandmother, but she believes the world is harsh and unforgiving, and she thinks that the only path to happiness is fitting in. My grandmother had taken me bra shopping in a last-ditch attempt to make me “normal” because I was entering 9th grade at Deerfield in a few weeks, and she worried that I would stick out worse than the underwire of a bargain basement bra.
我爱我的祖母，但她总觉得这世界冷酷无情，认为融入群体才是通往幸福的唯一道路。几周后我就要进入迪尔菲尔德中学读九年级了，祖母为了让我显得“正常”，最后一次带我去买胸罩——她担心我会像廉价胸罩的钢圈那样格外显眼。
It’s true—I’m not your typical Deerfield student. I’m a day student with lesbian moms who have several fewer zeros on their bank account balance than typical Deerfield parents. I’m the kid with a congenital foot deformity, which means I literally can’t run, who will never be able to sprint across campus from classroom to classroom. I’m the kid with life-threatening food allergies to milk and tree nuts who can’t indulge in the pizza at swim team celebrations or the festive cake and ice cream during advisory meetings.
确实——我并非典型的迪尔菲尔德学生。我是走读生，有两位女同性恋母亲，她们的银行账户余额比普通迪尔菲尔德家长少好几个零。我天生足部畸形，这意味着我根本无法奔跑，永远无法在校园里从教室冲向教室。我是那个对牛奶和坚果有致命过敏反应的孩子，无法在游泳队庆功宴上享用披萨，也无法在导师会议期间品尝节日蛋糕和冰淇淋。
行动证明与自我定义
But fitting in was my grandmother’s worry, not mine. What my grandmother didn’t consider is that there’s no single way to fit in. I might be two minutes later to class than the sprinters, but I always arrive. I might have to explain to my friends what “having two moms” means, but I’ll never stop being thankful that Deerfield students are eager to lean in and understand. I may not be able to eat the food, but you can count on me to show up and celebrate.
但融入群体是祖母的忧虑，而非我的。她未曾想到的是，融入的方式本就不止一种。我或许比那些飞奔的同学迟到两分钟，但我永远会准时抵达。或许我需要向朋友解释“有两个妈妈”的含义，但我永远感激迪尔菲尔德的学生们如此热切地倾听与理解。我或许无法品尝那些食物，但你永远可以指望我准时出席，共同庆祝。
While I can’t run, I can swim and play water polo, and I can walk the campus giving Admissions tours. My family might not look like everyone else’s, but I can embrace those differences and write articles for the school newspaper or give a talk at “School Meeting,” sharing my family and my journey. Some of my closest friendships at Deerfield have grown from a willingness on both sides to embrace difference.
虽然我无法跑步，但我能游泳和打水球，还能带领新生参观校园。我的家庭或许与众不同，但我能拥抱这些差异，为校报撰写文章，或在“全体师生大会”上分享我的家庭故事与成长历程。在迪尔菲尔德，我最珍视的友谊正是源于彼此接纳差异的意愿。
On one of the first days of 9th grade, I sat down to write a “Deerfield Bucket List”—a list of experiences that I wanted to have during my four years in high school, including taking a Deerfield international trip and making the Varsity swim team. That list included thirteen items, and I’m eleven-thirteenths of the way there, not because I have the right bra, but because I’ve embraced the very thing that my grandmother was afraid of. Bra shopping is still shrouded in mystery for me, but I know that I am where I should be, I’m doing work that matters to me, and fitting in rarely crosses my mind.
初三开学不久，我坐下来写了一份“迪尔菲尔德愿望清单”——列出高中四年想完成的体验，包括参加迪尔菲尔德国际旅行和加入校游泳队。这份清单共有十三项，如今我已完成十一项。并非因为我找到了合适的胸罩，而是因为我拥抱了祖母曾畏惧的事物。选购内衣对我而言依然充满神秘感，但我深知自己正走在该走的路，做着真正重要的事，而融入群体这件事，早已鲜少萦绕心头。
