Yale耶鲁大学PS
这篇来自耶鲁大学的PS范文
通过自己在海滩上的独自漫步，讲述了从童年到成人的心路历程。🏖️
兴趣与早期经历
I was walking alone on the beach for the first time.
我第一次独自一人走在海滩上。
This beach and I were old acquaintances—I had tumbled and scurried through its sands since I was five years old. It had always been a place for indulgence in simple comforts, to relax, soak in sun and water, and reflect. But as I began to walk away from the loungers, I saw children patting sand castles together and, despite feeling a pang of nostalgia, did not feel inclined to join them, and instead kept walking. Something was off. I had a new perspective.
I sauntered over to the surf, and a flashback drifted in with it, of that time when I was swimming at a competition in Acapulco Bay: I was eleven and struggled to get my bearing amidst the thrash of limbs and looming waves. I bobbed up and down, tasting salt and gasping for breath while I clawed at the sea. But then, I realized I wasn’t sure of where I was going. I stopped, treaded water and stared at the finish line, in the distance amidst the wave crests.
我和这片海滩是老相识了，从五岁起，我就在它的沙滩上翻滚嬉戏。它一直是一个让人沉溺于简单舒适的地方，让人放松，让人沉浸在阳光和海水中，让人反思。但是，当我开始离开躺椅时，我看到孩子们在一起拍打沙堡，尽管感到一阵怀念，但我并不想加入他们的行列，而是继续往前走。有些不对劲。我有了新的看法。
我大步走到冲浪前，脑海中浮现出我在阿卡普尔科湾参加游泳比赛时的情景：那年我 11 岁，在四肢乱舞和波涛汹涌中挣扎着站稳脚跟。我上下晃动，一边尝着盐味，一边喘着粗气，一边在海面上抓挠。但后来，我意识到我不知道自己要去哪里。我停了下来，踩着水，盯着远处波峰中的终点线。
自我觉醒与转变
What froze me for an instant that time wasn’t the disorientation, it was my realization that I was alone in the sea, that it was up to me where I went and how I got there. I recognized how similar this walk was to then: I was the captain of my one-body ship. I wasn’t following my parents across the sand, or even within their sight—they had taught me how to swim. Now, how far did I want to walk?
那次，让我瞬间愣住的不是迷失方向，而是我意识到，在大海中，我是孤独的，我去哪里，怎么去，都取决于我自己。我意识到这次行走与当时是多么相似：我是我这艘单人船的船长。我没有跟着父母穿过沙滩，甚至没有在他们的视线之内--他们教会了我游泳。现在，我想走多远呢？
回忆与成长的启示
As I reminisced, I saw my classroom take shape around me like never before: in the vaguely sinusoidal imprint of the waves upon the shore; in the billowing breeze born from convective currents. Suddenly I overheard tourists, and it wasn’t just physics. Surely the exceptionally weak Mexican peso attracted many a foreigner. I saw the humble conch and cigar vendors of Mayan descent trying desperately to sell their wares, and it saddened me to see this symbol of the inequality that pervades Mexico.
当我回忆往事时，我看到我的课堂在我周围形成，这是前所未有的：在波浪在海岸上留下的隐约正弦印记中；在对流产生的波涛汹涌的微风中。突然间，我听到了游客的声音，这不仅仅是物理学的问题。当然，异常疲软的墨西哥比索吸引了许多外国人。我看到玛雅后裔卑微的海螺和雪茄小贩在拼命推销他们的商品，看到这种墨西哥普遍存在的不平等的象征，我感到非常难过。
An acute pain needled my foot. Looking down, instead of a regal shell like those I would scour the beach for before, I was disappointed to find a bent straw protruding from the sand. Indeed, there were very few shells left on this beach, and very few fish in its shores. Going deeper, none swam about my legs like they used to, or thrashed how my father told us they had in his childhood. Would my children get to chase fish on this beach?
一阵剧痛刺痛了我的脚。低头一看，我失望地发现沙滩上并没有像我之前在沙滩上寻找的那样的贝壳，而是一根弯曲的稻草。的确，这片沙滩上的贝壳已经所剩无几，岸边的鱼也很少。再往深处走，没有一条鱼像以前一样在我的腿边游来游去，也没有一条鱼像我父亲告诉我们的那样在他的童年里惊涛骇浪。我的孩子们能在这片海滩上追逐鱼儿吗？
结尾的反思与变化
Everything, from our societies to our environment, was interconnected. Identifying a problem was easier than solving it, and on this beach, it dawned on me that one cannot tackle present and future complex challenges effectively without an understanding of the bigger picture, where science, economics/sociology and effective policy come together. My knowledge is incipient—but a grain of sand on this beach. At that moment I felt a purpose: to be an agent of change for the good, to not sit by idly. And to achieve that, I must learn. This convergence of independence, perspective and determination gave new meaning to this place. For me, that is what it means to grow up: to look beyond your immediate surroundings and expand your conscience, to recognize one’s ignorance and strive to make a positive impact, tracks that shan’t fade with water. It was only here on this beach that I contrasted my past and present self and saw a change.
从我们的社会到我们的环境，一切都相互关联。发现问题比解决问题更容易，在这片海滩上，我恍然大悟，如果不了解科学、经济学/社会学和有效政策的大局，就无法有效地应对当前和未来的复杂挑战。我的知识刚刚起步--不过是这片海滩上的一粒沙子。那一刻，我感觉到了自己的目标：成为推动变革的力量，不袖手旁观。为此，我必须学习。这种独立性、视角和决心的融合赋予了这个地方新的意义。对我来说，这就是成长的意义：超越周围的环境，扩大自己的良知，认识到自己的无知，并努力产生积极的影响，留下不会随水褪色的足迹。只有在这片海滩上，我才对比了过去和现在的自己，看到了变化。
Perhaps adults are not those who know everything, for no one would be an adult. They are those who recognize that they must learn and act with a conscience, aware of the brevity of their lives.
也许成年人并不是什么都懂的人，因为没有人会是成年人。他们是那些意识到自己生命短暂，必须带着良知学习和行动的人。
By now my back was seared lobster red. It was time to go back, but it was a different me who did so.
此时，我的后背已经烤得通红像龙虾一样。是时候回去了，但回去的是另一个我。
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