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十月说来是个收获的季节。美丽的大学校园又迎来了新的主人。那一张张青春洋溢的笑脸背后或许有些许遗憾，有一点点不甘，但是如果换一个角度，你一定可以看到不一样的风景。
The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.
——George Bernard Shaw
那些在世界上取得成功的人们是能够主动寻找他们需要的发展环境的。如果找不到，他们就自己去营造这种环境。
———乔治·萧伯纳
The day I found out that I didn’t get into the college I wanted to go to, I was in New York City on a school trip. I called home from a pay phone, and my little sister, Alex, said that four envelopes had arrived for me. She then opened and read them to me in her 1)adenoidal, ten-year-old voice, “We regret that we do not have a place for you… ” 2)Rejected from Cornell. And number 73 on a waiting list of 75 at William and Mary. Accepted to U Mass, my safety school.
I couldn’t quite 3)digest the news. I toured the United Nations, took Amtrak home and went back to school. Then I realized that other people had gotten into the schools they really wanted to go to. Up to that point in my 17 years, I hadn’t really failed at anything. I got good grades, made the 4)varsity team and scored well on my SAT’s.
I hadn’t experienced any major disappointments in my life. So being rejected seemed 5)apocalyptic.
I had always assumed I’d go to one of the “good schools.” I really wanted to be chosen: “This is the place for smart people, and we want you”. U Mass, on the other hand, had the 6)reputation of being a party school—to which, come September, I’d be headed along with the guy who sat next to me in tenth grade history class, the same guy who during tests, left his book open on the floor and 7)flipped through it with his feet.
I became 8)bitter. I compared everyone’s grades and talents to my own in a 9)desperate attempt to make sense of my own misfortune. I was 10)melodramatic. Talking to teachers, 11)relatives or friends, I’d say, “I’m going to U Mass,” 12)projecting my 13)indignation onto them. “Not U Mass!”, I’d imagine them thinking. “Not you!” I’d draw a deep breath, raise my eyebrows and frown slightly, like some old Yankee farmer confirming the death of a faithful plow-ox.
I adopted the 14)mantra, “I’ll transfer after one semester.” I’d say things like, “I’ve decided to 15)forego the bachelor’s degree and take a cake-decorating course.” The 16)subtext in all these conversations was, “I’m stupid. The world isn’t fair”.
But then, unexpectedly, the strangest thing happened, though: I found that I liked U Mass. Here I met Mark, my soul mate, whose first choice had also been Cornell. However, U Mass had been his second. Finally I’d found someone who would take a nightly three-mile jog with me just to buy a sundae. Besides I met lots of other smart, funny, interesting people.
I like my classes, too. It didn’t take me that long to figure out that basically, college is college, whatever the place. Some weekends, if I didn’t want to see any people, I’d head downtown to study in the library at Amherst College—the Shangri-La of 17)competitive colleges. Walking across campus, I’d think, “Why don’t I go here?” Inside, the students weren’t so unlike the ones back at U Mass, whether they were studying, 18)napping or 19)procrastinating. I realized that trading U Mass for any other school would be a pretty shallow move:
I’d be deserting my friends and my classes so I could have some hi-pro names on my T-shirts, diploma and résumé.
Now I only occasionally wonder if going to some fancy-pants school would have made a difference in my life. My one friend from Amherst calls me collect ever so often to 20)weep on my shoulder, recounting her unsatisfying 21)stints as a waitress or receptionist at companies the names of which she can’t pronounce. She would always say, “God, I should have just gone to U Mass.” And then, “The real world is so unfair.”
“Welcome to it!” I tell myself.
当我得知自己没能考上梦寐以求的大学的那天，我正在纽约市跟着学校旅游团参观游览。我用公用电话给家里打了个电话，我的小妹妹亚历克斯接的，她说，家里有我的四封信。然后，她打开那些信封，用她含混不清的十岁童声给我读信：“我们遗憾地告诉您，我校没有录取您……”这是一封来自康奈尔大学的拒绝信。而在威廉和玛丽大学多达75个待定名额中，我位居第73（希望渺茫）。最后，我的保底大学马萨诸塞大学录取了我。
对于被名校拒绝这件事，我并没能马上接受。我参观完联合国后，就搭乘“美铁”回了家，然后径自返回学校。那时，我才发觉，其他同学都考上了他们理想的大学。在这之前我十七年的人生中还从未真正意义上失败过。我拥有着优异的学习成绩，是校运动队的队员，在“SAT测试”（注：SAT，学术能力测试，美国高中升大学的考试，类似于中国的高考）中也考得不错。我一生中还从来没有遇到过任何重大的挫折。所以，被大学拒绝录取这件事看来真像是世界末日般。
我一直以来都以为，我是要去那些“好大学”读书的。我真的很想被那些大学录取（录取通知书上写着）：“这是精英荟萃之地，我们欢迎你入学。”而从另一方面说，马萨诸塞大学作为“派对大学”的名声在外。九月份开学后，我就会奔赴这所大学，和上十年级历史课时坐在我旁边的同一个人为伍—这个家伙在考试时把书本摊开在地上，用脚翻书作弊。
我开始变得痛苦不堪。我把每个人的成绩和能力水平都和自己比较，极力想弄明白为什么自己会如此不幸。 我变得不可理喻。和老师、亲戚或朋友聊天时，我会说：“我考上马萨诸塞大学了”，把我的怨气投射到他们身上。“不会是马萨诸塞大学吧？”我在想象着他们的想法。“你不会吧？”而我的反应是深吸一口气，抬起眉梢，稍稍皱一下额头，就像某个北方老农民在证实家里那头忠诚的耕牛已经死去一样。
我（默默）接受了我的霉运，“一学期以后我就转学，”我会这样敷衍说，“我决定好了，放弃学士学位，学一些糕点装饰之类的课程。”这段话后面的潜台词就是：“我是愚笨的。这个世界是不公平的”。
但是，很意外地，最不可思议的事情发生了：我发现自己（居然）喜欢上了马萨诸塞大学。在这里，我邂逅了我的知己马克，他的第一志愿也是康奈尔大学。不过，他的第二选择是马萨诸塞大学。终于，我找到了这样一个人，愿意陪我每晚走上三公里的路，只为买一个圣代冰淇淋。而且，我还遇到了许许多多聪明、风趣、有意思的人。
我也喜欢我的课程。我基本上没花很长时间就弄明白了这个事实——不管在什么地方，大学毕竟还是大学。有时候，到了周末，当我不想见人的时候，我就会到市区的阿姆赫斯特学院的图书馆里学习。这个学院是强手如林的各色学院中的“香格里拉”。在校园中漫步的时候，我会想，我为什么不来这个学校读书呢？这里面的学生，不管是学习、打瞌睡还是懒散的样子，并没有和我们马萨诸塞大学的学生有什么很大的不同。我意识到，离开马萨诸塞大学转到其它任何一所学校都会是一个非常肤浅的举动：我会舍弃我的朋友们和我的那些课程，这样我可能会拥有一些引人注目的头衔和光环，印在我的T恤衫、学位证书和求职简历上。
现在，我只是偶尔会遐想一番，去那些光鲜体面的大学读书，会不会让我的生活有所不同呢。我的一位来自阿姆赫斯特学院的朋友经常给我打由我付费的电话，哭着叙述她在名字都念不出的公司里做侍者或者接待生如何的不如意。她总会说：“老天，我本来应该去马萨诸塞大学读书的。”然后又感叹：“现实的世界是如此的不公平。”
“欢迎光临现实世界！”我这样想。
The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.
——George Bernard Shaw
那些在世界上取得成功的人们是能够主动寻找他们需要的发展环境的。如果找不到，他们就自己去营造这种环境。
———乔治·萧伯纳
The day I found out that I didn’t get into the college I wanted to go to, I was in New York City on a school trip. I called home from a pay phone, and my little sister, Alex, said that four envelopes had arrived for me. She then opened and read them to me in her 1)adenoidal, ten-year-old voice, “We regret that we do not have a place for you… ” 2)Rejected from Cornell. And number 73 on a waiting list of 75 at William and Mary. Accepted to U Mass, my safety school.
I couldn’t quite 3)digest the news. I toured the United Nations, took Amtrak home and went back to school. Then I realized that other people had gotten into the schools they really wanted to go to. Up to that point in my 17 years, I hadn’t really failed at anything. I got good grades, made the 4)varsity team and scored well on my SAT’s.
I hadn’t experienced any major disappointments in my life. So being rejected seemed 5)apocalyptic.
I had always assumed I’d go to one of the “good schools.” I really wanted to be chosen: “This is the place for smart people, and we want you”. U Mass, on the other hand, had the 6)reputation of being a party school—to which, come September, I’d be headed along with the guy who sat next to me in tenth grade history class, the same guy who during tests, left his book open on the floor and 7)flipped through it with his feet.
I became 8)bitter. I compared everyone’s grades and talents to my own in a 9)desperate attempt to make sense of my own misfortune. I was 10)melodramatic. Talking to teachers, 11)relatives or friends, I’d say, “I’m going to U Mass,” 12)projecting my 13)indignation onto them. “Not U Mass!”, I’d imagine them thinking. “Not you!” I’d draw a deep breath, raise my eyebrows and frown slightly, like some old Yankee farmer confirming the death of a faithful plow-ox.
I adopted the 14)mantra, “I’ll transfer after one semester.” I’d say things like, “I’ve decided to 15)forego the bachelor’s degree and take a cake-decorating course.” The 16)subtext in all these conversations was, “I’m stupid. The world isn’t fair”.
But then, unexpectedly, the strangest thing happened, though: I found that I liked U Mass. Here I met Mark, my soul mate, whose first choice had also been Cornell. However, U Mass had been his second. Finally I’d found someone who would take a nightly three-mile jog with me just to buy a sundae. Besides I met lots of other smart, funny, interesting people.
I like my classes, too. It didn’t take me that long to figure out that basically, college is college, whatever the place. Some weekends, if I didn’t want to see any people, I’d head downtown to study in the library at Amherst College—the Shangri-La of 17)competitive colleges. Walking across campus, I’d think, “Why don’t I go here?” Inside, the students weren’t so unlike the ones back at U Mass, whether they were studying, 18)napping or 19)procrastinating. I realized that trading U Mass for any other school would be a pretty shallow move:
I’d be deserting my friends and my classes so I could have some hi-pro names on my T-shirts, diploma and résumé.
Now I only occasionally wonder if going to some fancy-pants school would have made a difference in my life. My one friend from Amherst calls me collect ever so often to 20)weep on my shoulder, recounting her unsatisfying 21)stints as a waitress or receptionist at companies the names of which she can’t pronounce. She would always say, “God, I should have just gone to U Mass.” And then, “The real world is so unfair.”
“Welcome to it!” I tell myself.
当我得知自己没能考上梦寐以求的大学的那天，我正在纽约市跟着学校旅游团参观游览。我用公用电话给家里打了个电话，我的小妹妹亚历克斯接的，她说，家里有我的四封信。然后，她打开那些信封，用她含混不清的十岁童声给我读信：“我们遗憾地告诉您，我校没有录取您……”这是一封来自康奈尔大学的拒绝信。而在威廉和玛丽大学多达75个待定名额中，我位居第73（希望渺茫）。最后，我的保底大学马萨诸塞大学录取了我。
对于被名校拒绝这件事，我并没能马上接受。我参观完联合国后，就搭乘“美铁”回了家，然后径自返回学校。那时，我才发觉，其他同学都考上了他们理想的大学。在这之前我十七年的人生中还从未真正意义上失败过。我拥有着优异的学习成绩，是校运动队的队员，在“SAT测试”（注：SAT，学术能力测试，美国高中升大学的考试，类似于中国的高考）中也考得不错。我一生中还从来没有遇到过任何重大的挫折。所以，被大学拒绝录取这件事看来真像是世界末日般。
我一直以来都以为，我是要去那些“好大学”读书的。我真的很想被那些大学录取（录取通知书上写着）：“这是精英荟萃之地，我们欢迎你入学。”而从另一方面说，马萨诸塞大学作为“派对大学”的名声在外。九月份开学后，我就会奔赴这所大学，和上十年级历史课时坐在我旁边的同一个人为伍—这个家伙在考试时把书本摊开在地上，用脚翻书作弊。
我开始变得痛苦不堪。我把每个人的成绩和能力水平都和自己比较，极力想弄明白为什么自己会如此不幸。 我变得不可理喻。和老师、亲戚或朋友聊天时，我会说：“我考上马萨诸塞大学了”，把我的怨气投射到他们身上。“不会是马萨诸塞大学吧？”我在想象着他们的想法。“你不会吧？”而我的反应是深吸一口气，抬起眉梢，稍稍皱一下额头，就像某个北方老农民在证实家里那头忠诚的耕牛已经死去一样。
我（默默）接受了我的霉运，“一学期以后我就转学，”我会这样敷衍说，“我决定好了，放弃学士学位，学一些糕点装饰之类的课程。”这段话后面的潜台词就是：“我是愚笨的。这个世界是不公平的”。
但是，很意外地，最不可思议的事情发生了：我发现自己（居然）喜欢上了马萨诸塞大学。在这里，我邂逅了我的知己马克，他的第一志愿也是康奈尔大学。不过，他的第二选择是马萨诸塞大学。终于，我找到了这样一个人，愿意陪我每晚走上三公里的路，只为买一个圣代冰淇淋。而且，我还遇到了许许多多聪明、风趣、有意思的人。
我也喜欢我的课程。我基本上没花很长时间就弄明白了这个事实——不管在什么地方，大学毕竟还是大学。有时候，到了周末，当我不想见人的时候，我就会到市区的阿姆赫斯特学院的图书馆里学习。这个学院是强手如林的各色学院中的“香格里拉”。在校园中漫步的时候，我会想，我为什么不来这个学校读书呢？这里面的学生，不管是学习、打瞌睡还是懒散的样子，并没有和我们马萨诸塞大学的学生有什么很大的不同。我意识到，离开马萨诸塞大学转到其它任何一所学校都会是一个非常肤浅的举动：我会舍弃我的朋友们和我的那些课程，这样我可能会拥有一些引人注目的头衔和光环，印在我的T恤衫、学位证书和求职简历上。
现在，我只是偶尔会遐想一番，去那些光鲜体面的大学读书，会不会让我的生活有所不同呢。我的一位来自阿姆赫斯特学院的朋友经常给我打由我付费的电话，哭着叙述她在名字都念不出的公司里做侍者或者接待生如何的不如意。她总会说：“老天，我本来应该去马萨诸塞大学读书的。”然后又感叹：“现实的世界是如此的不公平。”
“欢迎光临现实世界！”我这样想。