大學早知道，不吃後悔葯

最新 09-26

You know that popular phrase, 「If I only knew then what I know now?」Sigh. Why is it so true? After two and a half years as a college student, I』ve finally learned the truths to those college myths. I』ve also realized a lot about what it means to learn more about yourself during those four years of experience—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

你知道那句俗話嗎？「要是我那時候知道我現在知道的這些就好了。」唉，這話怎麼就那麼在理呢？進入大學兩年半後，我終於了解了那些關於大學傳說的真相。我也深深意識到在大學的四年中怎樣才算更好地認識自己——好的一面、壞的一面以及醜陋的一面。

Let』s face it: college entails a lot of newordeals1)and exciting encounters. Yes, you drink (only if you want to!); you study and work your little butt off; you go to 「college」 parties, meet a lot of interesting (and sometimes questionable) people, and honestly, you screw up sometimes. The ride is always fun, but there are always those little bits and pieces I wish I had more knowledge of before hand. So, here I am, sharing the wisdom of a junior in college … but let』s be real, I still have a lot to learn myself.

面對現實吧：大學會給你帶來許多新的磨難和令人興奮的際遇。沒錯，你會喝酒(只是在你想喝的情況下！)；你會學習，忙得不可開交；你會參加所謂的大學聚會，遇見很多有趣(有時是不靠譜)的人；老實說，你有時也會把事情搞砸。這個過程總是很有趣，但也總會有些七零八碎的東西是我希望自己事先多了解一些的。因此，在這裡，我要分享一下我作為大三學生的智慧……當然，坦白說，我自己還有很多東西要學呢。

The 「Freshmen Fifteen」 is totally preventable.

「新生肥胖」是完全可以避免的。

Parents, friends, college graduates, and peers always try to scare you with the 「freshmen fifteen」 factor. They seem to believe that all you will do during your first year of an unfamiliar lifestyle is eat micro waveable pizzas, drink beer five days a week, and sit on yourfuton2)Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching reruns ofGrey』s Anatomyandcheesy3)eighties movies.

父母、朋友、畢業生和同輩們總是試圖嚇唬你，說「大一新生都會增重15磅」。他們似乎確信在你大學的第一年，置身於不熟悉的生活方式中，你所做的只能是吃微波爐加熱的披薩，一周有五天喝啤酒，周六和周日下午坐在床墊上看重播的《實習醫生格蕾》和俗套的八十年代電影。

Of course, you will have days like these. But, in reality, the freshmen fifteen is so easily avoided. For one, most schools have a gym. You do not have to go every day or on a regular schedule, but it』s thereforwhen you feel a littlelethargic4)and want to get yourself moving. Even the most exercise-phobic college students will check out the gym when it』sat their disposal5). Second, your cafeteria will hopefully offer a variety of food choices besides pizza and grilled cheese. You』ll get sick ofgreasy6)food, believe me. And, for those of you who don』t already know, drinking alcohol is an appealing part of college.

當然，這樣的日子是會有的。但事實上，新生肥胖很容易就能避免。首先，大多數學校都有健身房。你沒有必要每天或定期去健身，但當你感覺無精打采或是想要動起來時，它就在那裡。當健身房近在咫尺時，即便是最憎惡鍛煉的學生也會光顧的。其次，食堂應該會提供豐富多樣的食物供你選擇，而不僅僅是披薩和烤乳酪三明治。相信我，你會厭倦那些油膩食物的。另外，你們有些人還不知道，喝酒也是大學生活吸引人的地方之一。

For those of you who decide not to drink—that』s a great personal choice. I chose to drink as a freshman, and I learned to control myself. It can be considered one of those things that once you get a taste, you go a little crazy. But, like I said, you』ll learn when the right time to drink is and how much to drink is right for you. It most likely will not be your life at college.

有些人決定不喝酒——這是一個很棒的個人選擇。我在大一時選擇了喝酒，並學會了控制自己。喝酒可以說是「一發而不可收」的一類事情，但正如我所說，你會了解到對自己來說何時喝酒以及喝多少最適合。喝酒不可能是你大學生活的全部。

You may not find your husband or wife at college.

你未必會在大學找到未來的伴侶。

One of the most ANNOYING college myths is that supposedly everybody meets their future spouse at their college of choice. Considering the fact that I am still single, I』m starting to believe it just isn』t true. For some, it will happen. I』m sure the fact that I attend a small, private college with a 60:40 girl-to-guy ratio doesn』t give me any advantage. For the most part though, at least when it comes to guys, they will not be dating material. When the male population spreads their wings past their small high school, chances are they are going to want to get to know more than one female bird at college, where there are more options. Every one knows that girls are more sensitive and more prone to relationships. There will be interests and romances and nights where you feel like you』ve met the one to walk with you hand in hand down thequad7). It』s always possible, but don』t be defeated if the next week they tell you they』re talking to the girl in your sociology class. They will eventually grow up. Just be patient until they get bored of being single. You』ll start to see that more often around your junior and senior year, I can almost guarantee it. But, if you are in a happy, healthy relationship at collegeas of8)now, I not onlycommend9)you, but am also a tad jealous of you!

最惱人的大學傳說之一就是認定每人都會在自己所選的大學裡遇到未來的伴侶。考慮到我現在依然單身這一事實，我開始相信這個說法是不對的。某些人可能會遇到，但我就讀的這所小型私立學校男女比例為2:3，我確定這不會給我帶來任何優勢。不過大部分時候，至少就男生來說，他們都不是約會的料兒。當男生們從自己的小中學裡展翅飛出，進入大學，很有可能他們想認識的不止一位女生，因為大學裡有更多的選擇。人人都知道女孩子更敏感，也更傾向於戀愛關係。你會對某人產生興趣，開始浪漫戀情，共度美好夜晚，覺得自己找到了那個可以和你手牽手在校園裡散步的人。這種情況總是可能的，但如果下周他們告訴你他們正在和你社會學課上的女孩聊天，你也不要覺得受到了打擊。他們總會長大的。你要做的只是耐心等待，等他們厭倦單身的日子。我幾乎可以保證，等到了大三、大四時，你會越來越多地看到這種情況。但是，如果你現在正處在一段快樂又健康的感情中，我不僅會讚揚你，而且還有些嫉妒你呢！

It』s OK toslack off10)once in a while.

偶爾懈怠一下也無妨。

Now, when I say slack off, I don』t mean leave your research paper until the day before it』s due or totally neglect to study for your test that』s in a few days. What I mean is that you』ll learn to live by the motto that 「Everything that has to get done will get done.」 I pride myself on being an A-student, but it took me a year or so to learn that I don』t always have to stay in the library until all hours of the night just to get some reading done. I』ve missed out on some fun nights or group dinners with friends because I wasparanoid11)about getting work done by a certain time. As a freshman and sophomore, I thought that if I didn』t get something done by the time I had set, it wouldn』t be my 「best」 work. If you haven』t already, you will learn that pushing things to the side once in a while will not threaten yourGPA12)or your ability to score highmarks. If you have faith in your academic capabilities and trust your work ethic, all of your hard work will pay off in a positive way.

我現在說「懈怠」並不是要你把論文拖到截止日期的前一天，或是到臨考前幾天還完全忽略學習。我的意思是你會領會到「船到橋頭自然直」這句格言。我是個優等生，也對此感到自豪，但我卻花了一年左右的時間才意識到，我不必僅僅為了完成一些閱讀任務而總是整晚地待在圖書館。我錯過了與朋友在一起的一些狂歡夜和聚餐，因為我太執著於在某個時間之前完成任務了。大一大二時，我曾認為如果我不能按照自己事先設定的時限完成某件事情，那麼它就不會是我「最好的」成果。如果你還沒有這種感受，那你將會了解到，偶爾把事情暫時放到一邊並不會威脅到你的平均績點，也不會威脅到你取得高分的能力。如果你對自己的學術能力和學習態度有信心，你所有的辛勤勞動都會得到好的回報。

You will find lifetime friends at college.

你會在大學裡找到終生好友。

So this 「myth」 may be true, at least in my case. The greatest part of meeting friends at college is that it gives you a new perspective of where people come from. Before college, you tend to think everybody will be like the people you went to high school with for four years.You haveavery little idea of the different opinions,trends, routines, and even language that arise from different states. I was the same exact way—every one was a New Yorker! Every one hung out in Wendy』s parking lots! Every one came from the suburbs where there were traffic lights at every street and a convenience store on every corner! Every one has been to New York City! That』s not the case at all. Instead, your horizons expand. You learn about whatthey did for fun in high school and you visit their hometowns and enjoy the experience of something totally new. Even if you commute to college, you end up learning about people who you may have passed by on the street but knew nothing about. You end up bonding over college itself, which is something you could never do with friends at home or from your high school. That in itself makes it special. High school wasn』t alwayspeaches and cream13)for me,so college gave me new opportunities for meeting people. And let me tell you, the memories I have made will be stories to tell my kids one day! Okay, not every memory will be shared with my kids, but you get the point.

這個「傳說」也許是對的，至少對我來說是這樣。在大學交朋友最棒的地方在於它帶給你一種新的視角來看待人們來自何處。上大學前，你傾向於認為每個人都會像你中學四年的同窗一樣。對於各個州的不同觀念、潮流、常規生活甚至語言，你都知之甚少。曾經的我就完全是這樣——以為大家都是紐約人！大家都去溫迪餐廳的停車場閒蕩！大家都來自郊區，那裡每條街道都有紅綠燈，每個街角都有便利商店！大家都去過紐約市！可事實完全不是這樣。與之前相反，你的視野變得開闊。你了解到他們在中學時如何娛樂，你拜訪他們的家鄉，享受全新的體驗。即使你是走讀生，最終你也會認識一些人，這些人你原本可能對他們一無所知，只是在街頭擦肩而過。到頭來你的交際圈不僅僅局限於大學，而這是不可能與你家鄉或中學的朋友來建立的。這一點本身就很特別。對我來說，中學生活並不總是陽光燦爛的，而大學為我結識朋友提供了新的機遇。實話告訴你吧，我現在編織的記憶將來某天可以講給孩子們聽！好吧，不是每段回憶都會與孩子們分享，但我的意思你懂的。

You don』t have to decide your future career/major the second you step foot on campus.

你不必在踏入校門的那一刻就決定未來的事業或專業。

If you have no idea what you want to do with yourlife as far as your career goes, don』t feel the pressure to decide right away.You can take any class you want your first few semesters of college—psychology,drama, music, anthropology, women』s studies, Chinese, and art, among many others. The point is to make mistakes, and to figure out what you』re not interested in to get you one step closer to figuring out what your true passionis. I chose a major based on what I already knew I excelled in, but what if I could have been the new Freud after taking more psychology classes? I may never know! Don』t be afraid if you』re entering the last half of college and you』re still unsure if you made the right choice. I know that for myself. I want to pursue graduate school and do something different with the English and Mass Communication degrees I will be receiving. Also, pursuing a graduate degree these days is highly looked upon. And, depending on what college or university you go to, you may even get to create your own major. You might be overwhelmed with how many options you have when it comes to your choice of study, so take the time to weave through them all. But, remember, all work and no play is never fun … or healthy!

如果在事業方面你還沒有打定主意將來想幹什麼，不要有立刻決定的壓力。在大學的前幾個學期，你可以選擇任何自己喜歡的課程——心理學、戲劇、音樂、人類學、女性研究、中文、藝術以及其他各種各樣的課程。重點在於犯錯誤，在於弄清楚你對哪些東西不感興趣，這樣一來，距離找到你自己真正的熱情所在就更近一步了。我當初選擇專業是基於我已經知道的自己擅長的領域，但如果當初多上幾堂心理學課，我也許本來可以成為下一個弗洛伊德？我也許永遠沒法知道答案了！如果你已進入大學的後半段卻仍然不確定自己的選擇是否正確，不要害怕。我對此有切身體會。我想讀研究生，想做些與我那將拿到的英語與大眾傳媒學位不一樣的事情。而且，現如今讀研究生很被人看好。此外，根據你所就讀的學院或大學的不同，你甚至可以創造你自己的專業。談到將來選擇研究什麼，你也許會被眾多選擇給淹沒，因此花點時間將它們都梳理一下吧。但是謹記：只工作不玩耍絕對毫無樂趣，也無益健康！

注釋

1. ordeal [??(r)?di?l]n. 苦難經歷，折磨，煎熬

2. futon [?fu?t?n]n. 蒲團，日本床墊

3. cheesy [?t?i?zi]adj. 〈俚〉質次的；下等的；粗陋的

4. lethargic [l??θɑ?(r)d??k]adj. 沒精打採的，懶洋洋的

5. at one』s disposal：任由某人支配

6. greasy [?ɡri?si]adj. 油脂過多的

7. quad [kw?d]n. 〈口〉(尤指大學學院里的)方院

8. as of：直至；在……時

9. commend [k??mend]vt. 表揚，稱讚

10. slack off：鬆弛，懈怠

11. paranoid [?p?r??n??d]adj. 類似偏執狂的