大学真相早知道

By Srose52 译 / Tanya Zhang

在迈入大学校门之前，想必你已经听过关于大学生活的许多传闻。新生会增肥15磅？大学里会遇到未来的伴侣？进大学就得确定未来的职业方向？怀揣着对大学的憧憬和一点点紧张，聆听一下过来人要对你说的话吧。尽管在通常的情况下，人们宁愿在自己经历一切之后再领会，但有些事情还是早知道为好。要知道，大学的精彩一旦错过，就再难寻觅！

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， Ive finally learned the truths to those college myths. Ive 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.

Lets face it： college entails a lot of new ordeals1） 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 beforehand. So， here I am， sharing the wisdom of a junior in college … but lets be real， I still have a lot to learn myself.

Parents， friends， college graduates， and peers always try to scare you with the “freshman fifteen” factor. They seem to believe that all you will do during your first year of an unfamiliar lifestyle is eat microwaveable pizzas， drink beer five days a week， and sit on your futon2） Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching reruns of Greys Anatomy and cheesy3） eighties movies.

Of course， you will have days like these. But， in reality， the freshman 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 its there for you when you feel a little lethargic4） and want to get yourself moving. Even the most exercise-phobic college students will check out the gym when its at their disposal5）. Second， your cafeteria will hopefully offer a variety of food choices besides pizza and grilled cheese. Youll get sick of greasy6） food， believe me. And， for those of you who dont already know， drinking alcohol is an appealing part of college.

For those of you who decide not to drink—thats 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， youll 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.

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， Im starting to believe it just isnt true. For some， it will happen. Im sure the fact that I attend a small， private college with a 60：40 girl-to-guy ratio doesnt 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 youve met the one to walk with you hand in hand down the quad7）. Its always possible， but dont be defeated if the next week they tell you theyre talking to the girl in your sociology class. They will eventually grow up. Just be patient until they get bored of being single. Youll 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 college as of8） now， I not only commend9） you， but am also a tad jealous of you！

Now， when I say slack off， I dont mean leave your research paper until the day before its due or totally neglect to study for your test thats in a few days. What I mean is that youll 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 dont always have to stay in the library until all hours of the night just to get some reading done. Ive missed out on some fun nights or group dinners with friends because I was paranoid11） about getting work done by a certain time. As a freshman and sophomore， I thought that if I didnt get something done by the time I had set， it wouldnt be my “best” work. If you havent already， you will learn that pushing things to the side once in a while will not threaten your GPA12） or your ability to score high marks. 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.

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 have very 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 Wendys 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！ Thats not the case at all. Instead， your horizons expand. You learn about what they 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 wasnt always peaches 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.

If you have no idea what you want to do with your life as far as your career goes， dont feel the pressure to decide right away. You can take any class you want your first few semesters of college—psychology， drama， music， anthropology， womens studies， Chinese， and art， among many others. The point is to make mistakes， and to figure out what youre not interested in to get you one step closer to figuring out what your true passion is. 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！ Dont be afraid if youre entering the last half of college and youre 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！

你知道那句俗话吗？“要是我早知道我现在知道的这些就好了。”唉，这话怎么就那么在理呢？进入大学两年半后，我终于了解了那些关于大学传闻的真相。我也深深意识到在大学的四年中怎样才算更好地认识自己——好的一面、坏的一面以及丑陋的一面。

面对现实吧：大学会给你带来许多新的磨难和令人兴奋的际遇。没错，你会喝酒（只是在你想喝的情况下！）；你会学习，忙得不可开交；你会参加所谓的大学聚会，遇见很多有趣（有时是不靠谱）的人；老实说，你有时也会把事情搞砸。这个过程总是很有趣，但也总会有些七零八碎的东西是我希望自己事先多了解一些的。因此，在这里，我要分享一下我作为大三学生的智慧……当然，坦白说，我自己还有很多东西要学呢。

“新生肥胖”是完全可以避免的。

父母、朋友、毕业生和同辈们总是试图吓唬你，说“大一新生都会增重15磅”。他们似乎确信在你大学的第一年，面对不熟悉的生活方式，你所做的只能是吃微波炉加热的比萨，一周有五天喝啤酒，周六和周日下午坐在床垫上看重播的《实习医生格蕾》和俗套的上世纪80年代电影。

当然，这样的日子是会有的。但事实上，新生肥胖很容易就能避免。首先，大多数学校都有健身房。你没有必要每天或定期去健身，但当你感觉无精打采或是想要动起来时，它就在那里。当健身房可供使用时，即便是最憎恶锻炼的学生也会光顾的。其次，食堂应该会提供丰富多样的食物供你选择，而不仅仅是比萨和烤奶酪三明治。相信我，你会厌倦那些油腻食物的。另外，你们有些人还不知道，喝酒也是大学生活吸引人的地方之一。

有些人决定不喝酒——这是一个很棒的个人选择。我在大一时选择了喝酒，并学会了控制自己。喝酒可以说是“一发而不可收”的一类事情，但正如我所说，你会了解到对自己来说何时喝酒以及喝多少最适合。喝酒不可能是你大学生活的全部。

你未必会在大学里找到未来的伴侣。

最恼人的大学传说之一就是认定每人都会在自己所选的大学里遇到未来的伴侣。考虑到我现在依然单身这一事实，我开始相信这个说法是不对的。某些人可能会遇到，但我就读的这所小型私立学校男女比例为2：3，我确定这不会给我带来任何优势。不过大部分时候，至少就男生来说，他们都不是约会的料儿。当男生们从自己的小中学里展翅飞出，进入大学，很有可能他们想认识的女生不止一位，因为大学里有更多的选择。人人都知道女孩子更敏感，也更倾向于恋爱关系。你会对某人产生兴趣，开始浪漫恋情，共度美好夜晚，觉得自己找到了那个可以和你手牵手在校园里散步的人。这种情况总是可能的，但如果下周他们告诉你他们正在和你社会学课上的女孩聊天，你也不要觉得受到了打击。他们总会长大的。你要做的只是耐心等待，等他们厌倦单身的日子。我几乎可以保证，等到了大三、大四时，你会越来越多地看到这种情况。但是，如果你现在正处在一段快乐又健康的校园恋情中，我不仅会赞扬你，而且还有些嫉妒你呢！

偶尔懈怠一下也无妨。

我现在说“懈怠”并不是要你把论文拖到截止日期的前一天，或是到临考前几天还完全忽略学习。我的意思是你会领会到“船到桥头自然直”这句格言。我是个优等生，也对此感到自豪，但我却花了一年左右的时间才意识到，我不必仅仅为了完成一些阅读任务而总是整晚地待在图书馆。我错过了与朋友在一起的一些狂欢夜和聚餐，因为我太执着于在某个时间之前完成任务了。大一、大二时，我曾认为如果我不能按照自己事先设定的时限完成某件事情，那么它就不会是我“最好的”成果。如果你还没有这种感受，那你将会了解到，偶尔把事情暂时放到一边并不会威胁到你的平均绩点，也不会威胁到你取得高分的能力。如果你对自己的学术能力和学习态度有信心，你所有的辛勤劳动都会得到好的回报。

你会在大学里找到终生好友。

这个“传说”也许是对的，至少对我来说是这样。在大学交朋友最棒的地方在于它带给你一种新的视角来看待人们来自何处。上大学前，你倾向于认为每个人都会像你中学四年的同窗一样。对于各个州的不同观念、潮流、常规生活甚至语言，你都知之甚少。曾经的我就完全是这样——以为大家都是纽约人！大家都去温迪餐厅的停车场闲逛！大家都来自郊区，那里每条街道都有红绿灯，每个街角都有便利商店！大家都去过纽约市！可事实完全不是这样。与之前相反，你的视野变得开阔。你了解到他们在中学时如何娱乐，你拜访他们的家乡，享受全新的体验。即使你是走读生，最终你也会认识一些人，这些人你原本可能对他们一无所知，只是在街头擦肩而过。到头来你的交际圈不仅仅局限于大学，而这是不可能与你家乡或中学的朋友来建立的。这一点本身就很特别。对我来说，中学生活并不总是阳光灿烂的，而大学为我结识朋友提供了新的机遇。实话告诉你吧，我现在留下的回忆将来某天可以讲给子女们听！好吧，不是每段回忆都会与他们分享，但我的意思你懂的。

你不必在踏入校门的那一刻就决定未来的事业或专业。

如果在事业方面你还没有打定主意将来想干什么，不要有立刻决定的压力。在大学的前几个学期，你可以选择自己想上的任何课程——心理学、戏剧、音乐、人类学、女性研究、中文、艺术以及其他各种各样的课程。重点在于犯错误，在于弄清楚你对哪些东西不感兴趣，这样一来，距离找到你自己真正的热情所在就更近一步了。我当初选择专业是基于我已经知道的自己擅长的领域，但如果当初多上几堂心理学课，我也许本来可以成为下一个弗洛伊德，那时又会发生什么呢？我也许永远没法知道答案了！如果你已进入大学的后半段却仍然不确定自己的选择是否正确，不要害怕。我对此有切身体会。我想读研究生，想做些与我那将拿到的英语与大众传媒学位不一样的事情。而且，现如今读研究生很被人看好。此外，根据你所就读的学院或大学的不同，你甚至可以创造你自己的专业。谈到将来选择研究什么，你也许会被众多选择淹没，因此花点时间将它们都梳理一下吧。但是谨记：只工作不玩耍绝对毫无乐趣，也无益于健康！