关于升学过程

On High School and College Application

我是11年级转学到宏润博源的。转学的原因也可以很坦然告诉大家：我在之前的学校受到一些不公平的对待和老师发生了冲突；再加上前两年也没有用心学习，成绩不是很理想，因此想要转学，让自己重新开始。

I transferred to SHBS when I was an 11th grader. To be honest, the reason why I chose to leave the previous school was that I was unfairly treated and came into conflict with teachers there. Besides, I didn’t work hard enough and got poor GPA, so I decided to transfer to a new school and start over.

刚来到宏润博源的时候，我就像无头苍蝇一样。因为经历了挫折，所以刚到新环境里没有自信，也不敢抱太大希望，也害怕老师会因为我的过去对我区别对待。好在宏润博源真的是一个非常有温度的学校，同学和老师都很友善，完全没有带着有色眼镜看待我。我也在这样有爱的环境中慢慢地打开了心扉，决定静下心来好好学习。

During the early days at SHBS, I behaved like a headless chicken because, as a frustrated newcomer, I wasn’t confident enough and dared not to expect too much of others, and I also feared that teachers here would treat me differently because of my past.  Fortunately, SHBS is a warm community where fellow students and teachers have been friendly and kind to me and have never held any prejudice against me.  Feeling loved in the community, I gradually opened myself up and decided to study harder.

由于转过来时已经11年级了，准备升学的时间越来越紧迫，但我还非常地迷茫，毫无目标和规划。好在学校升学部门的老师会定期和同学们沟通，引导我们去思考和探索自己的兴趣爱好、特点和特长，以及想申请的大学和未来的择业方向等。在和Chris校长的一次升学面谈中，他看出我十分焦虑，便告诉我迷茫是正常的。他说自己作为一个中年人甚至都不清楚真的想做什么或者热爱什么，要不断地去尝试和探索。听完Chris校长的开导，我感觉豁然开朗，开始慢慢享受我的高中生活。

As I was already an 11th grader when I came to SHBS, it was pressing for me to plan for my college application, but I was still at a loss as to what goals to set and what plans to make.  Fortunately, college advisors of our school advised us to think about our interests, hobbies, personality traits and strengths, as well as the university we would like to apply for and our choices of future career paths by talking to us regularly. During a college advising session with Principal Chris, he found that I was anxious and told me that it was natural to feel confused.  He said that as a middle-aged man, he didn't even know what he really wanted to do or what he loved unless he kept trying and exploring. Having heard his advice, I felt suddenly enlightened and began to enjoy my high school life.

在老师们的引导下，我也意识到了GPA的重要性，开始努力学习，把GPA都维持在3.5左右。 此外，我也会积极参加学校组织的各项活动，主动帮学校做些宣传海报等设计方面的义工。我很喜欢音乐，尤其喜欢听Rap，会随手记录好看的专辑封面，也会免费帮做音乐的朋友设计专辑封面等。与我而言，这些都不是任务和负担，而是持续提升审美、钻研自己的设计风格、提升绘画技能的机会。

Advised by my teachers, I came to realize the importance of GPA and decided to work hard so that I could keep my GPA around 3.5. In addition, I participated actively in various activities organized by the school, and offered to help the school make some publicity posters and do some other community service. Since I like music very much, especially Rap, I would like to collect beautifully-designed album covers and help, free of charge, design album covers for my friends who love music. I don’t consider these as tasks or burdens but opportunities to keep improving my aesthetics and painting skills and to refine my style of designs.

后来，我渐渐发现所有学科中，只有艺术是我主动愿意多花时间去研究和探索的。在和升学老师沟通后，我确定了要走艺术方向，决定同时申请综合大学和艺术学院。申请综合大学时，我选择的是比较偏宏观的艺术专业，如媒体、品牌管理和时尚编辑等。申请艺术学院时，就毫不犹豫地选择了设计方向。很幸运，综合大学和艺术学院的申请结果都不错。我最终选择去纽约视觉艺术学院。

Later, I came to realize that among all the subjects, I would like to devote more of my time to studying and exploring arts.  After talking to my college advisor, I decided to major in arts and apply for both comprehensive universities and art schools. When I applied for comprehensive universities, I chose to major in macro arts, such as media, brand management, and fashion editing.  When I applied for art schools, I chose to major in designing without hesitation. Fortunately, the results of both ways proved to be satisfying, and I ended up going to the School of Visual Arts in New York.

关于艺术方向的申请，我给不了很专业的建议。坦白讲，我从来没有系统学习过绘画和设计，可以说是零专业基础。申请艺术学院时需要提交作品集，我也没有找过任何艺术中介来指导我，只是把平时创作的大大小小的作品整合起来去完成一些大学所要求的话题。说实话，我也没想到申请能如此顺利。就我个人经验而言，我认为艺术方向的申请主要靠日常的积累。我没办法建议你什么时间开始准备作品集最好，只能建议想走艺术方向的同学要尽早开始准备。因为到了11年级， 学业和标化考试的压力很大， 而且艺术作品又是欲速则不达的， 都需要花时间和精力去打磨，所以尽早开始最好。此外，也建议大家有条件的情况下，找艺术中介帮忙指导作品集的构思和创作，因为在专业人士的指导下可以进步更快。不过，最重要的还是热爱，因为只有热爱才能推动我们去坚持，去面对各种挑战。

I can't give much professional advice on art school applications.  To be frank, I have never systematically studied painting and design. In other words, I have zero professional foundation. When applying for art schools, I need to submit my portfolios. Without asking any art agency for help, I just met what some universities required by arranging my big and small works of art. To be honest, I didn't expect my application to go so well. As far as my personal experience is concerned, I think application for art schools mainly depends on our daily work. I can’t give any advice on the best time to start preparing your portfolio. Instead, I can only suggest that students who want to major in art should start preparing as soon as possible because, as an 11th grader, you have to cope with stress from schoolwork and standardized exams, and your art works take time and effort to polish.  In addition, it is also suggested that if possible, you need to find an art agency to help you conceive and create a portfolio, because you can make more rapid progress with the help of professionals.  However, the most important thing is passion for art, because only passion can push us to persevere and face all kinds of challenges.

关于和家长沟通

On Communication with Parents

我的父母是很典型的中国式家长。我们之间经常会因为观点不合而产生矛盾。“我们都是为了你好。” “希望你以后能少走弯路。” 父母都希望子女能在未来的道路上走地顺利轻松些, 所以难免会把自己的期待和观点强加在我们身上。这些也都是无可厚非的 。

As I have been brought up by very typical Chinese parents, conflicts often arise between us because we hold different views.  "We do it for your own good."  "I hope you will avoid detours in the future."  Parents hope that everything will be going smoothly with their kids in the future, so inevitably and understandably, they tend to impose their own expectations and opinions on us.  

在申请过程中，我和父母也出现了这类矛盾。我家一个亲戚的女儿在国外读品牌管理专业，毕业后到了知名的外企工作，事业发展很顺利。因此，我妈觉得让我走同样的路也肯定不会出什么差错，就开始天天在我耳边念叨这个专业好。这也导致我在选专业时犹豫不决。后来，我通过理性分析发现品牌管理专业是我妈灌输给我的，并不是我最喜欢的。因此，我跟父母以及指导老师认真表达了自己的想法，最终还是选择了我的爱好作为我的专业。

I came into a similar conflict with my parents during the application process.  After the daughter of one of my relatives, who studied brand management abroad, graduated from college, she went to work in a well-known foreign company and was very successful in her career. Therefore, thinking it would not be wrong for me to follow her suit, my mum kept talking to me about the girl’s major every day, which also made me hesitate in choosing a major. After reasoning, I found that the major of brand management was imposed on me by my mum and not my favorite.  Therefore, I seriously talked to my parents and advisors about my thoughts, and ended up choosing to major in what I was interested in. 

此外，家长往往对数字非常敏感，小到我们的身高体重，大到考试成绩，所以他们一般都比较看重学校的排名而忽略了专业。这也是大学申请时的常见误区。其实很多时候，专业排名甚至要比学校综合排名更重要。这也是我坚持选择纽约视觉艺术学院的原因：它在艺术学院中的综合排名并不算高，但它的平面设计专业却是QS排名世界第一的。

In addition, parents tend to be very sensitive to numbers, from minor things such as our height and weight to major things like our GPA, so they tend to pay more attention to the ranking of a college and ignore its majors.  This is also a common mistake we make when applying for college.  In fact, in many cases, the ranking of the major is even more important than the overall ranking of the college itself.  This is why I firmly chose the College of Visual Arts in New York: its overall ranking among art schools is not high, but its graphic design program ranks No.1 in the world by QS.  

总结下来，如果在申请中出现类似问题，一定要先理清思路，坚定我们自己的选择，再去心平气和地和父母沟通。不要因为害怕他们反对就和他们陷入敌对关系。父母为我们创造优越的条件来接受这么好的教育就是希望我们有光明的未来。他们始终是我们的坚强后盾，会支持和信任我们做出的选择。

To sum up, if similar problems occur in the application process, we must first clear our minds, decide on our own choices, and then talk calmly with our parents. Don't get hostile to them because you're afraid they may be against your choice. It is our parents who wish us a bright future that pay for our education. They will always be supporting us and trust the choices we’ve made.

总结

Conclusion

1. 任何人，无论年龄和身份，都要为自己的行为买单。来宏润博源之前，我没有用心学习，成绩单上有个F，为我的申请带来了很大的负面影响。一开始我最想去加州, 那里的人文环境和气候都非常吸引我。即便来宏润博源后我在努力弥补之前的不足，但还是被加州残忍地拒绝了。所以，我想用自己的例子来告诫同学们，要从一开始就抓住机会好好学习，避免犯傻，以免后面后悔莫及。

Anyone, regardless of age or status, has to pay for what they did.  Before I came to SHBS, I did not study hard, and got an F on my academic report, which had a great negative impact on my application.  At first, I would prefer to study in California most, whose cultural environment and climate attracted me a lot.  Even though I worked hard to make up for my previous mistakes after I came to SHBS, I was still mercilessly rejected. Therefore, based on my personal experience, I would like to advise you to work hard from the very beginning so that you won’t regret doing silly things  later on.

2. 引用Chris校长的一句话：“人人都会犯错，这是再正常不过的事情，最重要的是之后怎么改。”  所以同学们千万别因为一次考试失利或者挫折就垂头丧气，放弃希望。大家一定要朝前看，尽自己最大的努力去改正，相信一分耕耘一分收获。毕竟未来是有无限可能的，而命运也一直都把握在我们自己手里。

I would like to quote what Principal Chris had once said : “ It’s natural that everyone makes mistakes. What matters is that how they will correct their mistakes later on.”  So never lose heart because of one failure in exams or one setback. Instead, you must look forward, do your best to improve ourself, and believe that no pains no gains.  After all, anything will be possible in the future, and your destiny will always be dominated by yourself.

3.  停止内耗。其实无论是高中生涯还是申请季都是自我发现的过程。迷茫、焦虑 、不安都是很正常的。与其绞尽脑汁漫无目的地想，倒不如放下脚步去享受生活，去发现、去探索自己真正热爱的事物来作为自己的方向。

Stop exhausting yourself internally. Whether it be your high school days or your application, it is a process of self-discovery, during which time it is natural to feel confused, anxious and upset. Instead of racking your brains and thinking aimlessly, slow down your steps to enjoy life, to discover, to explore what you truly love so that you may find your future path.  

4. 做最好的自己。大部分中国式家长总喜欢拿别人家的孩子和自己家的孩子比，但孩子的性格、喜好、优势都不一样，家庭背景也不一样，根本没有可比性。所以，若遇到类似的问题，希望同学们不要被“别人家的孩子”压垮，失去自信。我们真正需要做的是和自己比，今天有没有比昨天精进一点儿，这才是最重要的。

Be your best self.  Most Chinese parents always like to compare their kids with others', but they are not comparable because they differ in personality traits, interests, strengths and family backgrounds.  Therefore, if you have similar problems, I hope you will not be overwhelmed by "others’ kids" and lose confidence.  What we really need to do is to compare what we are today with what we was yesterday to see whether we have improved.