初三时，中考的备考压力让我喘不过气来，也逐渐发现传统中高考这条路不适合我。后来，追求自由的我在伯伯的推荐下选择从厦门来到上海宏润博源学校。现在回想起来，真的挺庆幸当初做的决定。体制外与体制内学校的最大区别在于课程的安排与选择。我可以通过对自己的了解，对某类学科的偏好，以及对时间的安排来进行选课。这最大程度地帮助了我在学习上扬长避短，让我可以向感兴趣或者擅长的学科方向发展，同时在时间上也对我来说更加自由灵活。当然，校内的升学老师也会根据我的情况来进行引导，这对我有着非常大的帮助。

When I was a 9th grader at a public school, I was overwhelmed by the pressure resulting from studying for the high school entrance exams, and I came to realize that the traditional way of learning, like taking the high school and college entrance exams, was not suitable for me. Later, recommended my uncle, I chose to leave Xiamen, my hometown, for SHBS in pursuit of freedom. Looking back now, I am really glad that I made the decision. The biggest difference between these two ways lies in their curricula system and choices. I was able to choose my courses based on my self-understanding, my preference for certain types of subjects, and my time-management. This helped me maximize my academic strengths, allowing me to study and improve subjects that I was interested in or good at, and also giving me more freedom and flexibility for time-management. Of course, our college counselors at school helped me a lot by giving me advice based on my own circumstances.

当然，前后两条求学之路的区别不仅仅是在课程的选择上，更是在于宏润博源会愿意花更多时间和精力去鼓励我做想做的事情。我认为这一点是非常重要的：这不仅帮助我提升了自我探索的能力，让我在一步步探索中知道了自己真正喜欢什么，未来想干什么；同时也改变着我的性格。这两点帮助着我顺利走到了现在。我喜欢足球，甚至可以说是痴迷于足球。宏润博源非常好，虽然并没有专门设置足球场，但校园里有很多大草坪。一开始，我和三两个好友每天都会在大草坪上踢球。我们先是用四个水瓶来摆成球门的样子，后来发现水瓶在坑坑洼洼的草地上很容易倒，便换成了四件衣服。就这样，我们在自己DIY的足球场上踢得不亦乐乎。这独特的“球场”不久便吸引了许多人前来围观，越来越多的男生加入了我们，那一刻起，建立一支属于宏润博源自己的足球队的想法便在我心中萌发了。十年级的时候，我和学校提出了这个想法，学校非常支持我们参加体育运动，当即就同意了我的申请。此外，学校还出钱帮我们购买了两个球门，请工人修剪了草坪上的杂草，填平了上面一个个的小土坑。在那之后，我们的球队从最初的五个人扩张到后面的二十二个人，这一壮举真的使我自信心暴涨。后来，在没有任何教练的帮助下，我们每天下午自发训练，并在空闲时间联系其他国际学校来进行友谊赛。热爱足球的我们不仅自发训练，还代表宏润博源出去比赛并获得了非常不错的成绩。学校知道了很是欣慰，在11年级的时候给我们颁发了S级社团的奖项和奖学金。在这个过程中，我不但提升了自己的领导力，为我的大学申请添加了一抹亮色，同时，我还探索了自己的兴趣爱好，明确了自己真正热爱的东西。足球队的“胜利”提高了我的自信心，让我觉得原来有一天我也能够当领袖，我也能够干大事。这样的自信心也延续到了学习上。我的校内GPA从最开始入学时的2.9到后面的3.5，再到后来的3.8，再到上个学期期末的全A，这种上升趋势也反应出学校积极鼓励同学们参加自己想参加的活动所带来的正面影响。

Of course, the difference between the two kinds of education experience lies not only in the choice of courses, but also in the fact that SHBS is willing to dedicate more time and energy to encouraging me to do what I like to do. I think this is very important because the school not only helped me improve my ability to explore on myself so that I came to know what I really like and what I want to do in the future through step-by-step exploration, but also changed my personality. These two things have helped me to get to where I am now. I like soccer, or to be precise, I am even obsessed with it. Although there is no professional soccer field, there are many big lawns on campus. At first, I would play soccer on the big lawn every day with two or three of my friends. We first made a goal with 4 water bottles, then we found that the water bottles collapsed easily on the potholed grassland, so we replaced them with four pieces of clothing. In this way, we had a lot of fun playing on our DIY soccer field. This unique "field" soon attracted many spectators, and more and more boys joined us, and from that moment on, the idea of forming a soccer team representing SHBS occurred to me. In my 10th grade, I told my idea to the school, which approved my application right away in support of our participation in sporting events. In addition, the school paid for two goals, had workers trim the weeds on the lawn and fill in the small pits. After that, the number of our team members grew from 5 to 22, which really boosted my self-confidence. Then, we trained on our own every afternoon without the help of any coaches and contacted other international schools to play friendly matches in our spare time. Not only did we train on our own, but we also played representing SHBS and got very good results. Knowing this, the school was very happy to present us an S-club award and scholarship in the 11th grade. During that time, I not only improved my leadership skills and added brilliance to the qualifications of my college application, but I also explored my interests and became aware of what I really loved. The “victory” in soccer boosted my confidence and made me feel like I could be a leader one day and that I could do great things. That confidence benefited me academically. My GPA improved from 2.9 at the beginning to 3.5, 3.8, and even to straight A at the end of last semester, and this upward trend reflected the positive impact the school made on the students by actively encouraging them to participate in the activities they are interested in.

11年级下半学期，进入申请季，升学压力迎面而来。在这最后冲刺的一年中，我几乎每天都是迷茫和焦虑的。面对择校、校外标化成绩、堆积成山的文书……我几乎喘不过气来。但好在班主任、学校的升学指导老师以及外方校长Chris一直与我保持着密切联系，指导我接下来的申请该怎么做，什么时间该干什么。他们有空时就会约我一对一面谈，讨论升学的同时还帮助我疏通情绪。就这样，我渐渐地没有那么紧张了，反倒觉得这是一件很轻松的事情。

When the application season started in the second half of my 11th grade, facing the stress resulting from college application, I was confused and anxious almost every day. I was overwhelmed by choosing from colleges, taking off-campus standardized tests, and writing piles of paperwork ....... Fortunately, my HR teacher, the school's college counselor, and Chris, the foreign principal, kept in close touch with me and gave me advice on what and when to do next for my application. When they had time, they would talk with me one-on-one to discuss my college application and help ease my tension. I gradually became less and less nervous and even felt relaxed while applying for my college.

最后，我希望正在申请的友友们在接下来的几个月中都能收到自己梦校的offer，同时也祝贺那些ED就已经下车的朋友们！送大家一句话：Take it easy, to the infinity and beyond !相信大家最后都有理想的未来。

Finally, I hope those who are applying now will receive offers from your dream colleges. Meanwhile, my congratulations to those who have already finished their application in the ED round. I would like to say to you: Take it easy, to the infinity and beyond! I believe everyone will have a bright future.