為什么我要休間隔年

文Jonathan Guzman 譯Fiona Cai 繪 馬豆子

為什么我要休間隔年

Why I Took a Gap Year

文Jonathan Guzman 譯Fiona Cai 繪 馬豆子

Manila， the city where I grew up. Growing up， I quickly learned that the city's offerings were reserved for those with the means to enjoy them.

So a few years ago， as my college graduation approached，it came as little surprise to hear my uncle offer advice my parents and family had repeated throughout my childhood in the Philippines：

"Remember，" he said，"money isn't everything. But it is almost everything."

To him and the rest of my family， the only sensible①sensible英 ［'sens?b（?）l］ 美 ［'s?ns?bl］ adj. 明智的、合乎情理的、通情達理的、意識到的；能感覺到的path was a direct line toward financial stability and success.

Instead， I'd be doing the unthinkable： I'd take a gap year.

Through the utilitarian②utilitarian 英 ［j?，t?l?'te?r??n］ 美 ［，jut?l?'t?r??n］ adj. 功利的；功利主義的；實利的 n. 功利主義者lens which my Filipino family and friends see education， gap years are largely a waste. They picture aimless participants who are slow to find careers， delay receiving proper salaries， and pursue activities that don't justify the money spent or earnings lost.

That anxiety is at odds with the apparent attitudes of American college students， who seem perfectly comfortable with gap years. Roughly three quarters of each incoming class at Harvard University's law school applied after taking at least a year off.

Gap years have reached such a degree of acceptability，schools like Princeton and Tufts universities have started their own programs for students to take a "transformational year of full-time service， domestically or abroad， before beginning their academic studies."

The 10 years I spent in the U.S. before graduating from Vanderbilt challenged my childhood perception of education： It became an end in and of itself. Instead of being unnecessary add-ons to an

already lengthy career path， for example， doctoral programs ranging from bioethics③bioethics英 ［ba???'eθ?ks］ 美 ［，ba?o'?θ?ks］ n. 生物倫理學to immunology④immunology 英 ［?mj?'n?l?d??］ 美 ［，?mju'nɑl?d?i］ n. ［免疫］ 免疫學were opportunities to broaden my future practice.

Even after my gap year， I'm still trying to strike a balance between the pragmatic priorities⑤priority 英 ［pra?'?r?t?］ 美 ［pra?'?r?ti］ n. 優先；優先權；［數］ 優先次序；優先考慮的事I was raised with and the vibrant⑥vibrant 英 ［'va?br?nt］ 美 ［'va?br?nt］ adj. 振動的；充滿生氣的；響亮的；戰栗的ones I developed during my U.S. education. Medical school remains my goal， but I feel like a more complete candidate as I face down admissions interviews.

I learned the discipline of a full-time job and worked with physicians who I plan to stay in touch with， as both professional and personal connections. I juggled graduate coursework alongside employment，preparing me （in theory） for the hectic schedule ahead. For the price of a later start to my career， I learned how to pursue the kind of success my family taught me to value.

So while I appreciate my uncle's advice， knowing full well he wanted the best for me， I feel compelled to reword it here：

Money is almost everything. But it isn't everything.

我在馬尼拉市長大，隨著我的成長，我很快認識到，這座城市所提供的東西都是給那些有錢享受的人準備的。

因此，幾年前我臨近大學畢業的時候，聽到叔叔給我的忠告，我一點都不覺得驚訝。我小時候在菲律賓時，我的父母和家人就曾經反復給我這樣的忠告。

“記住，”他說，“錢不是萬能的，但它近乎萬能。”

對于他和我的其他家人而言，唯一的明智之舉就是直接邁入收入穩定和成功的行列。

相反，我要做一件不可思議的事：我要休個間隔年。

從我的菲律賓家人和朋友看待教育的功利視角來說，間隔年很大程度上是一種浪費。在他們的想象中，參與間隔年的是一群漫無目的的人，他們不急于確定職業，推遲了掙體面工資的時間，參加的活動根本不值花出去的那些錢，也不值損失的那些收入。

那種焦慮與美國大學生的態度完全相左，美國的大學生態度明確，似乎完全接受間隔年。每年，哈佛大學法學院的新生班級都有大概四分之三的學生是休學至少一年后再申請的。

有如此多的人接受間隔年，于是像普林斯頓和塔夫茨這樣的大學都開始推出他們自己的活動，讓學生“在開始學術研究之前度過一年轉換期，參加國內或者國外的全職服務活動”。

在我從范德堡大學畢業前，我在美國生活了十年。這十年讓我兒時對于教育的看法受到了挑戰：教育本身就是目的。舉例而言，從生物倫理學博士項目到免疫學博士項目，它們都是我拓展未來從醫實踐的機會，而非我漫漫職業道路上不必要的附加物。

即便休完間隔年之后，在考慮事情的輕重緩急時，我仍試圖在實用主義與澎湃激情之間找到平衡。前者是我在成長過程中被灌輸的，后者是我在接受美國教育的過程中收獲的。醫學院仍舊是我的目標，但是當我勇敢地直面錄取面試官時，我覺得自己是一個素質更加全面的候選人。

我學到了做一份全職工作該有的規矩，并且與我想要在專業和個人生活方面一直保持聯系的內科醫生一起工作。我力圖兼顧工作和研究生課程，這（從理論上）讓我為日后的繁忙日程做好了準備。盡管我付出了代價，要推遲開始我的職業生涯，但是我學會了如何去追尋我的家庭教我要重視的那種成功。

因此，盡管我很感激叔叔對我的忠告，深知他是想要我過得好，但我還是忍不住要在這里把那條忠告重新改寫一下：

錢近乎是萬能的，但它絕不是萬能的。