密歇根大学
University of Michigan Personal Statement范文
这篇来自密歇根大学的PS告诉我们写个人陈述时，最重要的并非展示成就，而是如何通过真实的故事展现自己如何面对困境、接纳自我，并从中成长。
#01、外貌的先天性差异与童年困扰
First impressions are everything—even in kindergarten.
第一印象决定一切，即使在幼儿园也是如此。
I was born with Nonsyndromic Aplasia Cutis Congenita. Basically, I have had a scar on my head since birth, and hair couldn't always grow over it. Up until fourth grade, when I underwent two hair transplants that would allow me to slowly grow hair over my scar, it was definitely noticeable.
我出生时患有先天性非综合征皮肤增生症。基本上，我从出生起头上就有一道疤痕，头发无法一直长在疤痕上。直到四年级，我接受了两次头发移植手术，疤痕上的头发才慢慢长出来。
What I remember vividly about kindergarten is my new peers glaring at my shiny head with a puzzled look. I learned about my classmates through their lunchbox covers and backpack designs; they saw me as the boy with the scar.
我对幼儿园生活记忆犹新的是，新同学们用疑惑的目光盯着我闪闪发光的脑袋。我从同学们的饭盒封面和书包设计中了解了他们；在他们眼中，我是一个有伤疤的男孩。
It had a nice ring to it, but I wasn’t a fan. Unfortunately, that’s what I imagined everyone saw first, and first impressions stick.
这个名字很好听，但我并不喜欢。不幸的是，这就是我想象中大家首先看到的，第一印象很重要。
In elementary school, it was still my defining characteristic—what separated me from a sea of collared t-shirts and cargo shorts. As I began first grade, the questions started. In retrospect, they were harmless, but they made me feel alienated. I would try to shrug them off, but the benign inquisitions furthered the self-created idea that I was different than my classmates because of something I couldn’t fix.
小学时，它还是我的标志性特征--是它将我从一大片有领 T 恤和短裤中区分开来。上小学一年级后，我开始受到质疑。现在回想起来，这些问题并无恶意，但却让我感到疏离。我试着甩掉它们，但这些善意的追问进一步加深了我的自我暗示：我和同学们不一样，因为有些事情我无法弥补。
#02、努力改变认知与主动构建身份
The idea of my peers seeing only my bare scalp when they looked at me, whether true or not, was a nightmare I couldn’t shake. It was my most distinct feature, but I didn’t want it to be defining. So, I applied myself to my activities. No matter what it was, I always tried to stand out so I wouldn’t be seen as the boy with the scar anymore. My hair wasn’t something I could control, but my personality was. I wanted to build an identity on my interests and attributes, not have one automatically assigned because of a birth mark.
同龄人看我时只看到我光秃秃的头皮，无论这是否属实，都是我挥之不去的噩梦。这是我最明显的特征，但我不想让它成为我的标志。于是，我全身心地投入到我的活动中。不管做什么，我总是努力让自己脱颖而出，这样我就不会再被看作是那个有伤疤的男孩了。我的头发不是我能控制的，但我的个性可以。我想根据自己的兴趣和特质建立自己的身份，而不是因为天生的疤痕而被自动分配身份。
From art to sports to being one of the only first graders on elementary student council, my desire to distract my peers from my scar was the reason I pushed myself to try new things and work at them, even if it wasn’t for the best reason.
从艺术到体育，再到成为小学学生会中唯一的一年级学生之一，我想让同伴们远离我的伤疤，这是我推动自己尝试新事物并为之努力的原因，即使这并不是最好的理由。
As I grew up with it and found hobbies that I genuinely enjoyed doing and talking about, I slowly became more comfortable with the attention that I once shied away from. I found a way, through my activities and interests, to feel comfortable in my skin, whether there was hair on it or not.
随着我的成长，我找到了自己真正喜欢做的事和喜欢谈论的话题，我慢慢地变得更愿意接受那些我曾经回避的目光。通过自己的活动和兴趣，我找到了一种方法，让自己的皮肤感到舒适，无论上面是否有毛发。
#03、外在变化与内在成长交错
I remember walking out of the operating room after my second surgery with a new sense of self, ready to be a different person with a re-created identity and a full head of hair. That didn’t happen. I went back to school as the same person I was before, and that was exactly what I wanted—I just didn’t know it then. For so long I felt restricted by my scar. It wasn’t until hair started growing when I realized I never really was.
我记得第二次手术后，我怀着全新的自我感觉走出手术室，准备成为一个拥有全新身份和满头秀发的另一个人。但事实并非如此。我还是以原来的样子回到了学校，这正是我想要的，只是当时我不知道而已。长久以来，我一直觉得自己受到伤疤的限制。直到头发开始生长，我才意识到自己从未真正变过。
I didn’t have a sudden epiphany about my scar after the surgery, nor did I feel like a new person. By that point in my life, I had figuratively grown into my scar just as I grew into my brother’s hand-me-downs. I found and focused on my interests, and from them I developed an identity that I was proud of, well before I went under the knife.
手术后，我并没有突然对自己的伤疤产生顿悟，也没有觉得自己焕然一新。在我的生命中，我已经在疤痕中成长，就像我在哥哥的衣服中成长一样。我找到并专注于自己的兴趣爱好，并从中发展出自己引以为傲的身份，这一切都发生在我动刀子之前。
A caveat of my surgery was that the hair would grow, then one-third would fall off. My scar will never be completely gone, but I no longer feel defined by it like I did in elementary school.
我手术的一个注意事项是，头发会长出来，然后会脱落三分之一。我的疤痕永远不会完全消失，但我不再像小学时那样被它所定义。
#04、总结性领悟与自我肯定
Neither the surgeries or my search for a more redeeming quality completely changed my life, but both experiences made me more confident in my self-perception. I can be whatever I want to be; a scar can’t change that. It just took two surgeries and years of nail biting and pushing myself at my activities, some of which I still partake in and am passionate about today, to realize it.
无论是手术还是寻找更多的救赎，都没有彻底改变我的生活，但这两次经历让我对自我认知更加自信。我想成为什么样的人就能成为什么样的人，疤痕无法改变这一点。只是经过两次手术和多年的咬指甲、在活动中逼迫自己才意识到这一点，其中有些活动我至今仍在参与并充满热情。
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