That Day We Used Our Hands To Break The Ice 那一天，我們動手打破了僵局

Author: Angela Chen, Class of '21, Shanghai American School, Puxi Campus

Welcome back, SAS. A new chapter is imminent. Do you not smell the scent of promise, the fizzle of potential, in our next fast-approaching year together?

歡迎回來，上海美國學(xué)校的各位。新的篇章將要開啟。在即將到來的新學(xué)年里，你沒有察覺到成功的跡象以及潛在的失敗嗎？

To me, that jump between the last day of the summer into the first day of your school—the sheer physicality of it—represents in and of itself a spur of growth, a welcoming of something novel. As intimidating as it may seem to many, if not all of us, it’s one of the most universal, daunting, and pivotal moments in our growth. And, get this: it’s entirely what you make of it.

對我而言，從暑假的最后一天到開學(xué)的第一天，這種跳轉(zhuǎn)——用純粹的物理意義來說——本身就是一種成長的刺激，一種對新奇事物的歡迎。在我們中的許多人看來（即使不是所有人），這種轉(zhuǎn)換可能令人生畏，是我們成長過程中最普遍、最嚴(yán)峻和最關(guān)鍵的時刻之一。但你要明白：這完全只是你對此的想法。

Whether you are a returning student or a newcomer to our community, our narratives all hold a common, underlying vein: change. We are all advancing into our own unfamiliar territory.

無論你是返校學(xué)生還是我們社區(qū)的一名新成員，我們的故事都有一個共同的、根本的特質(zhì)：改變。我們都進入了自己不熟悉的領(lǐng)域。

Here’s a way to digest it. Think of all you have done, all you will ever do, as one vast field of canola flowers. Paths converge and diverge through the waist-high stalks, splitting into increasingly narrow trails as one moves forward into the future. As students of all ages and from all walks of life, we tackle our own fields with a similar goal in mind: to tread favorable trails by making favorable choices, to take the path that leads to the view and experience we each uniquely dream of. We strive to be happy and remarkable by leaving the smooth-paved traditional road that pegs one as commonplace, unfulfilled.

這里有一種可以融會貫通的方法。想想你所做的一切，你即將做的一切，就像一塊巨大的油菜花田。路徑在齊腰高的莖桿上匯聚并分叉，在向前邁進的時候，路徑分裂成越來越狹窄的小徑。因為學(xué)生來自不同年齡段、擁有各種各樣背景，我們可以用相似的目標(biāo)來處理自己的“花田”：通過做出有利的選擇來走上順利的道路，走上一條能找到我們每個人各自觀點和經(jīng)歷的道路。我們離開了平凡的、沒有成就感的傳統(tǒng)坦途，努力地去獲得快樂以及卓越的成就。

As we ascend to a higher grade after two months of glorious summer, we find ourselves presented with a wider, brighter array of opportunities that we have heretofore never even imagined. Be it a new ASA, exploratory, sport, club, or class, the fields have considerably broadened for all of us. New paths present themselves. The canola is lusher than last year, flowering with opportunity. We ourselves are a year older, ready to push through the upcoming year with flying colors.

當(dāng)愉快的兩個月暑假過去之后，在升入更高的年級時，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己擁有了更廣闊、更光明的機會，這些機會是我們迄今為止從未想過的。無論是新的課后活動、探索課程、運動項目、俱樂部、還是班級，對我們而言，這些“花田”都擴大了范圍。新的道路出現(xiàn)了。油菜花比去年更加茂盛，更加有機會盛開。我們自己也大了一歲，準(zhǔn)備好成功地度過即將到來的一年。

Over the next year, we all strive to be fulfilled. The term “fulfillment” is different for each of us: forging friendships, excelling in classes, foraying into different areas of study, finding new pastimes… and I encourage you in this coming year to indulge yourself in a bit of impulse. Go forth into these sprawling fields, wander audaciously, and discover new routes! Risk it. Seize these new opportunities that you never would’ve considered in the past. Your time at SAS is a soul-searching process, each coming year more so as you grow, learn, and sharpen your experiences into wisdom. And you only have so much time. Over the course of your next year, you might just begin to grasp what fulfillmenttrulymeans to you.

在接下來的一年里，我們都將努力取得成就。“成就感”這個詞對每個人的意義都是不同的：獲得友誼、學(xué)業(yè)表現(xiàn)出色、深入不同的學(xué)習(xí)領(lǐng)域、尋找新的消遣……我鼓勵你們在未來一年里沖動一點。走進這些廣闊的花田中，大膽地漫步，發(fā)現(xiàn)新的路線！大膽去闖吧。抓住這些你過去從未考慮過的新機遇。你在上海美國學(xué)校的時間是一個自我反省的過程，每一年，隨著你的成長、學(xué)習(xí)，并把經(jīng)驗?zāi)サZ成智慧，你就會更深入地思考。你的時間只有這么多。在接下來的一年里，你可能會開始領(lǐng)悟到真正意義上的成就感。

In the meantime, I want to remind you of how fluid our lives truly are—just like this field of flowers, dynamic in the wind. Nothing about this upcoming year is immutable. We will be prompted to make higher-stakes decisions, but none that will singlehandedly make or break our lives. Paths of a flower-field are ever-changing; some fall to disuse time and time again, while others are newly paved by new minds to accompany our evolving world, our evolving interests. There is no cast-iron upshot. There is always freedom.

同時，我想提醒大家，我們的生活是如此的多變，就像這片花田，在風(fēng)中不斷變化。未來一年里，沒有什么是一成不變的。學(xué)校鼓勵大家做出有更高得失的決定，但沒有一個決定會單獨地成就或破壞大家的生活。花田的路徑千變?nèi)f化，隨著我們的世界不斷發(fā)展、我們的興趣不斷變化，有些道路會一次又一次地被棄用，而新思想鋪就了一些新的道路。沒有不可變更的結(jié)果。自由無處不在。

With this in mind, I urge you to let loose, allow your heart to take rein from time to time again—and do something inconsequential and silly that delightsyouthe most. For all of us, the next year is going to be harder, more memorable than the last. For some of us, the next year is going to be the most difficult out of all our years at SAS. Yet amidst all this glorious, perpetual clamor of ambition and merriment, remember that there is always opportunity to breathe. This can mean playing a couple of basketball games with your friends after school, dedicating two hours to uninterrupted napping, or meeting up with classmates to bemoan your workload over a Caesar salad. Stroll, make art, close your eyes, breathe.Let loose enough to drink the winds that roll from the mountain slopes, run a hand through the soft-petaled canola.

考慮到這一點，我請大家放松一下，時不時地遵從自己內(nèi)心最真實的想法，做一些無關(guān)緊要、蠢蠢的但最讓你開心的事情。對所有人來說，明年將會比去年更加艱難、更加難忘。對我們中的一些人而言，明年可能是他們在上海美國學(xué)校度過的最困難的一年。然而，在這些不可磨滅的雄心壯志以及歡樂的喧鬧中，請記住，你總有放松的機會。這可以是放學(xué)后和你的朋友們打幾場籃球賽，不受打擾地花上兩個小時小睡一下，或者和同學(xué)們見見面，抱怨一下你在凱撒沙拉上花費的精力。散步、藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作、閉上眼睛、呼吸。放松一下，呼吸從山坡上吹來的風(fēng)，用手撫過柔嫩的油菜花。

Perhaps a lot to keep in mind—but for now, we have everything to look forward to. Do the skies not look so broad from here, the fields so vast?Onward.

也許有很多事情需要牢記，但現(xiàn)在，我們擁所有值得期待的東西。從這里看天空不是那么寬廣？田野不是那么廣闊？那么，前進吧。

Founded in 1912, Shanghai American School (SAS) is the largest and most established international school in China. In short, it's the kind of school you wish you would've attended when you were a kid.

創(chuàng)建于1912年，上海美國學(xué)校是中國最大的也是歷史最悠久的國際學(xué)校。簡而言之，如果你能回到小的時候，這會是一所你想要去的學(xué)校。