导语
写小作文的人多了，写得好的人不多，有思想的更是少之又少，哈佛大学每年会从全世界优秀的申请者成千上万的作文中挑选十篇最优秀的，接下来，我们会连载这些年被哈佛大学选出的这些优秀小作文。
会写小作文不仅仅是为了申请学校，生活中的点点滴滴都会在文字中留下烙印，再通过文字传递给他人，考试要，职场要，怡情养性更要，咱们评论之类的废话少说，一千个人眼里有一千个哈姆雷特，同一个人在不同时期读有不同的领悟，中英文对译放在这里，您自己品，仔细品，反复品……
文章1
I have a fetish for writing.
我对书写有一种痴迷。
I’m not talking about crafting prose or verses, or even sentences out of words. But simply constructing letters and characters from strokes of ink gives me immense satisfaction. It’s not quite calligraphy, as I don’t use calligraphic pens or Chinese writing brushes; I prefer it simple, spontaneous, and subconscious. I often find myself crafting characters in the margins of notebooks with a fifty-cent pencil, or tracing letters out of thin air with anything from chopsticks to fingertips.
我不是在说撰写散文或诗句，甚至是码字造句。 仅仅简单地用笔墨构建字母和词组给了我巨大的满足。这不能完全称作是书法，因为我不使用书法笔或中国毛笔；我更喜欢简单、自发和潜意识的方式。我经常发现自己用 50 美分的铅笔在笔记本的空白处书写，或者用从筷子以及指尖的任何东西凭空描摹字母。
The art of handwriting is a relic in the information era. Why write when one can type? Perhaps the Chinese had an answer before the advent of keyboards. “One’s handwriting,” said the ancient Chinese, “is a painting of one’s mind.” After all, when I practice my handwriting, I am crafting characters.
书写艺术是信息时代的过时之物。为什么要在可以打字的情况下手写？或许在键盘出现之前，中国人有答案。中国古人说：“字如其人。”说到底，当我练习我的书写时，我正在打造性格。
My character.
我的性格。
I particularly enjoy meticulously designing a character, stroke by stroke, and eventually building up, letter by letter, to a quote personalized in my own voice. Every movement of the pen and every droplet of ink all lead to something profound, as if the arches of every "m" are doorways to revelations. After all, characters are the building blocks of language, and language is the only vehicle through which knowledge unfolds. Thus, in a way, these letters under my pen are themselves representations of knowledge, and the delicate beauty of every letter proves, visually, the intrinsic beauty of knowing. I suppose handwriting reminds me of my conviction in this visual manner: through learning answers are found, lives enriched, and societies bettered.
我特别喜欢精心设计一个词组，一笔一划地，最终一个字母一个字母地构建成一个用我自己的声音发出的个性化的词组。笔的一举一动，墨的一点一滴，无不引出更深奥的东西，仿佛每一个“m”的拱形，都是通往启示的大门。毕竟，文字是语言的基石，而语言是知识展开的唯一载体。因此，在某种程度上，我笔下的这些字母本身就是知识的代表，每一个字母的精致之美，在视觉上都证明了认知的内在之美。我想书写以这种视觉方式提醒我我的信念：通过学习找到答案，丰富生活，改善社会。
Moreover, perhaps this strange passion in polishing every single character of a word delineates my dedication to learning, testifies my zeal for my conviction, and sketches a crucial stroke of my character.
此外，也许是这种对每一个词的每个笔划都精雕细琢的特殊激情，塑造了出我对学习的执着，验证了我对信念的热忱，勾勒出我性格的关键一笔。
"We--must--know ... " the mathematician David Hilbert's voice echoes in resolute cursive at the tip of my pen, as he, addressing German scientists in 1930, propounds the goal of modern intellectuals. My pen firmly nods in agreement with Hilbert, while my mind again fumbles for the path to knowledge.
“我们——必须——知道……”数学家大卫希尔伯特的声音在我的笔尖以坚定的草书形式回响，他在 1930 年对德国科学家发表讲话，加深了现代知识分子的目标。我的笔坚定地点头同意希尔伯特的意见，而我的思绪再次摸索着通往知识的道路。
The versatility of handwriting enthralls me. The Chinese developed many styles -- called hands -- of writing. Fittingly, each hand seems to parallel one of my many academic interests. Characters of the Regular Hand (kai shu), a legible script, serve me well during many long hours when I scratch my head and try to prove a mathematical statement rigorously, as the legibility illuminates my logic on paper. Words of the Running Hand (xing shu), a semi-cursive script, are like the passionate words that I speak before a committee of Model United Nations delegates, propounding a decisive course of action: the words, both spoken and written, are swift and coherent but resolute and emphatic. And strokes of the Cursive Hand (cao shu) resemble those sudden artistic sparks when I deliver a line on stage: free spontaneous, but emphatic syllables travel through the lights like rivers of ink flowing on the page.
书写的千变万化让我着迷。中国人发展了许多风格——称为“书”——书体。无巧不成书，每个“书”似乎都与我的某种学术兴趣相似。一般的正体(楷书) 是一种清楚易读的书体，在我挠头并试图严谨地证明数学论述的许多漫长的时间里，它对我很有帮助，因为简单、易读昭示了我在纸上阐明我的逻辑。奔走的字体（行书），是一种半草书，就像我在模拟联合国代表委员会面前说的热烈的话语，让一个决定性的行动方案更加深入人心：说话和书写都很快，一气呵成但坚定有力。而弯弯曲曲的字体（草书）就像我在台上表演时突然迸发出的艺术火花：自由自发但铿锵的声调在灯光中穿行，就像在页面上流动的墨水。
Yet the fact that the three distinctive hands cooperate so seamlessly, fusing together the glorious culture of writing, is perhaps a fable of learning, a testament that the many talents of the Renaissance Man could all be worthwhile for enriching human society. Such is my methodology: just like I organize my different hands into a neat personal style with my fetish for writing, I can unify my broad interests with my passion for learning.
更妙的是，这三种如此不同的书体竟能配合的天衣无缝，融合成了辉煌的书写文化，这或许就是传说中学习的意义，它见证了文艺复兴时期杰出的人拥有众多的才能是有价值且能造福人类社会的。这也是我的方法：就像我书写的嗜好能将我不同的书体整合成的个人风格一样，我可以将我的广泛兴趣与我对学习的热情统一起来。
“...We -- will -- know!” Hilbert finishes his adage, as I frantically slice an exclamation mark as the final stroke of this painting of my mind.
“……我们——会——知道！”希尔伯特结束了他的名言，正当我兴致勃勃地落笔以一个感叹号作为我这幅心灵之画的最后一笔时。
I must know: for knowing, like well-crafted letters, has an inherent beauty and an intrinsic value. I will know: for my versatile interests in academics will flow like my versatile styles of writing.
我必须知道：因为“知“，就像精心创作的字母一样，有与生俱来的美和不言于外的价值。我会知道：因为我对学术的多方面兴趣会像我多才多艺的写作风格一样流动。
I must know and I will know: for my fetish for writing is a fetish for learning.
我必须知道而且我会知道：因为我对书写的迷恋是对求知的迷恋。
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