M: I see. Is the phenomenon of parent and kids studying together at university a rare case?
男：我明白了。父母和孩子一起上大學(xué)，這種現(xiàn)象算是罕見的嗎?
W: I am afraid not. Changing careers later in life is no longer a rarity, so it is not uncommon for students and their parents to be toying with big decisions at the same time. Class surveys indicate that the majority of Harvard alumni have shifted directions when it comes to their careers. With the financial collapse of 2008, such shifts have become more widespread. Students have seen their family members lose jobs or change them. Gone is the time when you start out at a company and work there for the rest of your life.
女：恐怕不是。畢業(yè)之后換工作不再是件稀罕事，因此，學(xué)生和父母在同一時(shí)間做出重大決定，這種情況并不少見。班級(jí)調(diào)查顯示，大多數(shù)哈佛校友在職業(yè)生涯中已經(jīng)改變了方向。隨著2008年的金融崩潰，這種轉(zhuǎn)變變得更加普遍。學(xué)生們都能看到家人失去工作或換了工作。找到個(gè)工作就一輩子不換，那都是過去的事了。
M: So your mom started study again just because she wanted to change her career?
男：所以你媽媽又開始學(xué)習(xí)，就是想換個(gè)工作?
W: Yes, she used to be in the real estate industry but now she wants to be a lawyer.
女：是的，她以前從事房地產(chǎn)行業(yè)，現(xiàn)在想當(dāng)律師。
M: Does her experience affect you somewhat?
男：她的經(jīng)歷對(duì)你有什么影響嗎?
W: Certainly. Freshman Week, in one of the welcoming speeches, our dean mentioned that many of us might have grown up thinking that "doctor, lawyer, teacher" were our only option. She urged us to stick to our dream. But later I realized talking about passions is one thing--- actually following them is another. By the time I started to think about what professional directions I might want to take, I had heard "The average American changes careers seven times" so often that it was hard not to become numb to its message. The last thing that the enthusiastic Harvard student wants to do is to imagine moving from job to job until she lands somewhere by chance, especially when the economy is so uncertain. My mom can serve as a good example. Even if she graduated from Harvard herself as a brilliant student, she has to make alterations of her career.
女：當(dāng)然有。新生周的一次迎新演講中，我們的院長(zhǎng)提到，我們中的許多人在成長(zhǎng)過程中，一直認(rèn)為“醫(yī)生、律師、教師”是我們唯一的選擇。她敦促我們堅(jiān)持夢(mèng)想。但后來我意識(shí)到熱情這件事，說來容易做起來難。我開始思考未來的職業(yè)方向時(shí)，聽說“美國(guó)人一生中7次改變職業(yè)生涯”。通常情況下，人們很難不對(duì)信息麻木。哈佛大學(xué)的學(xué)生最不愿意做的，就是想象自己不斷從一份工作跳槽到另一份工作，最后偶然地在某個(gè)工作安定下來，尤其是在經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢(shì)如此不明朗的情況下。我媽媽就是一個(gè)很好的例子。即使她作為優(yōu)秀學(xué)生從哈佛大學(xué)畢業(yè)，她也不得不改變自己的職業(yè)生涯。
M: So, is your mom actually happy studying with younger students?
男：那么，你媽媽真的喜歡和年輕學(xué)生一起學(xué)習(xí)嗎?
W: Hard to say. Frustration is routine for older students, you know, who have to learn how to study all over again. Mom once described the experience of taking classes with students half her age after 30 years in the workforce: "What's most challenging is that you come into class knowing how to make a cake--- but you're all there to make omelets."
女：很難說。對(duì)于年紀(jì)較大的學(xué)生來說，挫折是家常便飯，他們必須學(xué)習(xí)如何重新學(xué)習(xí)。媽媽曾經(jīng)描述過在工作30年后，和年齡只有她一半的同學(xué)一起上課的經(jīng)歷:“最具挑戰(zhàn)性的是，你來到課堂上，知道如何制作蛋糕——但你卻在那里做煎蛋卷。”
M: A kind of wasting time?
W: Exactly.
M: Do you think your mom has played an important role in shaping your idea of what kind of person you want to be?
男：關(guān)于你對(duì)自己未來的想法，在這方面你媽媽起到了重要的影響嗎？
W: Absolutely. Harvard offers many resources for students who want to figure out where their future lies. Advisers, tutors, and OCS keep their doors open to help undergraduates embark on this kind of discovery. One can't find one's passions in a booklet on summer internships or a list of possible career paths. It's a gradual process that involves sharing thoughts and then coming back to them; a discussion that doesn't always have its end goal in mind. In the course of my time at Harvard, it has been just such a give-and-take --- with professors, with friends, and with my mother --- that has slowly shaped my ideas of who I might want to be. I really cherish the time she spent together with me at university.
女：當(dāng)然。哈佛為想要了解自己未來的學(xué)生提供了很多資源。顧問、導(dǎo)師和就業(yè)指導(dǎo)辦公室都對(duì)本科生敞開大門，幫助他們開始對(duì)未來的探索。單單一本關(guān)于暑期實(shí)習(xí)的小冊(cè)子，或者一份備選的職業(yè)道路清單，你無(wú)法找到自己的激情所在。這是一個(gè)循序漸進(jìn)的過程，涉及到分享想法，然后回歸想法本身；這也是一場(chǎng)不要求最終目標(biāo)的討論。在我在哈佛的求學(xué)過程中，這只是一種想法的交流——與教授交流、與朋友交流以及與我的母親交流——慢慢形成了我對(duì)自己未來的想法。我真的很珍惜她在大學(xué)里和我一起度過的時(shí)光。
M: Well, Maggie. Thank you very much for staying with us today.
W: My pleasure.
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