2017普大早录生：文书背后的故事（附文书原文）

其实美国大学申请文书

亦复杂亦简单，

这里讲述一个

朴实无华的故事。

文书最重要的是，

作者能去发现自己的激情所在，

不需要去纠结那些

华丽的辞藻、

宏伟的壮举、

或者完全不属于你的故事。

静下心，细细回忆，

也许一个高中生的

风采与内涵，

就在不知不觉中的文字间

信手拈来、

娟娟流出。

2016-12-20阅读 3516

本文作者孟琳，申请文书的作者昵称：小麦， 他有许多爱好，其中一个爱好就是折纸。 而小麦心中的折纸世界是何模样？ 先听听妈妈图文并茂的娓娓道来。

小麦喜欢折纸。大概两三岁时就开始折，把书上所有的形状都折过来了。

他用买的彩色的 origami paper, 或者用白色的打印纸。

有那么几年，他见纸就折，走到哪折到哪。医生候诊室的广告，音乐会的节目单，餐馆的菜单，在他手里变成动物，变成各种形状，他的手没有闲着的时候。

这些年，小麦折的少些了。偶尔，会在家里的某一个角落看见他的作品。时而，会看见他拿着纸出神，摆弄。

几个星期前，他给我看这篇申请大学的作文，我被深深地打动了。这篇作文写的是他发明五角形锥体的过程。我念着他的文字，眼前出现一幕幕他小时候每每折出一个形状，欣喜地拿来给我看的情景。我的眼晴模糊了，泪流满面。

折纸，在小麦做过的众多事情中，显得微不足道。但是他以同样的热情，同样的执着，同样的坚韧来攻克这个难题，来追求他一惯想要的完美。这一件小事，是他成长过程的缩写。记得一位幼儿园的老师对他有这样的评价，这个小孩子的优点和缺点都是一个，他不认为这个世界上有他做不到的事情，他会所向披靡，也会很容易受挫折。十几年来，目睹他克服一个个大大小小的困难，小时候受挫时会哭，长大了失败时就是沉默。不过，我已经不用担心了，未来路上，再大的困难，他都会坦然面对，有策略地解决。

之前一直觉得小麦的写作不如其他科目，念了这篇被他比喻为在森林里寻找一株奇异蓝花的美文，对他的写作水平刮目相看。

是不是这个发明或着这篇作文把他送进普林斯顿大学的？当然不是，不过可以在这一项上画个圈圈。Well done Matt, mom is proud of you!

Common appilication 里的作文命题

Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

By Matthew Yuan 袁若皓 ( 小麦）

I woke up to a beautiful summer morning. The world outside was gleaming with energy. It was obvious how I was going to spend a day like this: "Oh man! The lighting by my window is perfect for making origami polyhedra!"

I nestled into my chair and pulled out a stack of multicolored square paper. "Let’s start with an old favorite." I folded three sheets into the shape of two triangular pyramids connected base-to-base. This triangular bipyramid was the most elegant polyhedron in my repertoire; it only required twelve folds, and the resulting shape was sturdy and neat. I twirled it around, admiring its symmetry. Then a new thought struck me. "What about a pentagonal bipyramid?"

The number five always seemed a little... odd (pun with the greatest of intentions). Five is a prime, refusing to be broken into factors. Regular pentagons, no matter how you arrange them, can’t tile the plane nicely–they always leave gaps. Would five be similarly elusive in the realm of origami bipyramids? Would it yield to some beautifully simple sequence of folds? Curiosity drove me to explore.

I pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and methodically creased in a triangular grid. This was my framework, every triangle with the potential to become one of a pentagonal bipyramid’s ten faces. I just needed to figure out the right sequence of folds…...two hours later, my desk was cluttered with countless crumpled-up, failed ideas. I had found a few crease combinations that produced the correct shape, but they always left an extra flap or three sticking out in some direction. I leaned back and exhaled in frustration. The answer to "is there an elegant way to make an origami pentagonal bipyramid?" seemed to be a resounding "Nope!"

This answer was deeply unsatisfying. I had spent my whole morning searching for a rare orchid in a vast paper forest, and now I was utterly lost amongst the foliage. Incomplete thoughts swirled in my mind.

"Hmm…" My head cocked to one side. As a cat plays with yarn, I picked up the last attempt I had made and studied it close to my face, feeling its worn folds. "...maybe I could just cheat a little." I considered simply cutting off the bits that made the offending extra flaps. It would be inelegant; it implicitly says "I am not clever enough to fold this model with an uncut square." But I was left with no other choice. Perhaps not an orchid, but I refused to come out of the forest with nothing.

So I took a deep breath and tore. Instead of a square, I was left with a strange parallelogram. I cupped the paper in my hands and tucked a few flaps into a pair of pockets, and at last… I got perhaps the ugliest pentagonal bipyramid in existence. Ragged edges stuck out from cracks; the form was lopsided and messy. It bore little resemblance to the perfect five-petaled flower I yearned for. But to my surprise, I didn’t care at all.

After thinking until my brain hurt and folding until my fingertips were raw, all that mattered was that I had made something. This thing was mine, something entirely original. In the inexplicable way that an artist relates to their art, I became emotionally attached to what was essentially a neatly crumpled paper lump. Suddenly, the pentagonal bipyramid became an extension of myself. My own little contribution to humanity’s collective origami knowledge.

That was three months ago. Today, there is a red folder hanging on my wall. In it lies a half-finished model of the latest iteration of my pentagonal bipyramid design (I’ve figured out how to make it a bit neater). I add one crease to it every day until it’s done, then I start a new one. It’s a tedious and imperfect process, but that’s okay. I still make every crease with pride.

作者孟琳，毕业于华西医科大学口腔系和宾州大学牙学院，开业诊所位于美国新泽西州。

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