By Sophie Zhang

四年前，17歲的女孩離開溫暖的家獨自去海外求學。面對陌生的環(huán)境，她曾被孤獨感淹沒。四年后，即將大學畢業(yè)的她，已成長、蛻變?yōu)橐粋€堅強、勇敢的女性。回首來時路，才發(fā)現(xiàn)自己已在成長的道路上走了那么久。感謝所有快樂和悲傷的經歷，感謝那個一直支持、鼓勵和陪伴她的人。

Time flies, they said. It’s over in a flash, they said. Enjoy it while it lasts, they said.

Four years ago, a 17-year old me arrived at Wellesley College1Wellesley College：韋爾斯利學院，是一所女子文理學院，成立于1875年，地處馬薩諸塞州波士頓城西的小鎮(zhèn)威爾斯利，為美國七姐妹學院之一。. I cried when my parents dropped me off in my dorm room, and it was then, that I thought to myself, “This is what loneliness feels like.” In an instant, I had forgotten all of the arguments that I had ever had with my parents and my brother. In a second, I had forgotten how excited I was for college. How excited I was to be independent, to operate on my own schedule, to be the driver of my own life.

Here I am, at 21 years old, just two months from graduating from college.Once again, I have reached a critical juncture2critical juncture： 緊要關頭。in my life where I am going to be alone, in a new way. Gone are winter vacations and extended summer breaks I can spend at home. For the first time in my life, I can choose not to go back to school again. I can afford my own apartment, my sushi3sushi： 壽司。dinners out, and new clothes. Again, I am about to be alone.

But if I haven’t retained4retain： 記住。anything from my Spanish 101 class freshman year, what college has taught me is that I am strong. People are resilient5resilient： 適應性強的，堅韌的。. I will be scared and afraid of what lies ahead of me, but I will not quit. I will not waver6waver： 猶豫不決。. I will plunge7plunge： 投入。forward, head first, towards this new adventure and I will not be weak. Once upon a time, I was weak, but I will not be anymore. I am better than that. I don’t even know the full extent of my abilities yet. They are waiting to be discovered.

In four years, I have experienced the pain of rejection. My first heartbreak. Friendships not working out. Having to be the one to stand up for8stand up for： 支持，堅持。myself and others when no one else was. I have been part of a community that has witnessed loss, violence, and tragedy9tragedy： 悲劇，災難。. But not only have I survived, I have prospered10prosper： 成功。.

How grateful I am for a romantic four years. How grateful I am for my heroes, the ones who have shown me the way and taught me to be strong when I have felt hopeless. How lucky I am to know that I have a home to return to, a home where chaos11chaos： 混亂。and arguments may occur, but where I still feel safe. A place where I am loved unconditionally, regardless of my mistakes.

Tomorrow, my mother turns 50. It is because of her that I have learned to love myself, to respect myself, and above all, to be a good person. It is because of her that even throughout all of my hardships and struggles, I have known that quitting is not and will not ever be an option.12正是因為她，即使在歷經艱難痛苦、充滿掙扎的日子里，我也明白放棄在任何時候都不是一個好的選擇。It is because of her that I have truly learned the lesson that age is only a number, and what matters is your spirit and your character.13是她讓我真切地明白，年齡只是一個數(shù)字，重要的是你的心靈和品質。

My mother and I have sometimes clashed14clash： 沖突，碰撞。heads.She is the strongest person I know, the person I disagree with the most, and the person I respect the most throughout it all. She is the person who has told me that the only person who is responsible for my life is me.That the only person who will never leave you, who will always be there for you, who will love you no matter what,is yourself. She taught me that lesson when I experienced my first heartbreak, and though it was a hard lesson to digest15digest： （經反復思考）領悟，理解。,she was right. But today I have to tell her where she has been wrong.

She doesn’t realize that there is another person who will never leave me. There is another person who will always be there for me, who will love me no matter, who will always be a part of me. That person is her. Through all of her toughness and stubbornness,16toughness： 強硬，固執(zhí)；stubbornness：倔強，頑固。she is the first person I will call when I am sad, in trouble, or feeling blue. She is the one person who will never lie to me to spare my feelings, because tough love is sometimes the hardest love to give.17spare one’s feeling： 不使某人傷心；tough love： 嚴厲的愛。But it is the right love,and it has served me well.

I have come so far these past four years. I have come so, so far. I still have a long life to live. A life that I hope will be full of adventure, success, and happiness.Although my mom was right when telling me that I am the only one responsible for what happens in my life, she forgot to credit18credit： 歸功于……，認為……有（某種優(yōu)點或成就）。herself. Mom, you’ve helped me come so far. You are my hero. One day I hope to be like you.