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Influence? Why is it that the people who influence us most influence us in ways that are not easily quantified? Through her work with abused children, my mother has shown me the heroism of selfless dedication to a worthy cause. By being an upstanding individual, my playwriting teacher in middle school acted as an inspiring male role model at a time when I needed one most. By being approachable and interesting, my World History teacher in my freshman year of high school opened my eyes to the connections between a society's culture and its history and broadened my view of cultures and the world. While these influences mean much to me and have contributed greatly to my development, they came too easily to mind.
The fact that I could sit down and write a list of how these people influenced me suggests that the influence did not alter me in any profound way. These people are all my elders, and perhaps I feel distanced from them. The person whose influence shook me to the deepest level is a person whose influence is nearly impossible to describe. Mike, the best friend I've ever had, changed me, and I changed him at one of the most crucial times in our lives: the seventh grade. We developed our personalities, our senses of humor, and our love for girls at the same time and in the same manner. It would cheapen his influence to quantify it; I am what I am because of him; I cannot say that about anybody else.
Mike came to my school in the seventh grade, and we immediately clicked. Before he came, I didn't feel like an outcast by any means, as I had my friends that I had known since first grade. However, until Mike, I never had anyone my age to identify with completely. Mike made me feel confident in who I was; he reaffirmed my drives and my thoughts and my inspirations. At this awkward stage in our lives, we found uncritical appreciation in each other. We both were obsessed by movies and had a similar sense of humor. We had the same problems and the same thoughts. That was all it took.
Halfway through that same year, Mike and I became inseparable. In fact, our yearbook had a section that lists the names of students and what they were never seen without. Under Mike, it read: "Ted, " and under Ted: "Mike." I became a staple at his house and he at mine. We no longer had to ask our parents if it was ok to have a sleepover on weekends, they assumed we would. On weekdays, we usually walked over to his house, which was near school, and hung out there till I had to go home. Our favorite past time on those long afternoons after school was to walk to the nearby food mart and get a bag of chips and two 24 oz. Coca-Colas. Watching a movie, we would sit on his couch with our chips and Coke and talk about our dreams of working together in the movies. Mike wanted to be a director and actor, and I wanted to be an actor and a playwright/screenwriter. It was the perfect combination. We even tried writing a few scripts together.
Of course, as two seventh grade boys, it wasn't all skips through the park either. We were extremely competitive and would get into brutal fights for seemingly no reason at all. One time, I pulled out a chunk of his hair, but I don't remember what started the fight. I think that our connection was so intense that we could not have normal emotions toward each other. As friends, we were best friends, but in an argument, we wanted to fight each other to the death. Still, the Wrestlemania days were rare; ordinarily, the intensity of that connection was a good thing. I was pretty shy about girls, and when I did talk about them with guys, I would usually just say a girl was "hot." With Mike, I could really talk about girls and who they were; with Mike, I didn't have to put on my public "cool" facade but could really say what I felt about a girl.
Then we went to separate high schools. We tried to maintain the friendship, and you might think we would have been able to since we had been so close, but we drifted apart. Our friendship was based on being near each constantly, of growing up in the same town, under the same conditions, with the same hopes, fears, and dreams. Now we still go to movies occasionally and hang out, but it's not the same, and we both know it. I thought Mike and I would be friends forever, and maybe we have to make those movies together, right? But the way things look right now, I doubt we will ever reconnect. Our friendship in the seventh grade was magical, and lightning doesn't strike twice.
My playwriting teacher from middle school left, but I handled it. I learned a great deal from him, and I appreciate him for the subject he taught and the way that he taught it. I will probably miss my parents when I leave for college, but I doubt the separation will pain me deeply since the connection between parents and children will always be there. With Mike, I lost the best friend I ever had, and I lost that forever. Losing that kind of bond cuts deep, and I know it's the type of wound that doesn't heal. It's the type of wound you just live with.
But just because we're not friends anymore, it doesn't slight the times we had when we were friends. Those times are what influenced me so deeply. No, Mike did not work some lesson into my heart, he worked himself into my heart, and even if I never see the guy again he changed me forever. I think that finding someone who you truly connect with and feel that you were destined to meet, someone who you feel truly understands you and makes you feel special, I think meeting someone like that is one of the most profound experiences you can have.

譯文：
影響,？為什么對(duì)我們產(chǎn)生了最大影響的人們,，通過(guò)難以計(jì)數(shù)的方式影響了我們？通過(guò)她和受虐待兒童的工作,，我的母親向我展示了她為有價(jià)值的事業(yè)做出的偉大的無(wú)私奉獻(xiàn),。作為一個(gè)誠(chéng)實(shí)正直的人,，我初中的劇本寫(xiě)作老師在我最需要的時(shí)候扮演了一個(gè)鼓舞人的男性角色,。我的平易近人而風(fēng)趣的世界歷史老師在我高中第一年的時(shí)候使我放眼一個(gè)社會(huì)的文化和它的歷史之間的關(guān)系,，并且拓展了我對(duì)文化和世界的認(rèn)識(shí)。雖然這些影響對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)意味深遠(yuǎn),，并且對(duì)我的發(fā)展起到了一定作用,，但它們來(lái)得過(guò)于隨意，使我難以留意,。
我可以坐下來(lái)將這些曾影響了我的人列出一個(gè)表,，而事實(shí)上這些并沒(méi)有深刻地改變我。這些人都是我的長(zhǎng)輩,也許我感到和他們有距離感,。其影響最深地振動(dòng)了我的那個(gè)人,是一個(gè)幾乎不能形容他的影響的人,。邁克，我曾經(jīng)擁有的最好的朋友,，改變了我,，我也在我們生活中最重要的時(shí)期之一：七年級(jí)，改變了他,。我們發(fā)展了我們的人格,，我們的幽默，以及我們同一時(shí)間,、同一方式的對(duì)女孩子的愛(ài),。如果要量化他的影響的話(huà)，他的影響就跌了價(jià),；由于他,，我成為了現(xiàn)在的我；我不能說(shuō)給別的任何人這樣的評(píng)價(jià),。
邁克在七年級(jí)時(shí)來(lái)到了我的學(xué)校,，我們馬上變得情投意合。在他到來(lái)之前,，我根本沒(méi)有感到過(guò)被排斥,，因?yàn)槲矣袕囊荒昙?jí)開(kāi)始就結(jié)實(shí)的朋友。然而,，直到邁克以前,，我從來(lái)沒(méi)有和同齡人完全地融入過(guò)。邁克讓我確信自己是什么樣的人,；他從新肯定了我的動(dòng)力,，我的思想和我的靈感。在我們生命中的這一難得的階段,，我們從對(duì)方那里得到了欣賞,。我們都為電影入迷,，都有相似的幽默感。我們有相同的問(wèn)題和相同的想法,。這就是一切,。
在當(dāng)年過(guò)了一半的時(shí)候，邁克和我變得形影不離,。其實(shí),，我們的年鑒有一欄列出了學(xué)生們的名字和從來(lái)都是與他們?cè)谝黄鸬臇|西。在邁克的下面,，寫(xiě)著："泰德,，"而在泰德的下面："邁克。"我成了他家的主要成員,，他也成了我家的主要分子,。我們?cè)僖膊辉?xún)問(wèn)我們的父母是否可以在周末在外過(guò)夜，他們知道我們,。在周末,，我們經(jīng)常走到學(xué)校附近的他家，而后逗留到我得回家的時(shí)候,。我們?cè)谀切┓艑W(xué)后漫長(zhǎng)的下午最喜愛(ài)的消遣是走到附近的食品市場(chǎng)要上一袋薯?xiàng)l和兩杯24英兩的可口可樂(lè),。看一場(chǎng)電影的時(shí)候,，我們會(huì)坐在他的床上,，拿著薯?xiàng)l和可樂(lè)，談?wù)撝覀円黄鹪陔娪皹I(yè)工作的夢(mèng)想,。邁克想成為一個(gè)導(dǎo)演兼演員,，而我希望成為一個(gè)演員兼劇作家。這是一個(gè)完美的組合,。我們甚至一起嘗試著寫(xiě)了一些劇本,。
當(dāng)然，作為兩個(gè)七年級(jí)的男孩,，也不會(huì)全部是輕松愉快的時(shí)刻,。我們都十分好斗，會(huì)不明不白地蠻橫打起架來(lái),。一次,，我扯掉了他的一大把頭發(fā)，但是我卻記不得是什么導(dǎo)致了那次爭(zhēng)斗,。我認(rèn)為我們的關(guān)系是那樣的親密,，我們不可能對(duì)對(duì)方持有正常的情緒。作為朋友，我們是最好的朋友,，但在爭(zhēng)論中，我們想想把對(duì)方打得置于死地,。不過(guò),，格斗的日子還是少見(jiàn)的；一般來(lái)說(shuō),，密切的關(guān)系是一件好事,。我對(duì)女孩子非常害羞，當(dāng)我和男孩們說(shuō)起她們的時(shí)候,，我通常只說(shuō)一個(gè)女孩"性感,。"和邁克在一起，我真的可以談?wù)撆⒆觽?，談?wù)撍齻兪窃趺礃拥?；和邁克在一起，我不必拿出對(duì)眾人的很"酷"的正經(jīng)面孔,，而是真的可以說(shuō)我對(duì)一個(gè)女孩的感覺(jué)如何,。
而后我們進(jìn)入了不同的高中。我們盡量保持著友誼,，也許你認(rèn)為我們一直這樣親密,，我們能夠做到，但是我們分道揚(yáng)鑣了,。我們的友誼是以不斷地和對(duì)方在一起,，在一個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)的同樣條件下成長(zhǎng)，有同樣的希望,、擔(dān)心和夢(mèng)想為基礎(chǔ)的?，F(xiàn)在我們也偶爾一起看電影、呆在一起,，但是那不一樣了,，我們兩個(gè)都清楚。我想邁克和我會(huì)是永遠(yuǎn)的朋友,，而且也許我們要一起拍攝電影,，不是嗎？但是從現(xiàn)在的事情看起來(lái),，我懷疑我們是否還會(huì)連在一起,。我們?cè)谄吣昙?jí)的友誼是不可思議的，而不會(huì)發(fā)生第二次,。
我初中的劇本寫(xiě)作老師離開(kāi)了,，但我能夠適應(yīng)。我從他那里學(xué)到了許多，并且我為他所教授的課程和他的授課方法而感謝他,。我也許會(huì)在離開(kāi)家來(lái)到大學(xué)的時(shí)候想念我的父母,，但是我不相信分離是否會(huì)使我深深地痛苦，因?yàn)槲液透改傅墓侨怅P(guān)聯(lián)永遠(yuǎn)在那里,。而對(duì)于邁克,，我失去了我曾擁有的最好的朋友，而且我永遠(yuǎn)地失去了,。失去這樣的友情紐帶,，傷口是很深的。而且,，我明白這是無(wú)法愈合的創(chuàng)傷,。這是你只能去承受的創(chuàng)傷。
但是盡管我們不再是朋友,，這絲毫不會(huì)淡漠當(dāng)我們是朋友的時(shí)候渡過(guò)的時(shí)光,。那些日子那樣深地影響了我。不,，邁克沒(méi)有在我心中教給我什么經(jīng)驗(yàn),，他把他自己刻劃進(jìn)了我的心，即使我再也見(jiàn)不到他,，他也永遠(yuǎn)地影響了我,。我想，那是找到一個(gè)你真正可以交流,，并且感到你們注定要相遇的人,，一個(gè)你覺(jué)得真正理解你并且讓你感到特別的人。我認(rèn)為,，遇到一個(gè)那樣的人是你可以擁有的最深刻的經(jīng)歷,。

點(diǎn)評(píng)：這是今年風(fēng)靡美國(guó)的一篇申請(qǐng)文章。很多人覺(jué)得,，如果是寫(xiě)申請(qǐng)哈佛的文章,，一定要找一個(gè)神話(huà)般的人物，即使不是石破天驚,，也要摧人淚下,。在翻譯這篇文章的時(shí)候，我開(kāi)始一直猜測(cè)邁克一定是一個(gè)有著驚天動(dòng)地故事的人物,，一定有著令人望塵莫及的高貴品質(zhì),。否則他怎么能夠深刻地影響一位進(jìn)入哈佛的天才學(xué)生呢？然而,，我意外地發(fā)現(xiàn)邁克不過(guò)是一個(gè)普通的初中男孩,，他和作者有著共同語(yǔ)言，有著相似的愛(ài)好，是形影不離的同學(xué)和好朋友,，僅此而已,。后來(lái)作者和邁克由于分開(kāi)而變得生疏，不再是知己,。由于失去了這種親密關(guān)系,，作者深感遺憾。實(shí)際上,，在一個(gè)少年心目中占據(jù)最重要位置的，往往不是什么英雄高士,，而是和他朝夕相伴的朋友,。可以說(shuō),，每個(gè)人都有淡漠了的兒時(shí)好友,，都有類(lèi)似的感受。本文作者把這種感受寫(xiě)得刻骨銘心,，讓人看后不禁回憶起自己的往事,，心中難免有些悠悠。