She would walk in futile circles, sapping her strength while going nowhere. If she did not resist atrophy with every cell in her body, it would creep in as soon as she dropped her vigilance. I wanted to grab her hand and drag her kicking and screaming into the world of reason. I yearned for the knowledge that would dissolve this cloak of darkness encompassing her illness. The futility of my efforts to help my sister compelled me to seek answers. What I discovered was the fascinating field of psychology. The study of human behavior and the brain provided me with clarity and perspective on my sister’s mental illness. I was finally able to comprehend and appreciate the challenges of living with a psychiatric disorder, not to mention correct my indignant and critical attitude towards her.

As a psychology student at Northeastern, I have taken an interest in working with people, most recently with adults in a locked inpatient unit at McLean Hospital's psychotic disorders program. As a mental health specialist, I am an active participant in the therapeutic environment. I conduct patient interviews, complete patient assessments, supervise the unit, and take vital signs. Witnessing the most destructive mental illnesses, I have gained extremely valuable insight into my future career.

I have to confess that, at first, the thought of working in a locked unit was intimidating. My perception of individuals with psychotic illnesses severe enough to require hospitalization was definitely skewed by black-and-white definitions in books and stereotypical depictions in the media. In a matter of hours on my first day, however, that feeling quickly dissipated. One of the first patients I encountered was a woman with severe psychotic depression. Numb to life, she would only utter negative words of despair. Due to her inability to control her impulses to hurt herself, she was put on five-minute checks. The patient finally heeded the recommendations of the doctors to have electroconvulsive therapy, a highly controversial and misunderstood treatment. After only a week and a half of ECT, she awoke to living again. Her eyes, tainted from the fog of depression, cleared and became bright with life. I was able to meet the person buried under the clenches of her illness. The most fascinating part to me was that even now, over 60 years since ECT's development, the basic mechanisms of why it works remain unknown; people are only confident in its efficacy. This shortcoming is indicative of how important it is to invest in mental health research. There is so much to be learned about the human mind, and the infinite possibilities of research captivate me.

This curiosity has led me to several research experiences. In one laboratory, which investigates reticulospinal neurons, I learned how to use a high-speed camera to record the behaviors of larval zebra fish that had specific nerve cells ablated. We analyzed the detailed measurements of behavioral deficit resulting from such cell ablations. When I watched a tiny zebra fish for over three hours through a confocal microscope, waiting for it to feed on paramecium, the patience needed for research became apparent. My next research experience was drastically different: I assisted a graduate student in evaluating and demonstrating the cognitive abilities of the New Zealand keas. As the kea was trained in color discriminations tasks, I took immense satisfaction from watching the operant condition in action and enjoyed applying my knowledge in the lab.

Currently, for my senior honors thesis, I am conducting observational studies on a group of gorillas, analyzing the relationship of personality characteristics to social roles in a group of captive Western Lowland Gorillas. Although these varied research experiences have provided me with fundamental skills, I still feel the need for more training. Professional experiences, research, and undergraduate courses have further stimulated my interest in psychology and reinforced my conviction that I am well suited to the field. Moreover, these opportunities created a desire to pursue a career in clinical research.

Graduate school will enable me to develop vital research skills and the solid academic background that I need to be a successful researcher. A master's program in psychology will not only cultivate and refine my interest in clinical research, but also equip me to deal with the challenges of a PhD program. I have all the traits needed to be a good psychologist; undoubtedly, my devotion to my education will be the greatest asset of all.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：

這篇文章的作者勇于和大家分享一段及其隱私的個(gè)人經(jīng)歷。主題的嚴(yán)肅性使他的作文令人過目難忘，同時(shí)給讀者留下了一個(gè)及其深刻的印象：妹妹患有嚴(yán)重的精神病，而身為哥哥的他想方設(shè)法為妹妹治病，在得知心理學(xué)是治療精神病患者的良方的時(shí)候，作者欣喜若狂并決心要深入研究心理學(xué)，希望能早日治愈妹妹的精神病。

但是，僅僅分享一段受創(chuàng)傷的往事是不夠的，使這篇作文真正鶴立雞群的是事例所表現(xiàn)出的作者在心理學(xué)領(lǐng)域中研究的深度和廣度。深度在于他對(duì)精神病患者的認(rèn)識(shí)不局限于書本和媒體報(bào)道上，而是他通過從事醫(yī)生這份職業(yè)得到了許多接觸精神病患者的機(jī)會(huì)，通過這些機(jī)會(huì)他對(duì)精神病患者有了一個(gè)感性的認(rèn)識(shí)。除此之外，他豐富的臨床經(jīng)驗(yàn)也為他的學(xué)術(shù)研究奠定了基礎(chǔ)。廣度就表現(xiàn)在他不僅僅局限于研究人的神經(jīng)細(xì)胞，也嘗試著通過其他動(dòng)植物來進(jìn)行學(xué)術(shù)研究。借助于種種事例的說明，讀者能感覺到他未來個(gè)人發(fā)展和職業(yè)發(fā)展的成就。通過直截了當(dāng)?shù)慕庹f性的寫作方式，作者輕而易舉地將他的學(xué)術(shù)研究經(jīng)歷形象地展現(xiàn)在讀者眼前。作者成功地暗示，這些經(jīng)歷是與他的職業(yè)生涯息息相關(guān)的。

結(jié)尾作者明確表明立場(chǎng)，而他的有關(guān)接受正規(guī)心理學(xué)輔導(dǎo)的需要也給讀者留下了清晰的印象。作者明確地表明，接受心理學(xué)領(lǐng)域的高等教育將成為他個(gè)人發(fā)展的重要的一步，同時(shí)也表明了自己為此而作的努力和準(zhǔn)備。

譯文：

她經(jīng)常會(huì)使盡全身的力量在原地里做無謂的轉(zhuǎn)圈動(dòng)作。其實(shí)如果她不和身體里面的疾病細(xì)胞做斗爭(zhēng)的話，很有可能萎縮細(xì)胞會(huì)在她疏于防范的時(shí)候把她擊潰。我真的很想拉她一把，把她從亂踢亂叫的癡呆狀態(tài)中拉回到一個(gè)正常人的世界。我渴望可以掌握一種能幫助她驅(qū)除病魔的治療方法。之前我為此所做的無用功驅(qū)使我更加努力地去尋求答案。令我欣喜的是，我發(fā)現(xiàn)原來利用心理學(xué)說可以治療精神病。關(guān)于人類行為和大腦之間關(guān)系的研究讓我對(duì)于治療妹妹精神病有了一個(gè)明確的方向和更深層次的理解。后來我終于明白了精神病患者的苦處，也敬佩他們獨(dú)自與病魔做斗爭(zhēng)的勇氣，而對(duì)于患有精神病的妹妹，我也不再因?yàn)樗陌V呆而感到惱怒和生氣。

作為東北大學(xué)主修心理學(xué)的學(xué)生，我喜歡與人打交道，尤其是與一些在 Mc’Lean醫(yī)院的深切治療病房里接受治療的精神病患者。而作為一名心智健康方面的專家，我在治療方法的研究領(lǐng)域表現(xiàn)積極。我做過病人專訪，病人精神狀況檢查，并且對(duì)治療病房進(jìn)行了綜合管理。當(dāng)我遇到并處理一些疑難雜癥時(shí)，我獲得極為豐富的臨床經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

我必須承認(rèn)在一開始的時(shí)候我覺得在一間封閉的病房里工作是挺嚇人的。因?yàn)槟菚r(shí)我對(duì)于嚴(yán)重到要住院接受治療的精神病患者的認(rèn)識(shí)完全被書本上的描述和媒體的報(bào)道給歪曲了。而我在醫(yī)院工作的第一天，那短短的幾個(gè)小時(shí)里面，以前那種錯(cuò)誤的認(rèn)識(shí)很快就消失得無影無蹤了。在我碰到的精神病患者里面有一個(gè)患有嚴(yán)重抑郁癥的女人。她對(duì)生活、生命全然沒有感覺，平時(shí)她說的都是一些絕望之類的言語。由于她不能控制她自己，所以她會(huì)不時(shí)傷害自己，也因此她被送去了做檢查。最后她同意接受醫(yī)生所推薦的電休克療法，這是當(dāng)時(shí)極具爭(zhēng)議性和被誤解的治療精神病的方法。僅僅在接受了一個(gè)半月的電休克療法之后，她重獲新生了。原來被絕望所遮蓋的雙眼現(xiàn)在變得如此的明亮和充滿生機(jī)。我可以遇到這么一些飽受病魔折磨的人。但令人覺得驚訝的是電休克療法發(fā)展至今已有60年了，它的治療原理至今還沒有人知道。人們只是確信他的治療功效。這個(gè)不足之處表明了加大新智健康研究領(lǐng)域投資的重要性。關(guān)于人類思想方面實(shí)在有太多東西值得我們?nèi)ヌ剿?，去研究。正是那無止境的可研究的領(lǐng)域吸引著我。

正是這種好奇心驅(qū)使我開展了幾次研究工作。在一個(gè)研究網(wǎng)狀脊髓神經(jīng)的實(shí)驗(yàn)室里，我學(xué)會(huì)了如何使用一部高頻率的照相機(jī)來記錄下一些被切除了神經(jīng)細(xì)胞的斑馬魚幼體的行為動(dòng)作。我們?cè)敿?xì)分析了這些幼體由于神經(jīng)細(xì)胞的切除所導(dǎo)致的行為缺失。當(dāng)我通過共焦顯微鏡觀察一條斑馬魚幼體，等待著它捕食草履蟲的時(shí)候，我發(fā)現(xiàn)了耐心對(duì)于學(xué)科研究來說尤為重要。而我的第二個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)與之前的實(shí)驗(yàn)是截然不同的：我協(xié)助一位研究生學(xué)者考查新西蘭鸚鵡的感官判斷能力。因?yàn)槲覀兪遣捎妙伾鎰e任務(wù)來訓(xùn)練那只鸚鵡，所以當(dāng)我看到鸚鵡能夠準(zhǔn)確地辨認(rèn)出各種不同顏色的時(shí)候，我獲得了很大的滿足感，我也非常享受將我所學(xué)的知識(shí)真正地運(yùn)用到學(xué)科研究中這一過程。

如今，為了要完成我的高級(jí)榮譽(yù)資格論文，我開展了一項(xiàng)大猩猩的研究活動(dòng)，分析了野生大猩猩和被馴服了的大猩猩在性格特征上的異同。雖然這些不同的研究經(jīng)驗(yàn)使我具備了一些基本的研究能力，但我仍覺得自己需要更多的訓(xùn)練。專業(yè)的知識(shí)學(xué)習(xí)，研究經(jīng)歷以及本科的學(xué)習(xí)課程都進(jìn)一步地激發(fā)了我在心理學(xué)上的興趣，也使我堅(jiān)信我是適合在這個(gè)專業(yè)領(lǐng)域中研究學(xué)習(xí)的。而且這些學(xué)習(xí)機(jī)會(huì)也使我萌生了一個(gè)以后要在臨床研究領(lǐng)域發(fā)展的愿望。

提供相關(guān)研究生課程的學(xué)校將會(huì)培養(yǎng)我在這一方面的研究技能和傳授給我扎實(shí)的專業(yè)知識(shí)，使我成為一名成功的研究學(xué)者。一個(gè)碩士研究生的心理學(xué)課程不僅能培養(yǎng)我在臨床研究科學(xué)的興趣，而且能為我攻讀博士研究生做好充分的準(zhǔn)備。我具備了成為一名出色的心理學(xué)者的所有特性，而我對(duì)這個(gè)領(lǐng)域研究工作的熱愛無疑是這些優(yōu)良特性中最重要的一點(diǎn)。