I know that a lot of people are debating about whether or not college is the right move，and I do believe that college genuinely isn't for everyone. University culture can put pressure on students to have a very conventional career path. It doesn't always help you get a job in the current economy. It's also an environment where a lot of stereotypes are put on you because you study one thing over another. So while my college experience definitely wasn't perfect, I wouldn't be who I am today without it. And I like who I am right now, here are the reasons I'm glad I went to a university.
我知道很多人都在争论上大学是不是正确的一步，而实话说我认为大学确实并不适合所有人。大学文化往往会令学生备受压力，要踏上传统的的职业道路。它并不能保证你在现代经济环境中找到工作，它还是一个会根据你的专业而把很多固定形象套在你身上的地方。尽管我的大学生活并不完美，但是如果没有它，我也不会成为现在的我，也庆幸自己经历了大学生活。下面给大家分享一些原因：

1. I met a lot more people who were like me.
1. 我遇到了很多与我相似的人

I was a definite weirdo in my school — always reading, listening to Broadway songs, hardly ever dressing as trendy as the rich girls. In an attempt to fit in, I hid my innerdorkiness. But then I got to college and found a lot of people who were like me. They read all the time, played Apples to Apples in peoples' basements instead of going out drinking, and watched shows like Doctor Who and Frasier. In terms of growing into an adult, it was a very good thing to have happen!
以前在学校里我是个十足的怪咖——总是在读书或听百老汇歌剧，从来不像富家女孩那样穿着时尚。但为了能够融入其中，我隐藏了内心的呆板。但是进入大学后，我发现很多和我相似的人。他们总是读书，在地下室里玩桌游而不是出去喝酒，看《神秘博士》和《欢乐一家亲》这样的电视节目。从成长的角度来看，这无疑是一件好事。

2. I met a lot of people who weren't like me.
2. 我遇到了很多和我不同的人

Just as beneficial as it was to find a clan I could belong to, it was just as beneficial for me to interact with people who were very different. I met people who had lived in other countries, had been born in other countries, and had way different upbringings than I could ever imagine. We would end up learning a lot from one another. Without going to college (and without meeting these new people!), I would no doubt be a much less well-rounded person.
与那些和自己不同的人交流互动跟找到属于自己的圈子一样大有益处。我认识的人里面，有的在其他国家生活过，有的出生在其他国家，有些人的成长经历比我想象的更加离奇。这让我们可以彼此之间学到很多东西。如果没有去大学（没遇到这些人），我必定不会像现在这么全面。

3. It forced me to see what I really wanted to do.
3. 它促使我看到自己真正想做的事

When you're stuck in big classes about subjects you don't care about, it forces your brain to cope in various ways. I'm not talking about Facebooking during class or texting your friends between classes — I mean when you're procrastinating the work from one class by doing the work for a completely different class. What's that second class? Maybe it's what you're truly what you're meant to be doing.
当你上一个自己不喜欢的公开课的时候，它会促使你的大脑用不同的方式运转。我说的不是在上课时玩社交网络或给朋友发短信，而是为了完成一个完全不同课程的作业耽搁了其它课的工作。第二个课程是什么？或许它就是你真正应该做的事。

4. It forced me to learn things (sometimes against my will!)
4. 它促使我不断学习（有时候是违背自己的意愿的！）

Some classes in college are difficult or at least very trying. Some classes consume all your time just because you cannot make yourself understand what they're trying to tell you! But you have to learn how to pound things into your head in order to succeed in the real world. And college, with all its required classes, forces you to learn whatever you need in a hurry. That's how you pass classes.
大学里有些课难度比较难或很煎熬。有些课耗费了你所有的时间去理解它的内容。但为了在现实世界里得到成功，你必须学习如何把知识塞到脑袋里。而在大学里，由于课程太多，你必须在短时间里掌握所有学习内容，这样才能通过考试。

5. I learned how to take what I wanted.
5. 我学会了怎样获得自己所需要的

I'll be perfectly frank: not all the classes I took in my college were ultimately useful. But I learned useful skills from them, or else I left. And if I couldn't drop a class I didn't want to be in, I kept trying to learn things. I reformatted class projects so that they could be about subjects that interested me. I listened to a lot of TED talks, in addition to other podcasts. I read the news. I tried to surround myself with people who were curious about everything. More than showing me the value of a degree, college reminded me of how much I loved learning.
非常坦白地来说，并不是所有的大学课程最终都有用，但我会从中获得有用的技巧，不然我就会退选那门课。如果无法退掉不想上的课，我会不断尝试学习新的东西。我重构了课程的研习项目，使我能对它产生兴趣。我听了很多TED演讲及其它播客，看了很多新闻，尽量与那些对事物充满好奇心的人相处。大学不仅仅只是展示证书的价值，更唤醒了我对学习的热情。