私立大學的問題：找不到朋友（1）

馬修·哈澤爾  就讀於哈佛大學

當我決定接受哈佛的早期行動邀請時，我對哈佛的樣子有一種浪漫化的想象。我是那種為了學習而學習的高中生，知識分子（別人可能會說“書呆子”）。我以為在哈佛我周圍都會有像我這樣的人。

現實是哈佛比我想象的更像高中。學生們不會坐在宿舍和食堂裏進行智力討論。令我震驚的是，有多少同學沉迷於裝酷、派對、運動和飲酒，以及 Final Clubs（哈佛版的兄弟會）在校園社交舞台上扮演的巨大角色。我發現與誌同道合的人交朋友非常困難。回想起來，大學是我一生中最孤獨的時光之一。在高中時，我擁有了更親密的友誼，以及更刺激的智力互動。

 

When I decided to accept the early action offer from Harvard, I had a kind of romanticized image of what Harvard would be like. I was the kind of high school student who loved studying for studying’s sake, an intellectual (others might say “nerd”). I thought that at Harvard I’d be surrounded by people like me.

The reality was that Harvard was much more like high school than I ever expected. Students didn’t sit around having intellectual discussions in the dorms and dining halls. I was shocked by how many classmates obsessed over being cool, parties, athletics, and drinking, and what an outsized role final clubs (Harvard’s version of fraternities) played on the campus social scene. I found it very difficult to make friends with like-minded people. Looking back, college was one of the loneliest times in my life. I had closer friendships, and more stimulating intellectual interactions, in high school.