JHU招生官公布的六篇2025届优秀申请文书（二）-新东方前途出国

2、Stepping Out of my Comfort Zone

（by Samuel）

If you told me I would be playing a sport called squash at 11 years old, I would call you crazy. But in seventh grade, I was at a new school 10 times bigger than my last one. I felt like a little fish in a big pond. I was quiet, withdrawn, and very introverted. A lot of the time, I stayed where I was comfortable.

During the first week of school, a group of people visited the school and they introduced themselves as Squashbusters. At that time, I’d only heard of Squash once before, but I didn’t really know what it was. Because the program combined the sport of squash with academic support, mentoring, and service opportunities, I decided to sign up. It’s been six years and this program has made a monumental difference in my life.

Being a part of SquashBusters is a program that really pushed me out of my shell to the point where I’ve grown accustomed to challenging myself. In SquashBusters, they tell us to push ourselves past our limits on the squash courts, but that mindset has transferred to other areas of my life as well. From team trips and tournaments to cringy karaoke moments and participating in eccentric traditions like our annual SquashBusters Olympics, my comfort zone has steadily grown larger. My peers brought out a side of me I didn’t even know existed. I haven’t transformed completely from introvert to extrovert, but I’ve become more social as the years go by.

At Hopkins, I want to do something similar. I want to try new things and embrace the campus traditions. Even though I will develop intellectually from the many academic classes and clubs/activities offered on campus, I feel as though a true community is birthed from exploring beyond what one’s used to. From traditions like Blue Jay Opening Day and the Spring Fair to the many world-changing clubs like the Amnesty International club and the Foreign Affairs Symposium, the different ways to be involved in the Hopkins community is limitless and invigorating and I can’t wait to be a part of the Hopkins family.

招生官点评：Samuel的文章是对自己走出舒适区的反思，这不仅是重要的人生课程，也是JHU学生每天都在做的事情。我们的学生突破发现的界限，在课堂内外面临挑战，并追求新发现的激情。通过逐渐习惯于挑战自己，Samuel体现了这些特征，并且能够将他在壁球场上学到的经验应用到他生活的其他领域。他表明，如果有机会，鉴于各种学术和课外机会，他将在我们的校园里蓬勃发展，并且他具备克服所面临的任何挑战的实力。

Samuel（波士顿）自述：我对目前正在写论文的学生的建议是要记住，初稿很少会写得很好，所以即使难以理解，也要尽可能多地写。还要给自己很多时间来接受来自同龄人、老师甚至是自己的修改。