《西北之聲》散文集序

2009 年 9 月 9 日,十八歲生日當天,我懷著躊躇滿志卻又忐忑不安的心情,離開了我的家鄉臺灣,來到位於埃文斯頓(Evanston, 芝加哥北部的郊區)的西北大學。當我第一次站在校園中,在密西根湖畔遠眺寶藍湖面上的點點風帆時,我的心中只盈滿了夢想成真的狂喜,對未來的期許卻依然模糊。當時我尚未意識到,我生命中最重要最難忘的四年,即將在這個鍾靈毓秀的校園中展開。

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Goodbye Northwestern

Just a few days away from my departure. My boxes were shipped and my room is mostly packed up now. As I am getting ready to leave Evanston, I find it very difficult to believe that I have already spent four years at Northwestern. I still remember so clearly how excited I was when I first set foot on campus on my 18th birthday — I had seen so many gorgeous pictures of Northwestern in all the brochures that the Admission Office sent me, and when I was finally here, everything just looked so much better than the pictures.

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一個人

我是聽校園民歌長大的孩子,這首葉佳修作曲填詞、潘安邦演唱的《年輕人的心聲》我已聽過無數遍,但前幾天我在我的 iTune 上聽見潘安邦清亮純厚、活力十足的嗓音唱著這段熟悉的旋律,突然覺得這首歌真的是我過去三年半來心情的寫照(或許除了我不會彈吉他之外),連我的名字都天衣無縫地融入歌詞裡了!

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垂柳

今天下樓去拿信的時候,發現我的房子附近有一株楊柳,它迎風款擺的柳條立刻讓我想到了離開西北大學的前一天,在密西根湖畔看到那一排飛瀑般的柳樹。現在的它們,是否仍如同當日一般,在寶藍色的密西根湖前、芝加哥的豔陽下,瀟灑地舞動?楊柳在我們的文化中,似乎總帶著一絲淡淡的落寞惆悵——「年年柳色,灞陵傷別。」而人在異鄉,心緒似乎特別容易受到感動。

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Birthday Letter from Dad & Mom | 爸爸媽媽的生日祝福

It’s my 20th birthday today, and I received the best birthday gift from my parents. Thank you Dad and Mom — it reminds me of all the wonderful things I thought I had lost through the course of life; it reminds me of the kind of person I want myself to be; it reminds me of the attitude I should have when life challenges me.

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Listening to the Rain

It has been raining this entire afternoon. One of the best things about my apartment is the giant French window facing the lake. I have been working in front of my window for a few hours, listening to the rain tapping its melody on this window. This reminds me of what happened last summer: in a rainy afternoon in Taiwan, after I had tea with my high school friends, I sat in front of my window at home, writing an article and listening to the rain.

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望月

最近 Evanston 的天氣漸漸回暖,每天早晨總在一片啁啾鳥囀中睜開雙眼,推開窗戶,曉風也開始滲透著絲絲春意。最近我養成了一個習慣——每天晚上在敞開的窗戶旁,讓微涼的晚風伴我唸書,偶爾累了一抬頭就能看見一彎新月漾著淺笑。今天是這個學季的最後一天,我打理完了所有的瑣事後坐在窗邊,腦海中澎湃的思緒似乎隨著靜謐的夜色逐漸沈寂,我漫不經心地抬頭,一輪滿月。

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