Oliver Sacks, a neurology professor at NYU, shares the truth about life as an octogenarian in a piece for The New York Times. In the column, Sacks writes:

奥利弗·赛克斯是纽约大学的一名神经病学家，她在《纽约时报》上发表了一篇文章，谈论耄耋之年的生活。在专栏里她这样写道：

“I do not think of old age as an ever grimmer time that one must somehow make the best of, but as a time of leisure and freedom, freed from the factitious urgencies of earlier days, free to explore whatever I wish, and to bind¹ the thoughts and feelings of a lifetime together.”

“我不认为人老年的时候要比以往更加抓紧利用时间，而是该享受休闲和自由，从过去那种应付急事儿的匆忙中解脱出来，去探索自己憧憬的领域，将一生的思考和觉悟做个整合。”

Isn’t that beautiful?

很美好，不是吗？

An 80th birthday is cause for celebration, but along the way other milestones² matter too. For instance, the big 30.

80岁确实值得庆祝，但是人生中还有其他的里程碑，比如而立之年。

By the time we say goodbye to our twenties, what should we have experienced in our careers?

当30岁来临的时候，我们应该已经在职场中经历哪些事呢？

1. At least one intern³ has addressed you as “Mr.” or “Ms.”

1. 至少有一个实习生称你为“先生”或“女士”。

2. Seven words: moved from your parents’ house for good.

2. 七个字：从父母家搬出来。

3. Handled every schedule imaginable — days, nights, weekends, weekend nights, holidays, holiday nights…you get the idea.

3. 整理好所有能想到的行程——白天的、晚上的、周末的、周末晚上的，假期的、假期晚上的……做什么由你自己决定。

4. Written so many cover letters that you could pen an autobiography⁴ of failed job applications.

4. 你写的求职信已经多得能够出一本自传了，内容就是失败的求职经历。

5. Had such a terrible boss that you questioned the very idea of working to earn a living.

5. 遇到过一个糟糕的老板让你甚至质疑挣钱养家的这个想法。

6. Realized that your college major — once a pivotal career decision — really didn’t matter all that much.

6. 意识到你大学主修的专业对工作并不重要，哪怕曾经这是择业的关键。

7. Slaved away in your office on a picture-perfect Sunday because, well, the work’s just gotta get done.

7. 在某个风和日丽的周日在办公室拼命干活，工作总要做完，不是吗？

8. After several years in the professional ranks, your resume’ no longer has traces of college clubs and achievements.

8. 工作几年，换了几个职位之后，你的简历上不再填有大学里参加的社团活动和获得的奖励。

9. You don’t even flinch⁵ when the client says, “This isn’t what I wanted. You’ll need to do it again.”

9. 当客户说：“这不是我想要的，你需要重新做。”的时候，你毫不退缩。

10. Maintained a 401k and contributed funds to the point that you can actually see it working.

10.有养老保险，并且缴纳的费用已经让你能看到效用了。

11. Defused a stressful office situation by saying, “In my experience, here’s what we should do.”

11. 通过说“根据我的经验，我们应该这样做。”化解了办公室里的矛盾。

12. Landed a nice raise and proceeded to buy something you would never get otherwise.

12. 获得了加薪，然后买了一样你之前不可能得到的东西。

13. Elected to take an advanced education course because of the value it added to your career.

13. 经过投票，获得了接受继续教育的机会，因为这对你的职业生涯有好处。

14. After bouncing from job to job, you finally see the value of a stable situation with long-term potential.

14.经过多次跳槽，你终于了解到稳定和潜力的价值。

15. Been there and done that long enough to understand who you are and the type of work that gets you out of bed in the morning. If your twenties were the decade to get knocked around, then may you spend the next ten years cashing in on the education.

15. 找到你愿意为之早起的工作，长期做下去，在这个职位上了解到真实的自己。如果二十几岁的时候你碌碌无为，那么接下来的十年你就要好好兑现自己所学了。