During my first year of college, I went on a trip with a group of other classmates to New York City to network with alumni. At the end of the day, after spending hours going from one company to the next, several of the students talked about hanging out in the city for a while before getting dinner.

在我大一的时候，我通过网络联系了校友，和他们一起去了纽约旅行。旅行临近尾声，在花了几个小时参观了一个又一个公司后，几个同学提议在吃晚饭前逛一下这座城市。

“It’ll be so much fun,” they said. “You should totally come with us!”

“这一定会很有趣”，他们说。“一起来吧！”

I said I would be happy to tag along, and I followed the group onto a train headed towards another part of town. When we finally reached our stop and climbed out onto the street, I suddenly found myself surrounded by clothing stores and restaurants as far as the eye could see.

我说我很乐意跟他们一起逛，然后我跟着他们上了火车，去往这个城市的另一个地方。当我们最后到达车站，上了大街时，我突然发现在目光所及之处，都是服装店和餐馆。

Feeling a pit in my stomach, I followed the group into a store they decided¹ to enter at random², and walked idly around the interior as I gazed at the golden lights, the shiny surfaces, the hard edges, and the beautiful clothes.

在我饥肠辘辘的时候，我跟着他们随意进了一家商场，我一边懒洋洋地走进室内，一边被金色的灯光、闪耀的灯面、坚固的棱角和漂亮的衣服所深深吸引，移不开目光。

I saw a pretty jacket and checked the price tag. $530.

我看中了一件漂亮的夹克，看了看价格标签。530美元。

“That would look so cute on you!” One of the girls in the group, Melanie, was suddenly standing³ beside me, taking the jacket from the hanger⁴ and holding it up against my chest. “It totally goes with your hair color.”

“你穿那件夹克一定很好看！”，同伴中一个叫梅兰妮的女孩突然出现在我身旁，从衣架上拿下夹克，把它举在我胸前。“它与你的发色很搭。”

“I think I’m good, thanks.”

“谢谢，我想它不适合我。”

“Are you sure?? It’s totally cute.”

“你确定？？它真的很好看。”

“Honestly, I’m okay.” I paused, noticing the piles of clothes Melanie held clutched against her chest. “Did you find anything you like?”

“说真的，我觉得还好。”我停顿了一下，注意到梅兰妮把衣服在她身前对照。“你有找到你喜欢的衣服吗？”

“Oh my gosh, yes! It totally sucks living in a college town because there are, like, no clothing stores. I honestly try to come to NYC as much as possible just to shop.”

“欧是的！住在大学城简直遭透了，因为根本没有服装店。我以后真想常来纽约的商店逛逛。”

I almost laughed, thinking she was joking, but when Melanie turned away to inspect a $1,000 dress hanging from the wall, I realized she was serious.

我笑了笑，以为她是开玩笑的，但当梅兰妮转身去检查墙上挂着的一件1000美元的衣服时，我才意识到她是认真的。

The other students in the group ended up spending thousands of dollars at the store, their purchases being folded carefully and tucked away into colorful paper bags. It was only when they had finished that they decided to eat dinner at a place across the street.

同游的其他同学最终在商场里花费了数千美元，他们买的衣物被小心翼翼地折叠起来，塞进了彩色纸袋里。当他们全部购物完后，他们才决定在街对面的一个地方吃晚饭。

In the nicest restaurant I had ever been to that year, I ordered the cheapest appetizer⁵ I could find, and sat in silence as the students around me reminisced about the private schools they had gone to, their most recent vacations to Europe.

那是我那年去过的所有餐馆中最好的一家，我点了最便宜的菜，然后静静地坐着，而我周围的同学都在讨论他们上过的私立学校，或是他们最近在欧洲度过的假期。

When the dinner was over, a student suggested seeing a broadway play, and one of the guys pulled out his phone and told the group Cabaret was playing for only $250 a ticket.

当晚餐结束时，一位同学提议去看百老汇的戏，接着就有一个小伙子掏出手机查了价格，发现卡巴莱歌舞表演只要250美元一张票。

“What a steal!” Melanie, wearing her brand-new jacket, cried. “We have to go!” She turned to look at me and gave me a big smile. “Do you want to come?”

“这票价简直像偷来的一样！”梅兰妮穿着崭新的夹克惊呼。“我们一定要去不能错过了！她转过身看着我，向我投来了一个大大的微笑。“你要一起来吗？”

I knew I wasn’t going to be spending $250 for a show.

我知道我不会为了看一场演出花250美元。

“I have a lot of homework,” I said. “But thanks anyway.”

“我还有很多作业没做”，我说，“但是不管怎样很谢谢你们邀请我。”

Melanie shrugged⁶, and after paying for our dinner, the group walked out of the restaurant into the chilly⁷ New York City air to head towards the show. I walked back to the hotel alone, and spent the night studying for my upcoming Sociology exam.

梅兰妮耸了耸肩，晚餐结账后，他们离开了餐厅，走在寒冷的纽约街上，朝着百老汇的方向前去。而我独自走回酒店，花了一个晚上复习即将迎来的社会学考试。

When I had finished studying, I lay back in the starched⁸ sheets of the bed and wondered what it was like for those classmates of mine, who had grown up with the ability to spend thousands of dollars on clothing, to go on trips to big cities to see expensive shows and blow even more money on fancy restaurants and stores. Who went to summer camp, private schools, who lived in big houses with maids and housekeepers⁹, who went on vacation to foreign countries, staying in beautiful hotels.

当我学习完，躺在浆洗过的床单上，想着那些同学的生活，那些有着优越的家境、有能力承担数千美元的衣服开销、去大城市旅行、看价格昂贵的演出和砸很多钱在高档餐厅和商场的同学。那些参加夏令营、上私立学校、又或是住在有着女佣和管家的大房子、去国外度假、住在漂亮的酒店里的同学们。

To be very honest, I find it fascinating to be surrounded by classmates who come from wealth like I have never experienced. I’m not embarrassed for being unable to afford the things some of my classmates buy dozens of through online shopping. I’m not embarrassed for growing up being told “no” again and again, because my family simply didn’t have enough money.

说实话，我觉得身边围绕着很多有着我从未经历过的富裕生活的同学很有意思。尽管我的一些同学会通过网上购物买一堆这样的东西，我不为自己买不起东西而感到尴尬。我也不因为我的家庭并不富裕，而一次又一次地拒绝别人的邀请而感到尴尬。

I’m proud of who I am, and where I’ve come from. And that’s enough for me.

我为自己自豪，也为我的出生自豪。这就足够了。

I didn't think I was a poor student until I arrived at USC for my MBA program. I had worked hard and saved up $150K, which was to last me exactly through the $100K in tuition for two years and $50K for basic living expenses.

在我去南加州大学攻读工商管理硕士前，我都不认为我是一个穷学生。我一直都努力工作，攒了15万美元，这支撑着我两年10万美元的学费支出和5万美元的基本生活开销。

As soon as I pulled into the student parking lot, I could see all the late model cars, many of them luxury marks. This was the undergrad parking area. One blond undergrad roared her shiny white Cadillac Escalade down the ramp¹⁰ as I looked for a spot.

我一进学生停车场，就可以看到所有的新型车，其中很多是奢侈汽车品牌。这是本科生的停车场。在我找停车位的时候，有一个金发碧眼的本科生正沿着斜坡开着闪亮的白色凯迪拉克呼啸而过。

During our casual meeting time with fellow students, productively labeled as networking, I heard about the kind of massive homes in exclusive neighborhoods that were the norm. Many of my classmates had gotten new luxury cars just for school and had fancy upscale condos for partying during school. But, that was just stuff. What really blew my mind was their attitude about money on a daily basis.

通过与同学的偶然相遇，经常是靠网络联系，我了解到住在富人区里的大房子里是很寻常的事情。我的很多同学都只是为了去学校而买了新的豪车，也有为在学校里开派对而准备的高档公寓。但是，那些只是物质方面的东西。真正让我惊讶的是他们对日常开销的态度。

Many would invariably go to night time parties two or even three times a week, all during some very intense course work. While I looked for ways to stick to my $25 daily food budget, they had no problem splurging a few hundred dollars a night each time they were out. At the same time, I knew they were taking out massive student loans to fund their gratuitous¹¹ consumption, along with tuition and basic living expenses.

许多人每周都会参加两到三次夜间聚会，所有这些都是在一些非常紧张的课程中抽空进行的。当我每天想方设法让自己的食品开销不超过25美元的预算时，他们每次出去都能在一晚上毫无顾忌地挥霍几百美元。我也知道他们会把大量的学生贷款用在不必要的花费上，但也包含学费和基本生活费用。

Their lack of concern about repaying an extra $50K just surprised the heck out of me. I wasn't dead broke and could tag along, but I just didn't see the benefit of such free spending. Eventually, I settled into a more middle-class normative life-style and was comfortable.

他们不关心偿还额外5万美元的态度使我惊讶。我并不是身无分文，也可以跟随他们一起玩，但我只是没有看到这样毫无约束地支出的好处。最终，我开始了一种更加中产阶级的标准生活方式，感觉很舒服。

Then I saw how naive¹² I truly was.

后来我才知道我有多么天真。

One of my classmates had gotten to attend the MBA program on a merit and needs-based scholarship. He didn't have any money. While his tuition was waived¹³, he still needed to pay for daily expenses.

我的一个同学在奖学金和助学金的支持下参加了MBA课程。但他没有钱。虽然他的学费被免除了，但他仍然需要自己支付日常开支。

Instead of a fancy high floor condo or even a modest downtown condo, he lived in one of the roughest neighborhoods just off campus. I lived nearby and can hear the police patrols and random gun fire where he lived. My place wasn't much but at least it was secure. He lived on a couch in a shared room right in the middle of regular gang and drug activity. Running water wasn't always available, but it was cheap, just a few hundred bucks¹⁴ a month.

他住在了一个简陋的街区而不是住在奢华的高层公寓或是舒适的市中心公寓，住的地方距离学校很近。我住在附近，可以听到在他住的地方经常有警察巡逻和枪击的声音。我住的地方不大，但至少是安全的。他睡在一间公用房间的沙发上，住处正处于帮派和毒品交易区域的中间。自来水供应时有时无，但它是便宜的，一个月的就几百美元。

Obviously, he didn't have a car and relied on brisk walks to get anywhere. He didn't have many friends as he couldn't afford to go hang out with anyone. When we hung out, I made sure we didn't need to spend any money.

很显然，他没有汽车，一般都靠步行去要去的地方。他没有很多朋友，因为他承担不起和任何人出去玩的花费。当我们出去的时候，我必须确定我们不需要花任何钱。

He couldn't even afford food, so he worked part time at university food service to make a few dollars and grab leftovers¹⁵ for meals. While others dined in fancy Beverly Hills and Hollywood hot spots, he was scraping pots for a bite. But, he never complained about the squandered¹⁶ money of our fellow students. He knew his values and was content on focusing on his goals.

他甚至连食物都买不起，所以他会趁业余时间在大学食品服务部兼职挣钱，然后把剩下的食物当饭吃。当别人在贝弗利山庄和好莱坞的热门地点吃饭时，他只能刮着锅里残留的食物吃一口。但是，他从不抱怨我们的同学浪费钱。他明白自己的价值所在，也专注于自己的目标。

He certainly kept me grounded as I felt like a spoiled brat¹⁷ using money so freely and buying myself a burrito whenever I felt hungry.

他让我觉得自己像一个被宠坏的小孩，能自由地花钱也能在任何我觉得饿的时候给自己买煎饼吃。

So, here I was moping ridiculously about my relative paucity¹⁸; he showed what real determination and pride in the midst of deprivation¹⁹ looked like.

所以这样相比起来，起初我为自己相对不富裕的经济情况而闷闷不乐的显得是多么可笑。他在窘迫的生活中展现了真正的决心和自豪。

And, even at the MBA level, there's a bias²⁰ to spend money. My freespending classmates all got six-figure jobs right out of school from their “networking” efforts and were able to quickly pay off their huge student loans. Meanwhile, my poor friend is still struggling financially.

而且，即使是工商管理硕士，对花钱的态度也有区别。我那些肆无忌惮花钱的同学都在毕业后通过“网络”的力量找到了年薪六位数的工作，也很快还清了巨额学生贷款。但与此同时，我可怜的朋友还在努力挣钱。