个人陈述personal satement，它之所以在申请中非常重要是因为它让人看到的不是枯燥的数字，而是一个独立的人。个人陈述是学校全面了解学生的渠道，了解申请人的人格、生活态度的途径。个人陈述的好坏能直接影响学生进入名校的机率。美国达特茅斯学院作为美国著名大学之一，其教学质量和专业优势一直受到大家的青睐，很多学生留学美国准备申请达特茅斯学院。下面，我们来一起学习这篇成功申请到达特茅斯学院的个人陈述文章是怎么写的吧。
Personal Statement
A few years ago, USA Today named the star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, the epitome of the modern feminist. Declaring with her take-no-prisoners attitude...vampire-slaying Buffy Summers has become... a feminist hero who's smart, tough and self-reliant, the beautiful blonde was apotheosized by younger girls. When asked about feminism, she explained, Feminism sort of has a negative connotation. It makes you think of women that don't shave their legs. Does Gellar consider herself a feminist? I hate the word, she replied. Why is the public so uncomfortable with the word feminism? Society implores women to strive to be smart and strong, but to be too smart or too strong is discouraged. Instead, too many settle for being a Buffy, a female with incredible potential kept in check by contemporary culture's definition of woman.
Last year, one of my teachers cracked a sexist joke and I commented that I found it inappropriate. He informed me the class was mature enough for such content. After class ended, a male student rudely inquired, Are you a feminist? as if it were a disease. I immediately reverted to a defensive mode, feeling the burden to justify not only my opinions, but also the entire platform of feminism; for a moment, like Gellar, I did not want to associate myself with a term so disgraceful. Looking back on the incident, I wish I would have had the courage I now possess to defend my beliefs. I am willing to take the risk of standing up against a popular opinion if I do not believe it to be right.
Perhaps I illuminate the paradox many modern women face. On one hand, I embody the prototypical, devoted female, assuaging the plight of Romanian orphans and donating countless hours to the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Inland Northwest. Numerous local and national accolades verify my role as a nurturer and do-gooder. But when I step into a cross-examination debate round where the object is to establish your case and tear apart the opposing side, I risk being considered too assertive, too aggressive, and too competitive, while all of these traits are seen as desirable qualities in my male opponents. Sadly, many believe that to be feminine one must remain passive, a role I refuse to accept.
Am I a feminist? If that means I take risks to make my convictions known and strive to be smart and strong, then people can call me that if society must label me. But feminism does not define who I am, it's merely a term to describe some of my principles. I do not advocate every issue grounded in the feminist agenda. Feminism neglects my passion for competition, my desire to enact change, and my love of history. Feminism fails to capture my compelling feelings on Weapons of Mass Destruction or on the high levels of poverty in my hometown of
参考译文：几年前，《今日美国》称《吸血鬼猎人巴菲》女主角莎拉·米歇尔·盖拉是现代女权主义的代表人物，她在剧中饰演的聪明、坚强、自立而又有着一头漂亮金发的巴菲为众多年轻女孩崇拜。当谈到“女权主义”这个词时，莎拉·米歇尔·盖拉说它带有贬义的意思，它会让你想到那些不剃腿毛的女人。盖拉认为自己是女权主义者吗?“我讨厌这个词”，她如此回答。为什么公众对“女权主义者”这个词如此反感?社会鼓励女人更勇敢更聪明，但太过坚强太过聪明却又不被提倡了。换句话来说，很多人都满足于成为巴菲，这个有着惊人能力而又符合当代文化定义的女性。
去年，我的一个老师讲了一个带有性别歧视的笑话，我指出这个笑话不合适。老师对我进行了鼓励，说这个课堂能包容不同的言论。课后，一位男生粗鲁地质问我：“你是不是女权主义者?”就好像这是传染病一样。我立即以自卫的方式来捍卫我的立场，感觉我不仅是维护我的观点，还维护着天下所有的女权主义者。那时候，就像盖拉，我不愿意和这样不懂尊重的人在一个小组。现在回看这件事，我多希望我当时有我现在的勇气来为维护自己的信念。如果我认为普遍为大家接受的观点是不正确的，那么我也愿意承担风险站出来反驳它。
也许我展现了和许多现代女性相反的一面。一方面，我是个传统的，具有奉献精神的女性，我帮助罗马尼亚孤儿改善困境，我花很多时间在西北内陆第二大食物储备行志愿服务，我收到了地方和国家给予的荣誉。然而，当我进入到辩论场合，一步步和对方辩论时，我就把自己推向了风口浪尖的处境，别人认为我太过张扬，太过激进，太好斗了，这这些特征应该体现在我的男性对手上。可悲的是，许多人认为，女性就应该保持被动状态，这样的角色定位是我难以接受的。
我是一个女权主义者吗?如果这意味着我承担风险，以使我的信念为多人知道，以使自己更强大。那么人们可以这样定位我，如果社会一定要给我贴上这样的标签。但“女权主义”没有定义我是谁，它仅仅是一个形容了我某些原则的词语。我不希望每件事都和女权主义挂钩。女权主义忽略了我对比赛的感情，我想改变的愿望，以及我对历史的爱。女权主义不能显示我对大规模杀伤性武器的强烈愤怒；女权主义不能透露我对家乡贫穷的感情。没有哪个词语能阐明我对失败的害怕，也没有哪个词能形容我多想通过新闻改变他人的心愿。而女权主义者，仅仅是我用来表达自己的众多词语之一，一个区分自己与巴菲的词语。
