专家点评（Dan Lichterman）：

Billy’s story of conquering Peabody skatepark’s monstrous ramp is about more than simply broadening his comfort zone through incremental risk exposure. To truly appreciate how this vignette enhances his candidacy, one must consider its larger context. Billy admits to being a hyper-organized itinerary maker who has always loved being in control. The image of a fourth grade Billy dropping in on his BMX bike is the exact opposite of the one portrayed by his extensive extracurricular leadership and ambitious environmental engineering aspirations.

比利征服皮博迪滑板公园巨大斜坡的故事，不仅仅是通过逐步接近并战胜危险的陡坡来扩大他个人的舒适区。要想真正理解这个小故事是如何增强他在申请中的竞争实力时，就必须考虑到作者创作文书过程中的一个更大的背景。比利承认，他是一个喜欢掌控一切且超级有条理的行程制定者。四年级的比利骑着他的 BMX 越野自行车从斜坡一跃而下的冒险者形象，与他在广泛的课外活动中体现的领导能力和雄心勃勃的环境工程专业抱负所描绘的形象截然相反。

Without explicitly saying so, Billy’s essay shows us just how much his free-range childhood summer now diverges from his rigidly hyper-scheduled high school years. While it may feel like a lifetime ago, Billy hasn’t forgotten what it's like to inch towards the edge, stare into the face of doom, and willingly let go.

比利在字里行间并未直接描写，但却透过文字向我们展现了他自由自在童年夏天的冒险经历与循规蹈矩的高中生活之间巨大的差异。恍如隔世，但比利并没有忘记那种一步步走向挑战的边缘，真实面对挑战的呼唤，然后心甘情愿放手迎接挑战的感觉。

In fact, the memory is just as vivid now, eight years later, whenever Billy presses the pause button on his goal-directed pursuits to take a beat, throw caution to the wind, and embark on an impromptu road-trip adventure with friends. Billy’s half-pipe story balances out a candidacy that could risk appearing guarded or inflexible in its absence, demonstrating self-awareness about the opportunity cost of becoming overly wedded to a game plan.

事实上，八年后的今天，每当比利按下追求严苛计划的暂停键时，与朋友们来一次说走就走的公路旅行探险的那段儿时的记忆还会历历在目。比利征服U型滑道的故事是他从哈佛众多候选人中脱颖而出的亮点，巧妙的规避了他在申请过程中可能陷入的保守或僵化，阐明了他对于过分拘泥于循规蹈矩计划“游戏”的机会成本的自我认知。

本文内容来自哈佛大学The Harvard Crimson 我们提供中文翻译