我期待

和UIUC表示I accept it之後，就對張雨生的這首歌很有感觸，直到回到NTHU。昂首闊步，未留一絲遺憾。

憨人

中學老師不看好我們的未來，預言我們會去當台傭或台勞。大學老師搖頭嘆氣我們程度差，直言我們像幼稚園的小朋友。大學畢業之後走上一條很少人會選擇的專業，愈走愈喜歡。我走過的路 只有希望。

人啊人 一世人 要安怎歡喜 過春夏秋冬

心上一字敢 面對我的夢 甘願來作憨人

精緻女生

空姐問我們要喝什麼。身旁的女生說可樂，我說柳橙汁。

不一會兒，她客氣地詢問是否方便將她的可樂放在我的桌上。然後見她從包裡掏出溼紙巾擦她的桌子、她的椅子、還把包裡的東西全翻出來仔細擦拭。

我以為遇到了精緻女生。

見她擦自己的腿，我猜剛剛可能可樂灑了出來。

[留學]萬聖節報告

此文完成於2011年11月3日。

這篇報告集結我四年多來的觀察還有和美國友人的談話。一開始，我對萬聖節的好奇是，怎麼會有文化讓小朋友威脅鄰居：給我糖果，不然我就惡作劇(trick or treat)。如果是華人的教育，「敢搗蛋就教訓你」(if you play tricks on me, I will discipline you)。以前的美國小朋友，真的會帶一些雞蛋和衛生紙上路。如果遇到不給糖的鄰居，就向鄰居的屋子丟雞蛋或是撒衛生紙。然後有人給小朋友下毒的餅乾或是糖果，小朋友吃了毒糖果的事上了新聞，從此之後不能送小朋友「手工點心」，只能送「買現成的零食」。每個地區有自訂的「要糖果時段」，像是10/31下午5點到7點之類的。有準備糖果的人家在這段時間要開前門燈，表示準備好，歡迎小朋友來要糖果。沒有開前燈的人家表示沒準備糖果，小朋友就不會來打擾。而且現在小朋友要有大人同行，挨家挨戶拿糖果。以上是我對「從trick or treat演變成沒有trick只有treat」的理解。

去年我陪（房東的）小朋友走，感覺像是一年一度的小朋友討糖果日：「trick-or-treat」(翻譯：我來要糖果了，或譯：有糖果給我嗎？)。平常小朋友不在家裡附近的路上走動，他們多是被載來載去的，所以萬聖節像是一年一度的秋天散步，和鄰居打招呼。然後我看房東有一大袋糖，她前門的燈是開的，地上放著一個裝滿糖果的盆子。今年沒送完，糖果倒回大袋子裡，明年再送。我好奇這糖果是何時買的。小朋友要到的糖果多沒有保存期限，他們會和朋友交換糖果。最後要提的，是買糖果。萬聖節前商店都會有糖果特賣。但最好的買糖果時機是萬聖節的後一天(11/1)。我曾買到2.5折的士力架。：D

然後我的美國朋友問我，如果沒有預算上限，我會想扮什麼？我想了一下。睡美人。

我要買席夢思放在房間睡覺。非王子勿擾。

Grant Sanderson給畢業生的建議

3Blue1Brown講解數學的方式非常有趣，這位數學老師給社會新鮮人的建議也非常中肯。

(使用YT transcript generator)

When you're a student, the fundamental goal is to grow, to learn, to become better. So many institutions and structures around you are there to support you in growing and learning and getting better and to reward you for doing so. In life after college, the goal changes a little, and success hinges on how effectively you're able to add value to others...you're transitioning to a period when the primary aim shifts to adding value to others. The cliché to follow your dreams overlooks how critical it is that the dreams you have are about something more than just yourself. 

Every inspirational speech should come with a disclaimer about survivorship bias. The obvious way that Follow Your Dreams is susceptible to survivorship bias is that for all of the high-risk, high-reward paths, things like professional athletics, starting a social media company, making a career in the arts, it's only the few who rise to the top who are in a position to give advice at all.

There are more opportunities in a less crowded landscape. There are more chances to grow if you're part of a rising tide, but this requires pushing past the inevitable discomfort that comes from following a path that has little to no precedent.

Never underestimate just how much influence you can have on others, especially the ones who are younger than you are...As this happens, you stand to have as much influence by shaping the dreams of those behind you as you do by following those of your own.

There's going to be something fundamental about you that changes as well in the coming decades, probably unpredictably... So rather than having any one particular goal that defines who you are, you'll take better advantage of whatever the future has to offer you if you remain nimble and if you're responsive to the changes in the world and if you anticipate change within yourself.  My final piece of advice is to not treat passion as something to follow. Think of it as an initial velocity vector. It gives a clear direction to point yourself and loving what you do can have you move quickly. But you should expect and you should even hope that the specific direction that you're moving changes based on the force vectors around you.