一部《緋聞女孩》，讓更多人了解紐約富裕家庭青少年令人羨慕的生活——開心？買買買！不開心？買買買！！！平時住著豪宅，上學開著豪車，令人眼花繚亂的各種高級party，各種精美的華服，就連參加的高中課外活動也是各種高大上……
作為全世界最繁華、最富裕的城市之一，紐約上流社會的高中生是如何看待金錢的？是不是真的像電視劇那樣，花錢如流水？
近年來，很多生活在紐約的華裔家庭，擺脫了之前只能開中餐館謀生的刻板形象，越來越多的華裔富裕家庭入住到紐約的富人區，那麼，作為華裔移民，他們的子女是如何看待金錢的呢？
《紐約時報》每年都會征集高中生大學申請文書，其中，就有一篇來自紐約長島富人區的華裔女孩Yorana Wu。Yorana從小成長在長島的北岸Great Neck，這裡是紐約最富裕的地區之一，也是全美最好的學區之一，豪宅林立，名校匯集，是妥妥的富人區。
Yorana在自己申請芝加哥大學的文書裡，講述了作為一名華裔後代，家庭的金錢觀是如何影響自己的，以及自己如何體會爸爸賺錢的辛苦和為家庭的付出。通讀整個文章中，你會發現華裔特有的金錢觀念和勤儉節約的美德對我們移民後代的深遠影響：即使成長在西方，“細水長流，遇災不愁”的傳統依然一代代地傳承下去。
注：為了讓大家更加有效地借鑒和學習優秀文書，我們保留了英文原文，並且加入了中文譯文，以便大家更好地理解。譯文為意譯，並非直譯，比如會將文中的富二代財富的象征“銀湯匙”改為華人更便於理解的含著“金湯匙”，以更貼近我們的閱讀習慣。
畢業學校：Great Neck South High School
Yorana Wu在自家房子前（圖片來源《紐約時報》）
Weekends growing up were spent hitting tennis balls with my coach, sketching still lives at a local art studio and practicing the violin with my private teacher. My parents endorsed my interests because we had financial security that most families in America didn't. I'm thankful that this wealth also allows me to live in one of the most affluent suburbs of New York and attend one of its best public schools, where it's not uncommon to see my peers driving to school in a Mercedes-Benz.
譯文：在我的成長過程中，幾乎每個周末都是這樣度過的：和教練一起打網球，在當地的藝術工作室寫生，和我的私人老師一起練小提琴。我的父母非常支持我的這些興趣愛好，因為我們家擁有比較雄厚的經濟基礎和物質保障，而這是多數美國家庭不具備的。我很感激自己家能夠擁有這些財富，這些財富讓我可以住在紐約城郊最富裕區之一，就讀當地最好的公立學校。在我們學校，經常可以看到開著奔馳來上學的學生。
Even though I can buy glamorous things because of my family's wealth, I've never felt comfortable spending it. Some girls in my school frivolously spend their money – at the local Abercrombie, they'll point to a shirt they like and swipe their cards without batting an eyelash at the price. I use my money differently because of how I was raised. I make a beeline to the discount sections at higher-end retailers to find trendy garments and resell them on eBay to make a profit covering next semester's art supplies.
譯文：因為家境富裕，我有能力買各種光鮮亮麗又精美的東西，但我對這樣花錢感到很不自在。在我的學校，經常有一些女同學很隨意地花錢來購買自己喜歡的東西，比如去當地的Abercrombie店，只要看到喜歡的衣服，她們連價簽看也不看，就毫不猶豫地刷卡買下。因為家庭對我的教育和影響，我的花錢方式和多數同齡人不太一樣。我會直接去高端零售商的店面，然後尋找那些時髦漂亮的打折衣服，再放在eBay轉賣，這樣賺到的利潤就可以用來買我下學期藝術課的必需品了。
Many of my peers were fed since birth with a silver spoon, not giving a second thought to the family wealth at their disposal. I like to think I use my spoon sparingly, feeding myself only when necessary. I dislike spending my parents' money because I didn't earn any of it. I appreciate my parents endorsing my interests like violin because these hobbies are enriching, but I'm discomfited when they pay for superficial things like name-brand clothing. I'm fine just wearing thrifted shirts and discounted sneakers. I suppose it's because my mother raised me to embody a Chinese proverb that translates to "save when financially stable because the future is unknown."
譯文：我周圍很多的同齡人是含著金湯匙出生的，從小衣食無憂，花錢很隨意，不會多加考慮。但我覺得自己很少隨意花家裡的錢，只有真的需要的時候才會花。我不喜歡花父母的錢，因為這些錢都不是我賺的。我很感激父母對我興趣愛好的支持，比如學小提琴，因為這些愛好我的生活變得非常豐富。但是，如果他們把錢花在一些比較膚淺的地方，比如購買名牌服飾，我就覺得這種花費沒什麼意義。我覺得穿便宜的衣服和運動鞋沒什麼不好的。我想這是受到媽媽的影響，從小，她就用一句中國諺語告訴我：“細水長流，遇災不愁”（趁財務穩定的時候存錢，以便抵御將來未知的風險）
At a young age, I was forced to understand what came at the price of that wealth: time with my father. When I was 8, he left to build his own canned fruits company in China. That was the first year a seat at the dinner table remained empty and a car in the garage sat untouched. Suddenly, our relationship became two five-minute phone calls per week. He'll see my brother and me only for a quarter of the year – just the equivalent of a season spent together. He couldn't come to my brother's high school graduation, and during school orchestra concerts I would take a hopeful glance at the audience to see only my mother's face in the crowd. However, he’s the reason I have a silver spoon that allows me to scoop more than just canned peaches. If he hadn't followed his ambitions, we would still be a close-knit family living in a smaller home, but maybe then thrift shopping would be mandatory instead of voluntary.
譯文：很小的時候，我就懂得獲得這些家庭財富的代價是什麼——我們失去了和父親相處的家庭時光，爸爸不得不缺席我們的成長。他離開我們去中國建立水果罐頭公司。從此以後，家裡的餐桌上總有一個位置是空的，而車庫裡也總停著一輛閒置的汽車。突然之間，我們和爸爸的關系變成了每周打兩次五分鍾的電話，一年中爸爸只有四分之一的時間（相當於一個季節的時間）可以見到我們兄妹倆。爸爸不能來參加哥哥的高中畢業典禮。而我，在學校管弦樂隊演出的時候，滿懷期待地望向觀眾，希望可以看到爸爸的身影，然而，卻只看到媽媽一個人的面龐。爸爸努力賺錢，是希望給我更好的經濟基礎，讓我的人生可以有更多的選擇。倘若爸爸當初沒有選擇為自己的事業而奮斗，那麼我們依然會是親密的一家人，只是住在一所小房子裡。但是，如果這樣的話，“節約”就會成為我們必做的功課，而不是自願去做的。
My love and appreciation for my father makes me honor the money he provides me with – every dollar comes at the expense of his physical distance. When my father comes to visit, he offers to buy me the newest iPhone or drive me to Bloomingdale's because of the guilt he feels for not being with us. I accept his offer sparingly because I don't want him to think of me as someone who asks for more than what I need. While everyone in school has been toting the newest iPhone since ninth grade, I took his used phone, giving up 24/7 Internet access – I didn't need to check Facebook every minute. Although I enjoy the security afforded me by his success, it doesn't diminish my determination to build a future with my own bare hands. When I leave the silver spoon too long in my mouth, I feel this nagging itch telling me to remove it, as if I'm allergic to silver. If the spoon's used sparingly, I can avoid an outbreak. But I don't mind my allergy. I embrace it because it reminds me that everything comes at a price – even silver spoons.
譯文：我對爸爸充滿了愛和感激，珍惜他賺來的每一分錢——因為這些錢都是用他犧牲與家人的相處時光而換來的。當爸爸回來看我的時候，會給我買最新款的蘋果手機，或者帶我去Bloomingdale's百貨給我買東西，因為他對不能陪伴我們而感到內疚。我會有節制地接受爸爸的禮物，因為我不希望他認為我是那種貪婪的孩子。從9年級開始，學校裡每個人都開始用最新款的蘋果手機，但我依然在用老爸的二手手機，雖然這種舊手機不能像其他同學那樣隨時隨地上網——但這有什麼關系呢？我又不需要每分鍾就看一眼Facebook。雖然我很享受爸爸為我們打拼來的一切，但這不會讓我放棄靠自己雙手創造更好未來的決心。父輩的打拼給予了我們財富的積累，給了我們優越生活的“金湯勺”。但是，這個湯勺含得久了會讓我覺得有一種揮之不去的瘙癢，想要把它拿掉，就像我對湯勺金屬過敏一樣。如果我盡量少使用父母給我的湯匙，我就能避免這種不適的感覺。但另一方面，我也不介意這種瘙癢的感覺，因為它時時提醒著我：一切的獲得都是需要代價的 ，哪怕是父母為你鑄造的金湯匙。
紐約富人區華裔女孩:我家有錢但我花起來感覺不自在，因為父母這樣對我說……
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