She would walk in futile circles, sapping her strength while going nowhere. If she did not resist atrophy with every cell in her body, it would creep in as soon as she dropped her vigilance. I wanted to grab her hand and drag her kicking and screaming into the world of reason. I yearned for the knowledge that would dissolve this cloak of darkness encompassing her illness. The futility of my efforts to help my sister compelled me to seek answers. What I discovered was the fascinating field of psychology. The study of human behavior and the brain provided me with clarity and perspective on my sister’s mental illness. I was finally able to comprehend and appreciate the challenges of living with a psychiatric disorder, not to mention correct my indignant and critical attitude towards her.
As a psychology student at Northeastern, I have taken an interest in working with people, most recently with adults in a locked inpatient unit at McLean Hospital's psychotic disorders program. As a mental health specialist, I am an active participant in the therapeutic environment. I conduct patient interviews, complete patient assessments, supervise the unit, and take vital signs. Witnessing the most destructive mental illnesses, I have gained extremely valuable insight into my future career.
I have to confess that, at first, the thought of working in a locked unit was intimidating. My perception of individuals with psychotic illnesses severe enough to require hospitalization was definitely skewed by black-and-white definitions in books and stereotypical depictions in the media. In a matter of hours on my first day, however, that feeling quickly dissipated. One of the first patients I encountered was a woman with severe psychotic depression. Numb to life, she would only utter negative words of despair. Due to her inability to control her impulses to hurt herself, she was put on five-minute checks. The patient finally heeded the recommendations of the doctors to have electroconvulsive therapy, a highly controversial and misunderstood treatment. After only a week and a half of ECT, she awoke to living again. Her eyes, tainted from the fog of depression, cleared and became bright with life. I was able to meet the person buried under the clenches of her illness. The most fascinating part to me was that even now, over 60 years since ECT's development, the basic mechanisms of why it works remain unknown; people are only confident in its efficacy. This shortcoming is indicative of how important it is to invest in mental health research. There is so much to be learned about the human mind, and the infinite possibilities of research captivate me.
This curiosity has led me to several research experiences. In one laboratory, which investigates reticulospinal neurons, I learned how to use a high-speed camera to record the behaviors of larval zebra fish that had specific nerve cells ablated. We analyzed the detailed measurements of behavioral deficit resulting from such cell ablations. When I watched a tiny zebra fish for over three hours through a confocal microscope, waiting for it to feed on paramecium, the patience needed for research became apparent. My next research experience was drastically different: I assisted a graduate student in evaluating and demonstrating the cognitive abilities of the New Zealand keas. As the kea was trained in color discriminations tasks, I took immense satisfaction from watching the operant condition in action and enjoyed applying my knowledge in the lab.
Currently, for my senior honors thesis, I am conducting observational studies on a group of gorillas, analyzing the relationship of personality characteristics to social roles in a group of captive Western Lowland Gorillas. Although these varied research experiences have provided me with fundamental skills, I still feel the need for more training. Professional experiences, research, and undergraduate courses have further stimulated my interest in psychology and reinforced my conviction that I am well suited to the field. Moreover, these opportunities created a desire to pursue a career in clinical research.
Graduate school will enable me to develop vital research skills and the solid academic background that I need to be a successful researcher. A master's program in psychology will not only cultivate and refine my interest in clinical research, but also equip me to deal with the challenges of a PhD program. I have all the traits needed to be a good psychologist; undoubtedly, my devotion to my education will be the greatest asset of all.
点评：
这篇文章的作者勇于和大家分享一段及其隐私的个人经历。主题的严肃性使他的作文令人过目难忘，同时给读者留下了一个及其深刻的印象：妹妹患有严重的精神病，而身为哥哥的他想方设法为妹妹治病，在得知心理学是治疗精神病患者的良方的时候，作者欣喜若狂并决心要深入研究心理学，希望能早日治愈妹妹的精神病。
但是，仅仅分享一段受创伤的往事是不够的，使这篇作文真正鹤立鸡群的是事例所表现出的作者在心理学领域中研究的深度和广度。深度在于他对精神病患者的认识不局限于书本和媒体报道上，而是他通过从事医生这份职业得到了许多接触精神病患者的机会，通过这些机会他对精神病患者有了一个感性的认识。除此之外，他丰富的临床经验也为他的学术研究奠定了基础。广度就表现在他不仅仅局限于研究人的神经细胞，也尝试着通过其他动植物来进行学术研究。借助于种种事例的说明，读者能感觉到他未来个人发展和职业发展的成就。通过直截了当的解说性的写作方式，作者轻而易举地将他的学术研究经历形象地展现在读者眼前。作者成功地暗示，这些经历是与他的职业生涯息息相关的。
结尾作者明确表明立场，而他的有关接受正规心理学辅导的需要也给读者留下了清晰的印象。作者明确地表明，接受心理学领域的高等教育将成为他个人发展的重要的一步，同时也表明了自己为此而作的努力和准备。
译文：
她经常会使尽全身的力量在原地里做无谓的转圈动作。其实如果她不和身体里面的疾病细胞做斗争的话，很有可能萎缩细胞会在她疏于防范的时候把她击溃。我真的很想拉她一把，把她从乱踢乱叫的痴呆状态中拉回到一个正常人的世界。我渴望可以掌握一种能帮助她驱除病魔的治疗方法。之前我为此所做的无用功驱使我更加努力地去寻求答案。令我欣喜的是，我发现原来利用心理学说可以治疗精神病。关于人类行为和大脑之间关系的研究让我对于治疗妹妹精神病有了一个明确的方向和更深层次的理解。后来我终于明白了精神病患者的苦处，也敬佩他们独自与病魔做斗争的勇气，而对于患有精神病的妹妹，我也不再因为她的痴呆而感到恼怒和生气。
作为东北大学主修心理学的学生，我喜欢与人打交道，尤其是与一些在 Mc’Lean医院的深切治疗病房里接受治疗的精神病患者。而作为一名心智健康方面的专家，我在治疗方法的研究领域表现积极。我做过病人专访，病人精神状况检查，并且对治疗病房进行了综合管理。当我遇到并处理一些疑难杂症时，我获得极为丰富的临床经验。
我必须承认在一开始的时候我觉得在一间封闭的病房里工作是挺吓人的。因为那时我对于严重到要住院接受治疗的精神病患者的认识完全被书本上的描述和媒体的报道给歪曲了。而我在医院工作的第一天，那短短的几个小时里面，以前那种错误的认识很快就消失得无影无踪了。在我碰到的精神病患者里面有一个患有严重抑郁症的女人。她对生活、生命全然没有感觉，平时她说的都是一些绝望之类的言语。由于她不能控制她自己，所以她会不时伤害自己，也因此她被送去了做检查。最后她同意接受医生所推荐的电休克疗法，这是当时极具争议性和被误解的治疗精神病的方法。仅仅在接受了一个半月的电休克疗法之后，她重获新生了。原来被绝望所遮盖的双眼现在变得如此的明亮和充满生机。我可以遇到这么一些饱受病魔折磨的人。但令人觉得惊讶的是电休克疗法发展至今已有60年了，它的治疗原理至今还没有人知道。人们只是确信他的治疗功效。这个不足之处表明了加大新智健康研究领域投资的重要性。关于人类思想方面实在有太多东西值得我们去探索，去研究。正是那无止境的可研究的领域吸引着我。
正是这种好奇心驱使我开展了几次研究工作。在一个研究网状脊髓神经的实验室里，我学会了如何使用一部高频率的照相机来记录下一些被切除了神经细胞的斑马鱼幼体的行为动作。我们详细分析了这些幼体由于神经细胞的切除所导致的行为缺失。当我通过共焦显微镜观察一条斑马鱼幼体，等待着它捕食草履虫的时候，我发现了耐心对于学科研究来说尤为重要。而我的第二个实验与之前的实验是截然不同的：我协助一位研究生学者考查新西兰鹦鹉的感官判断能力。因为我们是采用颜色辨别任务来训练那只鹦鹉，所以当我看到鹦鹉能够准确地辨认出各种不同颜色的时候，我获得了很大的满足感，我也非常享受将我所学的知识真正地运用到学科研究中这一过程。
如今，为了要完成我的高级荣誉资格论文，我开展了一项大猩猩的研究活动，分析了野生大猩猩和被驯服了的大猩猩在性格特征上的异同。虽然这些不同的研究经验使我具备了一些基本的研究能力，但我仍觉得自己需要更多的训练。专业的知识学习，研究经历以及本科的学习课程都进一步地激发了我在心理学上的兴趣，也使我坚信我是适合在这个专业领域中研究学习的。而且这些学习机会也使我萌生了一个以后要在临床研究领域发展的愿望。
提供相关研究生课程的学校将会培养我在这一方面的研究技能和传授给我扎实的专业知识，使我成为一名成功的研究学者。一个硕士研究生的心理学课程不仅能培养我在临床研究科学的兴趣，而且能为我攻读博士研究生做好充分的准备。我具备了成为一名出色的心理学者的所有特性，而我对这个领域研究工作的热爱无疑是这些优良特性中最重要的一点。
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