這是兒子狄艾倫最近寫的一篇文章。中文版附后。原創文，如需轉載，請在評論中留言。
Internal, External Struggles
- Alan Deutsch (13)
Ever since an embryo, Alan has always faced problems in life, small ones, gargantuan ones, and aggressively medium ones. Yet he sometimes struggles to make decisions, and since day one, he yearns to do what's right, even if it's also wrong.
Internal Struggles
Internal struggles are everywhere, and Alan's situation is no different; he is constantly being bombarded by mental challenges, which leads to internal conflict; often having no beginning nor end. Like the universe it's infinite in possibilities, which makes every cell in his body complex.
One struggle Alan faces is being the best he can be, which tends to be the vain of his own well-being. He sets himself mountain-high goals, that can be impossible to climb; he's always debating between his audacious, and placid viewpoints. An argument that goes on in every molecule of his body, deciphering what's right or wrong. An example is attempting to be a better mathematician, which can be a challenge. He does improve; but at a slower rate than he would prefer.
Another struggle Alan constantly undergoes is balancing school with freedom; a common problem that most if not all middle school and upward students face. Alan is especially no exception, he is continually combating his academic thoughts with entertainment options and vice versa. “Should I use afterschool to work on the project, or play video games instead?” He frequently asks himself, and often chooses the later. Yet once in a while, the thought dawns on him: “Where would I be If I chose the first option?”
External Struggle
Despite the last few paragraphs, Alan is not a mind over matter person, as the matter plays a role in his thoughts and opinions as well. He not only tries to keep a preferred state of mind, but he also keeps his body in shape. As it's just as important.
Over the years, an external struggle that Alan has faced is the transition from soccer, to basketball. It started in sixth grade, and led Alan to where he is today. And although it may sound extreme, Alan's life is somewhat built around basketball. Despite the mere fifteen minutes of recess that is his main time of playing the well-known sport. But come to think of it, Alan would be a very different person if it weren't for basketball. He struggles with it, however. As he used to be a fanatic for soccer, but as the months have gone by, ---he changed his preference, along with the rest of the grade. Although friends were the reason he switched, many of his friends derived from basketball, which means a lot to him. Considering how many opportunities the sport has opened up for him. All and all, basketball remains a large slice of Alan's pie known as life, and he intends to keep it that way.
In conclusion, life is not binary, as it's more than a series of 1's and 0's. It's about the grey, not the black and white. It's constantly adapting to your thoughts and ideas. It thrives off your struggles; blossoming into opportunities for good.
It's healthy to have problems, humans would all be the same without them.
- Alan Deutsch
February, 2017 , Shanghai
譯文：
內部掙扎，外部掙扎
- 狄艾倫 （13歲）
自從胚胎開始，艾倫一直面臨著人生中的問題：小的問題，巨大的問題，和不大不小卻咄咄逼人的問題。然而，他有時會為了做一些決定而掙扎，從一開始，他就渴望做正確的事，即使那正確的事做出來也是錯的。
內部掙扎
內部掙扎無所不在，艾倫的情況沒什么不同; 他不斷受到精神挑戰的轟擊，導致內部沖突; 通常既沒有起始，也沒有結束。像宇宙一樣，它有無限的可能性，這使得他身上的每個細胞都復雜。
艾倫面臨的一場掙扎是他想做最好的自己，而做最好的自己的付出往往又讓他的幸福感蕩然無存。他給自己設立高山一般雄偉的目標，不可攀登的山；他總是在他的時而大膽、時而平和的觀點之間辯論，在他的身體的每一個分子里發生著爭論，解碼到底什么是對或錯。一個例子是他試圖成為一個更好的數學家，這可能是一個挑戰。他是提升了；但速度卻比他想要的慢。
艾倫不斷經歷的另一場掙扎是在學校與自由之間的平衡; 這是一個常見的問題，如果不是所有，那也是大多數的中學和中學以上的學生所面臨的。艾倫尤其也不例外，他的各種娛樂選擇總在不斷地與他的學術思想做抗爭，而反之亦然。 “我應該在課后時間做我項目上的工作呢，還是玩一場電子游戲呢？”他經常問自己，也經常選擇后者。然而，時不時的，一個想法開始浮現：“如果我選擇的是前者，我會到了哪里呢？
外部掙扎
盡管有前面所寫的幾段，艾倫并不是一個把大腦的思想放在物質之上的人，因為物質在他的思想和意見中也發揮作用。他不僅試圖保持一種較好的思想狀態，而且他也保持他的身體形態。因為它同樣重要。
多年來，艾倫面臨的一個外部掙扎是從足球到籃球的過渡。這個過渡開始在六年級時，并指引著艾倫到了他今天的地方。雖然它可能聽起來很極端，但艾倫的生活有點圍繞著籃球轉。盡管只有學校十五分鐘的休息時間是他參加這個知名運動的主要時間，但是想想吧，如果不是因為籃球，艾倫會是一個非常不同的人。然而，他內心掙扎不安。因為他以前是個狂熱的足球迷，但后來幾個月過去，他改變了自己的偏好，因為他覺得他需要隨著年級里的其他人一起打籃球。顯然，朋友是他從足球切換到籃球的原因，他的許多朋友都來自于籃球活動，而這點對他很重要。想想這項運動為他打開了多少機會?？偠灾?，籃球依然是艾倫那被稱之為生活的大餅的很大一塊兒，他也打算保持這樣。
最后總結一下，人生不是二元的，因為它不僅僅是一系列的1和0。它是關于灰色，而不是黑色和白色。它不斷地適應著你的想法和觀點。它在你的掙扎中茁壯成長；開繁花結好果。
有問題是好的，假若沒有了問題，我們人類不就都成一個樣兒了。
翻譯：湘偉
2017年3月3日，上海
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