When I was six years old, I discovered a box of old books in my grandmother’s attic. She let me take them home, and I read every one of them from cover to cover. I was with the protagonist as he rose to meet challenges, made sacrifices, summoned up the strength to persevere, and ultimately exceeded his own expectations. It was several years before I understood Horatio Alger’s role in the context of American literary figures, but in my own life, the example of the Algerian hero gave me indefinite strength when my world changed dramatically, time and time again.

I am not the only person whose parents divorced when he was young, whose father disappeared in every way that mattered, and whose mother worked too much for too little. I am not the only young person who assumed adult worries and burdens. I could have been one of many who chose to settle for something less, but instead I took another road, one that was winding, steep -- and uphill.

My mother’s choice of a second husband proved to be a poor one, so I moved out of our house at sixteen. I commuted 45 minutes to school, worked part-time, played sports, and tried to keep up with my schoolwork. Although I did not realize it at the time, my early experiences working and competing without a safety net at such a young age provided me with a valuable skill set: an unshakable belief in myself and my abilities. I learned to set goals on my own and to prioritize my assignments. I didn’t realize how important these skills would be in the next phase of my journey.

Although I had become entirely independent, my younger brother was still living at home. For that reason, I chose not to accept an athletic scholarship to an out-of-state school and instead attended the local state college. I pursued a joint degree in English and secondary education, worked as a counselor at a residential high school for court-appointed youth, and taught the children of migrant workers during the summers. After traveling for a time in Europe, I attended graduate school at night, worked as a substitute teacher in an inner-city school during the day, and soon landed a full-time position teaching high school English and coaching football in a rural school district. During my second year of teaching, I became engaged to my high school girlfriend and was positioned to live a quiet, predictable life.

Sometimes, the road less traveled provides flashy, unmistakable neon signs. My sign came in the form of a retired coach who visited my football practice one fall afternoon. In that visit, that day, and that man, I saw all the way to the end of my next forty years. In literally one minute, I realized that I needed more, that in forty years, I wanted to be exhausted by my accomplishments and efforts. I realized that I was about to accept a compromise: a life that would provide comfort and stability, but no passion. At the end of the school year, I quit my job, broke up with my fiancée, sold my car, and moved to New York City. I had no contacts and little money, only a burning need to forge a new life for myself.

New York City, while unfamiliar, rough, and strange, quickly validated my notions of ambition. Though my first year was uncomfortable, it was also full of reinvention and self-discovery. I had a knack for communicating with people and motivating them to reach a common objective. At the end of my first year, I was making more money than my father, and that was just the beginning. A year later, a headhunter placed me with a national company as an operations analyst. Within six months, I was promoted to head a large division in Manhattan, and within another year I was overseeing all of the business units in NYC, encompassing 800 employees and $25 million per year in revenue. After a year, I left my job to help build an Internet company with a national presence. As the vice president of operations, I managed all aspects of 50,000-square-foot sites in New York, Boston, Toronto, and San Francisco. At the end of the dot-com whirlwind, I took a project-specific position with Morgan Stanley and the Rockefeller Group, managing and mingling the corporate expectations of two vastly different companies. While I found all of these professional experiences satisfying on many levels, I knew, deep down, that business was not my passion.

As a teacher, I had enjoyed my relationships with students, but my job had provided me with little potential for personal growth; in the business world, I felt that my work was not worthwhile. As I struggled to find the career path that would challenge me the most, I received a letter from a former student, a college graduate working for an advertising agency in Florida. Seven years ago, he had been a diminutive tenth grader, bright and creative, yet insecure and withdrawn. His father was an ex-marine who drank too much and insistent that he should join the Marines right out of high school. I had encouraged him to consider other options, telling him about college programs that might interest him and urging him to listen to his instincts.
When I received his letter nine months ago, I remembered that I had been the boy’s supporter and friend. That is what I would like to be for families and children in distress: a resource and an advocate. Along with my experience working with children, I have a great empathy for people in need. I was lucky enough to make it to college, but not all children are able to find that path without some guidance. In many ways, I have grown up and left the Horatio Alger stories behind me. While they describe fictional events and idealized worlds, my own life experiences have not been nearly so easy. However, the spirit of Alger’s heroes has never left me; I hope to pass it on to other children and teenagers through the legal system.

點評：

這是一篇按照時間順序寫的散文式PS，作者在這篇類似于流水賬的文章中把自己的成長經歷與讀者分享了一下。文章以赫羅西•阿爾杰的英雄精神為主線，把自己在這種精神指引下艱苦奮斗并最終取得成功的過程一一展現出來。整篇文章大概可以分為五個階段：

一.幼年讀書，阿爾杰精神開始影響
二.青年求學歷程
三.畢業后第一份工作
四.放棄做老師之后的紐約尋夢
五.成功之后的反思

這篇文章是很耐人尋味的，很具有啟發性，從作者平凡的文字和不平凡的經歷中，我們可以感受到阿爾杰精神對于作者的影響。從開始接受那種精神到一步步走向成功，作者透露出一種堅持和努力。讀者也可以從這些啟發性的文字當中感到作者對于教育的那份熱情。

總體來說，這是一篇比較優秀的文章，但是美中不足的是作者在描寫放棄第一份作為老師的工作時候寫得太過決絕了，為了追求心中的激情，居然可以賣掉汽車，拋棄未婚妻，孤身一人去到紐約。但是到功成名就之后又懷念起教育事業，關心起下一代的成長了。彎轉得太急了，讓人有點覺得不可思議。

譯文：

赫羅西•阿爾杰的英雄

當我六歲的時候，我在奶奶的閣樓里發現了一箱子舊書。奶奶讓我把那些書帶回家，我從頭到尾把每一本書都看完了。我那時看得很入迷，與書中的主人公一起面對挑戰，作出犧牲，為生存而抗爭，最后超越自己的期望。我在幾年之前才明白赫羅西•阿爾杰在美國文學作品中的地位，但是在我自己的生活之中，當我的世界一次又一次的發生戲劇性改變時，阿爾杰式的英雄給了我莫名的力量。

我不是唯一一個年輕時父母就離異的人，父親消失得無影無蹤，母親為了養家糊口過度操勞。我也不是唯一一個年輕時就承受到成年人的煩惱和負擔的人。我本可以像許多人一樣選擇知足常樂，但是我選擇另外一條路，一條充滿風雨，險峻和向上的路。

我媽媽選擇的第二個丈夫是一個窮困潦倒的人，所以我16歲時就搬出去了。我坐45分鐘的車去上學，做兼職，運動而且努力做好學校功課。雖然我那時沒有意識這些年輕時期沒有保障的工作和競爭的經驗給我提供了寶貴的技能基礎：對于我自己和能力堅定不移的信念。我學會自己制定目標并且優化安排各項任務。我不知道這些技能對于我人生旅途的下一篇章是如何的重要。雖然我已經獨立了，但是家里還有年幼的弟弟。因此我放棄州外一間大學的運動獎學金而選擇在本地的一間大學。我攻讀英語和中等教育雙學位，暑假的時候就在地區高中為青少年做顧問以及教移民個人的子女。在一次歐洲旅游之后，我參加一個研究生夜校，白天就在市內的一間學校做代課老師，很快我我就得到在一間高中做全職英語教師的機會并且在一所郊區學校做足球教練。在我教師生涯的第二年，我與女友訂婚并且開始了安逸平淡的生活。

有些時候，一些很少人走過的路會有一些浮華清晰的霓虹燈。我的指示燈來源于一位在一個秋天下午參觀我足球練習的退休教練。從那天那個男人的拜訪中，我看到了我接下來的四十年的路。在短短一分鐘里，我意識到在四十年里我需要更多。我愿意為自己的成功而奮斗。我意識到我準備妥協：一種舒服穩定卻沒有激情的生活。那個學年結束之后，我辭掉工作，與未婚妻分手，賣掉汽車，搬到紐約城去。我孤身一人而且身無分文，有的只是對于建立新生活的強熱愿望。

陌生粗糙和光怪陸離的紐約很快就激發了我的雄心壯志。我在那的第一年雖然不是很舒服，但是充滿了新的起跑線和自我發現。我有與人溝通，激發他們為共同目標奮斗的竅門。在第一年的年底，我賺的錢比我爸爸多了，而且才剛剛開始。一年之后，一個獵頭把我挖到一個國家級公司作為一個業務分析員。在六個月之內，我就被提升到位于曼哈頓一個大的分支部門作為領導。在這之后一年，我又被提升為公司在整個紐約地區的總管，手下有800名員工，公司年收入有2500萬美元。再一年過后，我離開這份工作去建一個全國性的網絡公司。作為副執行總裁，我管理著在紐約，波士頓，多倫多和舊金山一共5萬平方尺辦公室的所有事務。在網絡經濟泡沫即將破滅之時，我在摩根斯坦利和洛克菲勒公司得到一個項目方面的職位，要處理和協調兩家差別很大的公司的不同期望。但當我發現這些工作經驗在很多層面上都滿足了我，我深刻認識到商業不是我的激情所在。

作為一個老師，我滿意和學生們的關系，但是我的工作沒有很多潛力來關注人的成長。在商業世界里，我感到我的工作沒有什么價值。當我正在努力尋找一份可以給我最大挑戰的職位時，我收到了以前學生的一封來信，他是一個大學畢業生，現在佛羅里達一間廣告公司工作。7年以前，他曾經是一個小小的十年級學生，聰明而且有創造力，但是不可靠和內向。他的爸爸是一個經常酗酒的海軍退役士兵，并堅持讓他高中一畢業就參加海軍。我鼓勵他考慮其他的選擇，告訴他也許會對大學課程感興趣并激勵他順從自己的意愿。

9個月前收到他的來信的時候，我記起我曾經是這個男孩的支持者和朋友。這就是我想給那些困境中的家庭和孩子的：資助和鼓勵。在我與孩子們的工作經歷中，我很同情那些有需要的人們。我很幸運的可以上完大學，但是不是所有的小孩都可以沒有一些指導就能順利走上這條道路。從很多方面來說我已經成長并且遺棄了赫羅西•阿爾杰的故事。別人描述我經歷中戲劇般的事件和理想世界的時候，我自己的生活經歷卻從不那么簡單。但是，阿爾杰式英雄的精神沒有離開我，我希望通過法定的體系把它傳授給其他小孩和青少年。