From the moment I arrived in Guanare, Venezuela, I experienced the desperation and the discomfort that burdens the people there every day. Long abandoned by a broken-down bus, my team and I were forced to climb a mountain under the relentless sun. Weighed down by a 30-pound backpack containing medical supplies, I fixated on the rest of the day and on reaching the top of the mountain by nightfall. Thinking ahead to the next day was a luxury I could not afford.

The city of Guanare rested at the bottom of the mountain. I had been struck by its dirty, squalid streets and houses topped with corrugated tin roofs. Stray dogs roamed the streets, small children chased passing cars, and mosquitoes and gnats lazily lingered in the sweltering heat. At the top of the mountain, however, existed poverty of another level. There sat a remote community of coffee-bean growers who receive no medical attention and have no means of communication with Guanare, except for a long, steep walk down the mountain. After weeks of correspondence, planning, and preparation with one another from across the globe, my team of 14 had arrived there to make a small imprint on the struggling community and, we hoped, to offer some kind of relief.

On the morning of our first clinic, I was awed by the contrasting images of despair and hope. We were surprised to discover that villagers from miles away had heard about the free clinic and had begun lining up in the first hours of sunlight. Dirty, thin children with bellies distended from parasite infection stood in line alongside elderly adults with open sores in their swollen legs. Spread before them was a team of 14 strangers buoyed by energy and optimism. With donated supplies and medicine that we had garnered from various clinics and hospitals in America, we prepared to perform triage, measure blood pressure, and administer the proper medicines.

That day, I was just as affected by the team doctor, Robert, as I was by the anguish on the patients’ faces. He was a beacon of devotion and sacrifice, and while everyone rotated in and out of shifts for their duties, Robert was the anchor, treating the seemingly endless stream of ill patients with the same enthusiasm he had when the day had dawned. I was just a sophomore in college at the time, and I was wholly inexperienced in a medical capacity. But I sensed all of that changing as I experienced both the hopelessness and the hopefulness that comes with this noble profession. I realized that in my future career as a doctor I wanted to emanate Robert’s grace and dedication, and that in the meantime I would do anything I could to work to alleviate the pain of those who are suffering physically.

Since I could not provide much medical assistance at the clinic, I sought a way to involve myself in the healing that was taking place and to raise the spirits of the downtrodden patients. I donned a baggy shirt, goofy pants, a green wig, and makeup, transforming myself from a medic into a clown. Squeals of delight pealed through the throng of children and adults as I burst out of the door. I began singing and dancing to the songs playing on the Spanish radio station as others smiled and clapped. The tired, sick children giggled, and the stricken elderly patients laughed while I tripped and ran into them in my excitement. Eventually, the children that were well enough to participate joined me in my exploits.

Just like the clinics, the playful enjoyment was a welcome reprieve to the villagers but temporary nonetheless. While our team did a lot of good, eventually we had to leave, and it was painfully clear to me that the patients’ prescriptions would soon run out, and that others would become ill. Soon they would go back to their painful existences without proper medical attention. Another team would eventually come to the mountain and set up another clinic, but the problems would still persist. Until a time when I can participate in the global community, teaching preventative measures to avoid diseases such as parasite infection or malaria, I continue to do what I can for this tiny village. I collect whatever clothes, shoes, and toys I can and send them to the town center.

For as long as I can remember, my inquisitive, nurturing nature led me to entertain the thought of being a doctor. However, after my time in Venezuela, I was resolute. The idea of attending to a neglected population intrigues and excites me. In Venezuela, serving as a vessel of hope and seeing the joy that followed gave me a great sense of satisfaction. I will forever relish the memories of the trust that those patients had in the doctor as he diagnosed their ailments. I value what I learned from Robert himself -- that being a doctor requires sacrifice and determination, but that with it comes the fulfillment of a long day’s work. And I will never forget the innocently hopeful children who danced with me in my green clown wig, for they remind me that at the core of healing is the exuberance that comes with optimism.

點評：

一篇成功的申請文書，其優秀的標準可能有很多條，但其中最重要的一條，就是令人難忘，讓人在讀完掩卷之后，還能在腦海中浮現出申請者鮮明的形象。《委內瑞拉叢林中的小丑》就做到了這一點。

文章描述了作者大學時候隨著一支醫療隊伍，來到生存條件艱苦、醫療環境惡劣的委內瑞拉，為一群遠離人群的咖啡豆種植者提供義務看診的經歷；以平實而又生動的口吻，記錄下自己的所見所聞，也詳細描繪了自己內心想法轉變。

其實，這一題材并不新鮮，在申請醫學院的文書中，很多人都會以自己做志愿者或是參加醫療援助隊到某一個需要幫助的地方工作，從而堅定自己的理想；比本文到過更悲慘的地方，比如戰場或災區的文書也是為數不多的。然而為什么本文還能突出自身呢？那是由于一般的場景＋想法的essay，提煉的主題多半是：本來只是想當醫生—親身感受到治病救人的意義—更加堅定自己奉獻的心；《委》一文的內容與主題直到第四段被羅伯特醫生感動為止，仍是與其他文章沒什么兩樣。其可貴就在于下面文筆一轉，描述“我”扮演小丑為病人們帶來歡樂，描述這里的惡劣情況可能繼續持續的故事，并且從中得出結論，不僅要治療物理意義上的疾病，還要做一名以樂觀與歡笑帶給人們心靈慰藉的醫生。這樣的角度不僅少見，而且也能清晰地刻畫出作者自己心路歷程的變化：從無知到堅定、再上升到更高的醫療層面，可以給讀者展示出這樣一個學生的成長。最起碼，當人們想到在貧瘠的山頂和一群陰暗悲傷的病人中間，鮮綠色頭發的小丑在快樂的舞蹈，這鮮明的對比與感受將使人記住這篇文章和這名申請者。

譯文：

委內瑞拉叢林中的小丑

從踏上委內瑞拉Guanare土地的那一刻起，我就感受到了每天沉甸甸壓在所有人身上的絕望和痛苦。破車拋錨了，我和我的隊伍只好在無情太陽的炙烤下步行上山。背負裝滿30磅醫藥補給品的背包，我一直想著今天什么時候能休息，想著黃昏時是否能到達山頂；唯獨不敢考慮明天—這太遙遠的奢侈。

Guanare這個城市坐落在山腳下。我還記得那里的街道骯臟不堪，一排排房子上攤著皺巴巴的錫皮屋頂，流浪狗在路上四處游蕩，幼童們追逐著路過的汽車；在這樣的酷熱里，蚊子和飛蟲們無精打采地在半空盤旋。然而，就在山頂上，還存在著另一種水平的貧窮—一群咖啡豆的種植者，他們遠離人群，缺乏醫療看護；除非經過一段漫長、陡峭的下山路程，否則他們與Guanare沒有任何交集可言。在全球范圍進行了幾周的通信、計劃和準備后，我們14人的隊伍來到這里拜訪這群艱苦生活的人，希望能給他們提供某種程度上的幫助。

第一個看診的早晨，我便對面前這鮮明地交雜著希望和絕望的情形感到敬畏。出乎我們意料的是，數里之外的村民們一聽說有義診，從日出第一刻就開始排成了長隊。瘦小、臟兮兮的孩子挺著由于寄生蟲感染造成的大肚子，旁邊站著年長的人們，腫脹的雙腿帶著切骨的疼痛。而在他們面前的是14個陌生人，滿懷樂觀精神和一身力量，藉由美國許多診所和醫院捐贈的藥物和儀器，開始準備治療方案、測量血壓和發放合適的藥品。

那天，當我看著病人們的臉龐感到憂傷時，隊伍里的一位醫生—羅伯特，給了我很大的觸動。如同象征奉獻與犧牲的燈塔，如同船錨，當其它醫生忙忙碌碌進進出出時，他一直以不變的熱情接待川流不息的病人們，直到次日凌晨。當時，我只是個大二的學生，對于專業的醫療可以說一無所知；然而，當我親身經歷隨著這一神圣職業而來的無望和希望，我感覺到自己內心的巨大變化。我意識到，當我未來成為醫生時，也要像羅伯特一樣，溫和、優雅、為他人奉獻自我；我將竭盡一切，去緩解被疾病所困的人們的痛苦。

由于在看診中我沒能提供太多的醫務協作，因此我嘗試以另一種形式的治療工作來鍛煉自己，也為這些被冷落和壓制的病人們加油打氣。寬大的T恤和褲子、綠色假發再加上臉部濃妝，我立刻從實習醫生變成了小丑。隨著歡樂的尖哨聲跳出門，我來到孩子和大人們中間，高聲歌唱，隨著西班牙廣播節目的小曲舞蹈，博得了人們的微笑與掌聲。而當我興高采烈地卻磕磕絆絆地手舞足蹈、向他們跑去時，疲憊的小病人們被逗得咯咯直笑，大人們也捧腹不止。最后，許多不太虛弱的孩子都忍不住加入進來，與我一起表演。

這歡樂的氛圍也像看診一樣深受村民歡迎，給了他們很大的慰藉，即使時間是那么的短暫。雖然我們的隊伍做了許多，但最終我們也必須離開；事實顯而易見，病人的處方藥很快就會吃完，其他人還可能生病。要不了多久，他們又將回到沒有醫療護理的悲慘生活中。于是另一支隊伍將來到這座山，開另一個診所，然而問題將永遠持續下去。我將繼續為這個小村子做我力所能及的事，直到某一天我能加入全球組織，教授大家如何預防疾病，比如寄生蟲感染或瘧疾為止。現在，我在盡力收集衣服、鞋子和玩具等一切物質，送到小鎮中心去。

在這之前，我的好奇心和教養習慣讓我以成為醫生這一理想為樂；從委內瑞拉回來后，這個理想變得堅定起來。想到將為被忽視的弱勢群體提供醫療服務，我便會充滿熱情、激動不已。在委內瑞拉，作為希望的載體，感受到人們的喜悅給了我極大的滿足感。我將永遠記得當醫生為病人們診斷時，他們流露出的喜悅，正如我永遠珍視我從羅伯特身上所學到的東西—作為醫生，需要犧牲精神和篤定決心，而當一天的工作結束后，也將獲得難以言喻的充實感；我更不會忘記，那些伴著我小丑綠假發跳舞的天真孩童，他們永遠提醒著我：治療的核心在于由樂觀和歡笑帶來的健康生機。