这是儿子狄艾伦最近写的一篇文章。中文版附后。原创文，如需转载，请在评论中留言。
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
译文：
内部挣扎，外部挣扎
- 狄艾伦 （13岁）
自从胚胎开始，艾伦一直面临着人生中的问题：小的问题，巨大的问题，和不大不小却咄咄逼人的问题。然而，他有时会为了做一些决定而挣扎，从一开始，他就渴望做正确的事，即使那正确的事做出来也是错的。
内部挣扎
内部挣扎无所不在，艾伦的情况没什么不同; 他不断受到精神挑战的轰击，导致内部冲突; 通常既没有起始，也没有结束。像宇宙一样，它有无限的可能性，这使得他身上的每个细胞都复杂。
艾伦面临的一场挣扎是他想做最好的自己，而做最好的自己的付出往往又让他的幸福感荡然无存。他给自己设立高山一般雄伟的目标，不可攀登的山；他总是在他的时而大胆、时而平和的观点之间辩论，在他的身体的每一个分子里发生着争论，解码到底什么是对或错。一个例子是他试图成为一个更好的数学家，这可能是一个挑战。他是提升了；但速度却比他想要的慢。
艾伦不断经历的另一场挣扎是在学校与自由之间的平衡; 这是一个常见的问题，如果不是所有，那也是大多数的中学和中学以上的学生所面临的。艾伦尤其也不例外，他的各种娱乐选择总在不断地与他的学术思想做抗争，而反之亦然。 “我应该在课后时间做我项目上的工作呢，还是玩一场电子游戏呢？”他经常问自己，也经常选择后者。然而，时不时的，一个想法开始浮现：“如果我选择的是前者，我会到了哪里呢？
外部挣扎
尽管有前面所写的几段，艾伦并不是一个把大脑的思想放在物质之上的人，因为物质在他的思想和意见中也发挥作用。他不仅试图保持一种较好的思想状态，而且他也保持他的身体形态。因为它同样重要。
多年来，艾伦面临的一个外部挣扎是从足球到篮球的过渡。这个过渡开始在六年级时，并指引着艾伦到了他今天的地方。虽然它可能听起来很极端，但艾伦的生活有点围绕着篮球转。尽管只有学校十五分钟的休息时间是他参加这个知名运动的主要时间，但是想想吧，如果不是因为篮球，艾伦会是一个非常不同的人。然而，他内心挣扎不安。因为他以前是个狂热的足球迷，但后来几个月过去，他改变了自己的偏好，因为他觉得他需要随着年级里的其他人一起打篮球。显然，朋友是他从足球切换到篮球的原因，他的许多朋友都来自于篮球活动，而这点对他很重要。想想这项运动为他打开了多少机会。总而言之，篮球依然是艾伦那被称之为生活的大饼的很大一块儿，他也打算保持这样。
最后总结一下，人生不是二元的，因为它不仅仅是一系列的1和0。它是关于灰色，而不是黑色和白色。它不断地适应着你的想法和观点。它在你的挣扎中茁壮成长；开繁花结好果。
有问题是好的，假若没有了问题，我们人类不就都成一个样儿了。
翻译：湘伟
2017年3月3日，上海
欢迎在这里交流，也欢迎关注我，或点击阅读狄艾伦的其它文章。也欢迎进入我的公益收费分享群 （点击此处）和其他文友近距离分享和成长。谢谢支持。
