I grew up watching my mother work tirelessly on behalf of persecuted Jews in the Soviet Union. 小时候我总能看到她为了苏联受到迫害的犹太人不知疲倦地忙碌奔波；

She and her friend Margery Sanford would write heartfelt appeals calling for the release of political prisoners. 她还和朋友玛杰里·桑福德写下激昂的请愿书，呼吁释放政治囚犯。

In the evenings, my dad would join them. 同时，我的父亲也加入了她们的活动。

Thanks to the collective efforts of concerned people all over the world, many lives were saved. 在世界各地热心人的共同努力下，许多无辜的生命得以拯救。

Throughout my childhood, my parents emphasized the importance of pursuing a meaningful life. 我的整个童年时代，父母都在强调追求有意义的人生是多么重要。

Dinner discussions often centered on social injustice and those fighting to make the world a better place. 他们在饭桌上讨论的话题，常常是社会的不公正以及如何让世界变得更美好。

As a child, I never thought about what I wanted to be, but I thought a lot about what I wanted to do. 作为一个孩子，我从没想过自己以后会成为什么样的人，但对于想要做的事我曾思考了很久。

As sappy as it sounds, I hoped to change the world. 尽管听起来很傻，但我还是希望自己能改变世界。

My sister and brother both became doctors, and I always believed I would work at a nonprofit or in government. That was my dream. 我的弟妹妹都梦想成为一名医生，而我总认为自己会为一个非营利组织工作或是在政府机关里就职，这就是我的理想。

And while I don't believe in mapping out each step of a career, I do believe it helps to have a long-term dream or goal. 尽管我不主张规划出事业的每一步，但心存一个长远的梦想的确是有帮助的。

A long-term dream does not have to be realistic or even specific. 长远的梦想并不一定要特别具体，

It may reflect the desire to work in a particular field or to travel throughout the world. 但它应该能反映出一个人大致的工作方向。

Maybe the dream is to have professional autonomy or a certain amount of free time. 也许你的梦想是在职场里独当一面，或是有一定的空闲时间做一个自由职业者，

Maybe it's to create something lasting or win a coveted prize. 也可以是从事创造性的工作，甚至期望获得梦寐以求的某项大奖。