Hii Benetta :)

Interviewer 记者: Ami

Translator 翻译: Ami

Editor 编辑: Benetta

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Background: Benetta was born in Maryland, but moved to China when she was six. She went to the States again at the beginning of 2019.

背景：Benetta 出生在马里兰，但是六岁的时候去了中国。她在2019年年初回到了美国。

Scroll down for the Chinese version!

下滑查看采访的中文版本！

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ENGLISH VERSION

1. What major/course are you most interested in? How do you think it will benefit you?

Definitely psychology! It's a subject I have been super interested in since I was really young. One of the main reasons is that when I was in elementary school in China, one of my closest friends was diagnosed with depression. At that time, I couldn’t really do anything for her. So as I grew older, I started to think that maybe studying clinical psychology would really help me become someone that will be able to help people who struggle with mental health disorders.

2. How would you help or comfort someone who is upset about something?

I think sometimes just being there for them means a lot already. Although I am interested in the mental health industry, I haven't received any formal training yet. For someone who is actually struggling and needs professional help, I don't think I will be able to anything yet besides being there for them. However, being someone who is actually able to offer guidance and support professionally is definitely my goal. As or right now, I think what I can do is just to make sure that they know I will be there and they can always come to me if they have something they want to talk about.

So you would support them emotionally instead of providing solutions?

yeah, I am that kind of person. I feel like if I give them the solution, maybe that’s not something they want, so I would rather serve as a listener and guide. They can talk to me about their thoughts, and I will tell them my suggestions, but I won’t offer them the solution, because what I think wouldn't necessarily be correct or something they want.

3. "For some sensitive or emotional issues, we should avoid them as much as possible." Do you agree with this statement? and why?

I do not agree, we certainly should not avoid those, but it also depends on the individual. You can't force someone to talk about something if they don’t feel comfortable doing so, but these are not things we should avoid. Oftentimes, these topics are the problems that are present in our society, and if we just avoid them and not talk about them at all, how can we find the solutions?

4. How do you know if a topic is “sensitive”?

I think if something is sensitive, there is controversy. For example, the topic of whether you you should discuss mental health openly. These are things that require you to pick a side, and the division between thoughts and opinions lead to debates and controversy, which makes the topic sensitive.

5. Which culture do you know the best? Which culture would you most like to learn more about?

I know Chinese culture the best. I was in China during the most important developmental years of my life (6-14). I made a lot of friends in China and learned a lot about Chinese culture. Even when I first came to America in 2019, it was hard for me to fit in. I miss China a lot. Although I speak English more now because I live in the US, I try to write in Chinese when I journal. On the other hand, I still want to continue to learn more about Chinese culture, such as poetry and ancient Chinese. Although it was painful to memorize these poems when I was in elementary school in China, I still want to continue to explore Chinese culture because it's just so beautiful.

6. What animal would you describe yourself as?

(Benetta suddenly got excited...) People around me say I am like a penguin ~

7. What three words would you use to describe yourself?

sympathetic, persistent, and creative.

8. Do you think it is more important to be friendly or to work hard in a team?

It depends on what kind of the team it is, but it's better to have both!

9. Is being good looking more important than having more knowledge in our modern society?

NOOO!!! Beauty will disappear over time, but knowledge will always be yours.

~~~~~~~~~~~Behind the Scenes~~~~~~~~~~~

1.

Benetta: Why are these questions all so deep? !

Ami (evil laugh): I'm treating you like a philosopher.

2.

Benetta: My friend crocheted me a penguin! Her name is penguinetta and she's soooo cute!!

Ami: can we move on to the next question? You've been talking about penguins for like half an hour...

Benetta: oops okay! :)

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CHINESE VERSION

1. 你最感兴趣的专业/课程是什么? 你觉得它可以给你带来什么好处？

（毫不犹豫地回答）心理学！这是我从小就非常感兴趣的一门学科，其中一个主要原因是当我在中国上小学的时候，我最亲密的一个朋友被诊断出患有抑郁症。那时候我并不能为她做什么，于是我就在想，也许学习临床心理学会帮助我成为一个能够帮助那些患有心理疾病的人。

2. 你会如何帮助或者安慰一个正在因为某些事情伤心的朋友？

我想有时候能够陪伴在他们身边就已经很好了。虽然我对心理学很感兴趣，但是现在我没有接受任何正式的培训。如果有人真的患有心理疾病并且需要治疗师专业的帮助，我目前并不能为他们做些什么，但是我真的希望我可以成为那样的人。至于现在，我可以做的就是确保他们知道我会在那里，如果他们有什么想谈的事情，他们随时可以来找我。

所以你会从情感上支持他们，而不是提供解决方案?

是的，我是那种人，因为如果我给他们提供解决方案，那可能不是他们想要的，所以我宁愿充当一个倾听者或者向导。他们可以告诉我他们的想法，我会给他们建议，但我不会将我认为的解决方案强加给他们，因为我的想法不一定是正确的。

3. "对于一些比较敏感或情绪化的问题，我们应该尽可能的回避。” 你认同这句话吗？为什么？

我不同意，我们当然不应该避免讨论这些话题，但当然这也取决于个人。你不能强迫一个人谈论会让他感觉不舒服的话题，但这并不代表我们不应该谈论这些话题。很多时候，这些敏感或者情绪化的话题就是我们社会中所存在的问题的根源。如果我们只是避开它们，根本不谈论它们，那么我们怎么能找到解决方案呢？

4. 你如何分辨一个话题是否敏感？

如果一个话题敏感，那么争议存在。举个例子，人们应不应该公开讨论心理健康这个话题是有争议的，因为它要求人们选择一方。不同的想法和观点会造成争议，让这个话题变得敏感。

5. 你最了解哪个国家的文化？你最想了解哪个国家的文化？

我最了解中国文化。我成长中最重要的年纪（6-14岁）是在中国度过的。我在中国交到很多朋友，也学习了很多中国文化，以至于2019年我回到美国以后感觉很难融入。我经常会怀念中 国。虽然我现在经常说英语因为我住在美国，我还是会试着用中文写日记。另一方面，我感觉我还是想要继续更加深入地了解中国文化，比如诗词和古文。虽然在小学的时候背诵这些诗词很痛苦，但我希望可以继续探索中国文化，因为它太博大精深了。

6. 你会把自己形容成什么动物？

（benetta突然激动）我身边的人都说我像企鹅一样，憨憨的~

7. 你会用哪三个词形容自己？

富有同情心，坚持不懈，富有创造力

8. 你认为在团队合作中，是友好的态度更重要还是认真做事更重要？

这取决于这是一个什么样的团队 ，但当然两者共存最好!

9. 在当今社会，长得好看比拥有更多知识要更重要吗？

NOOO！美貌是会随着时间消失的，只有知识是永远都是自己的。

~~~~~~~~~~~幕后~~~~~~~~~~~

1.

Benetta: 为什么这些问题都这么深奥？！

Ami (邪恶的笑容): 我在把你当作哲学家对待呀~

2.

Benetta: 我的朋友给我针织了一只小企鹅！她的名字是“企鹅netta"，她真的好可爱呀！！

Ami: 我们可以继续下一个问题了吗？你已经谈企鹅谈了差不多半个小时了...

Benetta: ...oops!! 好哒~