What does it feel like to be financially rich?
有钱是什么感觉？
I was born into wealth and never knew our family was different until acclimating to the public school system and developing cognizant thought.
我出生在一个富裕的家庭，在适应公立学校体系并发展认知思维之前，我从不知道我的家庭与众不同。
My father was recruited by MIT and came to the United States speaking only two languages: Japanese and binary. Upon graduation, he was quickly snatched up by Japanese financial institutions that sent him abroad to set up their computing systems. This was back in the day before IT was segmented, and he was a one man operation (architect, network administrator, systems engineer, programmer, IT support and R&D LOL.)
我的父亲被麻省理工学院录取，来美国时只会说两种语言：日语和二进制。一毕业，送他出国深造的日本金融机构就立即聘用他建立计算机系统。那时IT界还没有详细划分部门，他一人身兼数职（设计师，网络管理员，系统工程师，程序员，IT支持和研发人员）。
Before moving abroad for good, he married my mother in Tokyo and together they immigrated to Canada. I was born in West Vancouver, British Columbia and attended exclusive private schools. My classmates were of the same socio-economic status as my family, so our lifestyles were similar. Our days were jam packed with lessons, classes, tutors and we were privileged to take weekend trips to Banff or Lake Louise.
出国追求更好的生活之前，他在东京和我的母亲结婚，随后两人一起移民加拿大。我出生在英属哥伦比亚的西温哥华，就读的是高级私立学校。同学们和我家的社会经济地位相同，所以我们的生活方式也是类似的。我们每天的生活无非就是课程和课外辅导。我们也非常有幸能在周末去班夫国家公园或露易斯湖游玩。
When I was in the 1st grade, my family migrated south to the U.S. - the San Francisco Bay Area to be exact. Against my mother's wishes, my father made the executive decision to put me in public school. I was still in 1st grade but clearly remember the moments I started realizing the kids at my new school were unlike my old peers. I was the only one dressed in pinafores. The only one taking a load of after school classes and lessons. Other people didn't go away on weekends. My home was different. Everything about my family was strange, and I remember thinking I was not just the new kid, but the weird new kid.
读一年级的时候，我们全家移民美国——准确地说是旧金山湾区。父亲不顾母亲的意愿，决定让我去公立学校读书。那时我仍然读一年级，但我清晰地记得那时的情景，我开始意识到，新学校的同学和我以前的小伙伴不一样。我是唯一一个穿学生裙的孩子，也是唯一一个放学后还要参加许多课后辅导的孩子。其他人周末也不会外出游玩。我的家庭是不同的。关于我的家庭的一切都很奇怪，我记得当时我在想，我不仅是新来的孩子，还是新来的怪孩子。
In order to fit in, I started lying. I would tell people I lived in San Mateo as opposed to Hillsborough. I stopped inviting people over, never told friends about our weekend trips. Or that I attended summer school at Crystal Springs Uplands, then summer sports camp at Stanford University.
为了融入大家，我开始说谎。我会告诉大家我住在圣马特奥而不是希尔斯伯勒。我不再邀请人们来玩，不告诉朋友周末旅行的事情。也不告诉他们我参加了水晶温泉高地学院的夏季学校，还参加了斯坦福大学的体育夏令营。
Being constantly exposed to two different socio-economic worlds, I didn't fit in anywhere and was an outcast.
总是暴露在两个截然不同的社会经济世界里，我难以融入任何一方，就像一个被遗弃的人。
Separately, gross behavior from people who think they have more than the next person is more commonly observed in new money. My family is proof.
另外，认为自己比其他人优越的新贵更容易行为粗鲁。我的家庭就是证明。
My father's family has a prominent lineage that can be traced for centuries; I guess it's called old money. My father was the only one who lived outside of Japan and my brother and I would spend our summer/winter vacations with our grandparents. My day school friends and their families were exactly like my father's side: kind, well mannered, polite, gracious and classy from the inside out. You see, when born into wealth, there is nothing to prove. We are raised to assimilate and not stand out as much as possible. Yes, we do own nice things, but there is no need to flaunt.
我父亲的家族血统非常尊贵，可以追溯到几个世纪之前。我猜应该叫做“老贵族”。我的父亲是唯一一个生活在日本国外的人，我和弟弟夏季或冬季假期会和祖父母在一起。走读学校的朋友和他们的家人就和我父亲一样：温和友善，彬彬有礼，礼貌优雅，由内到外都是很有气派。你可以看到，虽然出生在富人之家，却没有什么可证明的。我们被抚养的方式就是同化，尽量不要鹤立鸡群。是的，我们确实有很多美好的东西，但是没必要炫耀。
Growing up in the U.S. and Canada in a household that only spoke Japanese was embarrassing. Public outings with my father could be turned into a sitcom. He spoke broken English even after living in English speaking countries for 20+ years. I used to be mortified in public with him. His voice was loud. His English poor. Yet no matter how atrocious his grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary, he still talked to everyone in a pleasant manner. Everyone.
生长在美国和加拿大一个只说日语的家庭是非常令人尴尬的。和父亲一起外出经常会以喜剧结束。尽管在英语语言国家居住了20多年，他说的英语仍然非常蹩脚。和他在一起我总是很尴尬。他的声音很大，英语很差。然而，无论他的语法，发音和词汇多么糟糕，他总是以令人愉快的方式跟每一个人说话。
At restaurants he frequented, from the valets, wait staff to busboys and the kitchen, the entire staff knew my father. The chefs would take my brother and me to the kitchen for special menus. (These were 5 star dining rooms.) When we drove through Half Moon Bay, my father would stop by his favorite farms and greet farmers working the fields. They only spoke Spanish and he spoke zero Spanish but somehow they were able to communicate. At his work, from security and maintenance staff to his assistants, colleagues and C-level execs, people would smile and wave hello as he walked by. He took after my grandmother, who treated every single person the same: like they mattered.
在他经常光顾的餐馆，从男仆，侍应生到餐馆工和厨房工作人员，所有职员都认识我的父亲。厨师会带我和弟弟到厨房享用特别菜单（其中包括一些五星级餐厅）。当我们驾车经过半月湾时，我的父亲会停在他最喜欢的农场，向在田里劳作的农民问好。他们只会说西班牙语，父亲不会说西班牙语，但他们却能以某种方式交流。在工作中，从保安到维修人员到他的助理，同事和高层管理人员，当他走过的时候，人们都会微笑着和他打招呼。他秉承了我的祖母的优良品德：对每个人一视同仁，好像他们至关重要。
Conversely, my mother grew up dirt poor. Frankly, she was a gold digger and married my father for stature, status, lifestyle and most importantly his wealth. She epitomized gross new money characteristics where she felt entitled because our family was more privileged than most. She was snooty, elitist and condescending to those she thought were beneath her; absolutely charming to those who were of equal or higher social statuses. Even as a child, I remember apologizing for her vile behavior and was embarrassed to be in public with her.
相反，我母亲在一贫如洗的家庭长大。坦白地说，她是一名淘金者，嫁给我的父亲是为了身份，地位，生活，最重要的是，为了财富。她是粗鲁的新贵的代表。她觉得她有资格，因为我们的家庭比大部分家庭更优越。面对那些地位比她低的人，她非常傲慢无礼，不屑和他们打交道；而对社会地位平等或较高的的人，她总是非常和蔼。即使作为孩子，我也会为她粗鄙的行为道歉，会羞于和她一起出现在公共场合。
Long story short, even if we had access to things a lot of people didn't, it still wasn't enough for my mother. On the outside, she was polished, elegant, sharp, witty and sustained her youthful looks. But she was a horrible wife, mother and housewife. She was miserable most of her adult life; making everyone around her even more miserable. I'm making her sound like a crappy person, but as an individual she was phenomenal. I - along with many - admired her. She was a born entrepreneur, extremely brilliant, creative but analytical, methodical, strategic and organized.
长话短说，即使我们拥有许多人没有的东西，我的母亲仍不满足。从表面来看，她非常端庄，优雅，敏锐，机智，而且保持着年轻的外表。但是她是一个糟糕的妻子，母亲和家庭主妇。她成年生活的大部分时间都非常痛苦，让她周围的每一个人更痛苦。我好像把她描述成了一个令人讨厌的人，但是作为个人她是杰出的。我和许多人都崇拜她。她是天生的企业家，才华横溢，富有创意，但是善于分析，有条不紊，具有战略眼光和组织能力。
When my parents finally divorced, she left my brother and me with our dad and succeeded career wise. So much so, she retired in her early 40s. After she attained what she thought was success, she was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. She spent the days up until her death regretting almost all the choices she made and beat herself up day after day. One of her last journal entries included reflections on how unappreciative she was with the things in front of her, and finally realizing happiness does not lie within superficial matters a little too late.
当我的父母最终离婚后，她把我和弟弟留给父亲，追求成功的职业生涯。因此，她刚过40岁就退休了。当她获得了自己认为的成功后，就被确诊癌症第四期。从那时起直到死亡，她一直在后悔自己所做的几乎所有决定，日复一日地打击自己。她最后的日记中反思了自己面对拥有的一切多么不知感恩，最终意识到快乐不在于肤浅的东西，但是太迟了。
Looking back, I am extremely grateful for my parents and my life. Don't get me wrong, my life was far from cakewalk but I obtained invaluable life lessons. My father, taught me my favorite quote: 'A true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him no good.' by actions, not words. My mother, taught me money cannot buy happiness. I am so fortunate to comprehend those simple yet complicated life lessons I still abide by. And just by remembering those two points, saved me from making vast mistakes in relationship, career and life choices.
回顾过去，我非常感激父母和我的生活。不要误解我的意思，我的生活并不轻松，但是我获得了宝贵的生活哲理。我的父亲教给我的最喜欢的一句话是：“真正衡量一个人的方法是看他如何对待那些对他无任何益处的人。”他通过行动，而不是语言诠释了这一点。我的母亲教给我，金钱买不到快乐。我很幸运地理解了那些简单却深奥的生活教训，而且努力遵守。牢记这两点让我避免在恋情，职业和生活选择中犯下重大错误。
So what does it feel like to be rich? It's like everyone's life, no matter what your financial situation is, there are ups and downs. Different ups and downs, but ups and downs nonetheless.
有钱是什么感觉？就像每个人的生活，无论你的经济状况如何，都有盛衰沉浮。尽管各有不同，然而都有起伏不定。
Hope this sheds some perspective.
希望能给你一些启示。
Oh. As for my father, the divorce (and my mother) basically destroyed him, and a series of events led to my father being disowned. I have not spoken to him since I was 16...
至于我的父亲，离婚从根本上摧毁了她，一系列事情导致我和他断绝了关系。自16岁以来我就没跟他说过话了。
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