I grew up 3 hours outside of Pittsburgh,
我在距离彼得堡3小时车程的地方长大
with my mother and 3 younger siblings .
与我母亲，还有三个弟妹同住
My mom was a single mother
我母亲是一个单亲妈妈
and worked a minimum wage job,
干活只能挣到极少的钱
so we never had much,
我们的生活一直捉襟见肘
but that was OK,
可是没有关系
we made ends meet anyhow.
无论如何我们总算撑起了这个家
Freshman year of High School
进入高中的第一年
I got a job at a local bakery
我在当地的一家烘培店开始打工
and immediately started saving money for college.
并且马上开始为我的大学学费攒钱
I was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh
后来我收到了圣彼得堡大学的录取通知书
and received some academic scholarships that covered my tuition.
还收到了一笔奖学金，足够支付我的学费
Room and board were not covered
但是住宿和交通费还是没有着落
so I opted to pay for the meal plan but not the housing
于是我决定把自己的钱花在吃饭上，但不能花在住宿上
because it was way too expensive for me.
因为对于我还说，那太贵了
Whenever it was time to head out for college
当我准备动身去学校的时候
I scrapped all of the back row seating in my caravan(the old caravan seats were removable)
我把家里的旅行拖车后排座椅的位置仔细摩擦光滑（原来的座椅都已经被搬走了）
and I purchased a twin mattress
还买了一张双人床垫
and laid it on the floor of my van,
铺在车厢底上
I also saved enough money to have my windows tinted.
我还攒钱把车窗喷上了新的颜色
I purchased a parking pass on campus,
我出钱获得了学校里的停车许可
chose a spot on the top level of the parking garage
地方选定在停车车库的第一层
and lived out of my van for the next 2 years.
就在车子外面住了两年的时间
Like I said, this was the best thing to ever happen to me,
就像我说够的，这是我人生中最大的幸事
The weather in Pittsburgh was bad.
彼得堡的天气很糟糕
Super hot and humid in the summer time
夏天酷热又潮湿
and freezing cold and snowy in the winter time.
冬季严寒，雪花飘飘
That being said,
既是如此
being homeless forced me to take advantage of everything the campus had to offer
我头上又没有半片瓦遮阴，我只能利用学校里提供的一切资源
since I wanted to spend as little time in my van as possible.
因为我希望自己呆在车里的时间越少越好
I ended up spending most of my time throughout the week at the library
结果，我一周中的大部分时间都是呆在图书馆
and consequentially ended up studying and reviewing classroom material a lot more than I would have
最后，我学习和复习课堂所学的时间如此的长
if I had the luxury of going home and turning on the TV or falling asleep for hours in my room.
如果我能够奢望回到家里，打开电视，或者连续几个小时在房间里睡觉，我学习的时间一定会短得多
I frequented my professors office hours.
我去给教授帮忙的时间也越来越多
I ended up getting really close to some of my professors
最后我与许多教授建立了亲密的师徒关系
because of this,
正因为此
and it really helped me excel in the classroom.
我才能在全班同学中名列前茅
I attended a lot of social events,
我参加了许多社会活动
guest speakers, plays, charities, student life events around campus too
还参加了许多客座演讲，戏剧表演，慈善活动，还有校园里的各种学生活动
and this was really good for me
这也对我十分有益
because I ended up meeting a lot of new friends by attending all these things.
因为参加这些活动的过程中，我结交了许多的新朋友
Prior to college I would have considered myself and introvert ,
上大学之前，我一直认为自己性格内向
I didn’t really speak much unless spoken to,
不喜言谈，除非别人向开口找我说话
but again not wanting to sit around in my van all day made me venture outside of my comfort zone
可是，还是由于我不想整天坐在自己的拖车旁边度日，我决定到自己的舒适区外面去探险
and do new things
去做没做过的事情
and I really developed an outgoing personality because of it.
这样以来，我渐渐养成了十分开朗的性格
Even after I moved out of the van
即使是在我已经搬出拖车之后
I continued to spend hours at the library,
我还是会花时间逛图书馆
working out everyday,
每天锻炼
attending events,etc
参加各种活动
and I really think that having to deal with the struggles that I had to go through really made me into a better person.
我着实认为，经历那些我不得不经历的折磨，让我成为了一个更好的人
Since then I got a really got job
后来我得到了一份很好的工作
and have been helping my siblings prepare for life
我还一直帮助弟弟妹妹们为他们的人生做准备
and I’ve even been able to help my mother out a little bit.
我也能力所能及的帮助母亲了
It just feels good :)
这感觉真好！
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