I grew up 3 hours outside of Pittsburgh,
我在距離彼得堡3小時(shí)車程的地方長(zhǎng)大

with my mother and 3 younger siblings .
與我母親，還有三個(gè)弟妹同住

My mom was a single mother
我母親是一個(gè)單親媽媽

and worked a minimum wage job,
干活只能掙到極少的錢

so we never had much,
我們的生活一直捉襟見(jiàn)肘

but that was OK,
可是沒(méi)有關(guān)系

we made ends meet anyhow.
無(wú)論如何我們總算撐起了這個(gè)家

Freshman year of High School
進(jìn)入高中的第一年
?

I got a job at a local bakery
我在當(dāng)?shù)氐囊患液媾嗟觊_(kāi)始打工

and immediately started saving money for college.
并且馬上開(kāi)始為我的大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)攢錢

I was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh
后來(lái)我收到了圣彼得堡大學(xué)的錄取通知書

and received some academic scholarships that covered my tuition.
還收到了一筆獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，足夠支付我的學(xué)費(fèi)

Room and board were not covered
但是住宿和交通費(fèi)還是沒(méi)有著落

so I opted to pay for the meal plan?but not the housing
于是我決定把自己的錢花在吃飯上，但不能花在住宿上
?

because it was way too expensive for me.
因?yàn)閷?duì)于我還說(shuō)，那太貴了

Whenever it was time to head out for college
當(dāng)我準(zhǔn)備動(dòng)身去學(xué)校的時(shí)候

I scrapped all of the back row seating in my caravan(the old caravan seats were removable)
我把家里的旅行拖車后排座椅的位置仔細(xì)摩擦光滑（原來(lái)的座椅都已經(jīng)被搬走了）

and I purchased a twin mattress
還買了一張雙人床墊

and laid it on the floor of my van,
鋪在車廂底上

I also saved enough money to have my windows tinted.
我還攢錢把車窗噴上了新的顏色

I purchased a parking pass on campus,
我出錢獲得了學(xué)校里的停車許可

chose a spot on the top level of the parking garage
地方選定在停車車庫(kù)的第一層
?

and lived out of my van for the next 2 years.
就在車子外面住了兩年的時(shí)間

Like I said, this was the best thing to ever happen to me,
就像我說(shuō)夠的，這是我人生中最大的幸事

The weather in Pittsburgh?was bad.
彼得堡的天氣很糟糕

Super hot and humid in the summer time
夏天酷熱又潮濕
?

and freezing cold and snowy in the winter time.
冬季嚴(yán)寒，雪花飄飄


That being said,
既是如此
?

being homeless forced me to take advantage of everything the campus had to offer
我頭上又沒(méi)有半片瓦遮陰，我只能利用學(xué)校里提供的一切資源

since I wanted to spend as little time in my van as possible.
因?yàn)槲蚁Ｍ约捍粼谲嚴(yán)锏臅r(shí)間越少越好

I ended up spending most of my time throughout the week at the library
結(jié)果，我一周中的大部分時(shí)間都是呆在圖書館

and consequentially ended up studying and reviewing classroom material a lot more than I would have
最后，我學(xué)習(xí)和復(fù)習(xí)課堂所學(xué)的時(shí)間如此的長(zhǎng)

?if I had the luxury of going home and turning on the TV?or falling asleep for hours in my room.
如果我能夠奢望回到家里，打開(kāi)電視，或者連續(xù)幾個(gè)小時(shí)在房間里睡覺(jué)，我學(xué)習(xí)的時(shí)間一定會(huì)短得多

I frequented my professors office hours.?
我去給教授幫忙的時(shí)間也越來(lái)越多

I ended up getting really close to some of my professors
最后我與許多教授建立了親密的師徒關(guān)系

because of this,
正因?yàn)榇?/div>

and it really helped me excel in the classroom.
我才能在全班同學(xué)中名列前茅

I attended a lot of social events,
我參加了許多社會(huì)活動(dòng)

guest speakers, plays, charities, student life events around campus too
還參加了許多客座演講，戲劇表演，慈善活動(dòng)，還有校園里的各種學(xué)生活動(dòng)

and this was really good for me
這也對(duì)我十分有益?

because I ended up meeting a lot of new friends by attending all these things.
因?yàn)閰⒓舆@些活動(dòng)的過(guò)程中，我結(jié)交了許多的新朋友

Prior to college I would have considered myself and introvert ,
上大學(xué)之前，我一直認(rèn)為自己性格內(nèi)向

I didn’t really speak much unless spoken to,
不喜言談，除非別人向開(kāi)口找我說(shuō)話

but again not wanting to sit around in my van all day made me venture outside of my comfort zone
可是，還是由于我不想整天坐在自己的拖車旁邊度日，我決定到自己的舒適區(qū)外面去探險(xiǎn)
?

and do new things
去做沒(méi)做過(guò)的事情
?

and I really developed an outgoing personality because of it.
這樣以來(lái)，我漸漸養(yǎng)成了十分開(kāi)朗的性格

Even after I moved out of the van
即使是在我已經(jīng)搬出拖車之后
?

I continued to spend hours at the library,
我還是會(huì)花時(shí)間逛圖書館

working out everyday,
每天鍛煉

attending events,etc
參加各種活動(dòng)

and I really think that having to deal with the struggles that I had to go through really made me into a better person.
我著實(shí)認(rèn)為，經(jīng)歷那些我不得不經(jīng)歷的折磨，讓我成為了一個(gè)更好的人

Since then I got a really got job
后來(lái)我得到了一份很好的工作
?

and have been helping my siblings prepare for life
我還一直幫助弟弟妹妹們?yōu)樗麄兊娜松鰷?zhǔn)備

and I’ve even been able to help my mother out a little bit.
我也能力所能及的幫助母親了

It just feels good :)
這感覺(jué)真好！