By+Maria+Fischer+++++李玉華

Growing up， I was obsessed with the idea of living in a big city.

Although I was well into my teens before I finally ventured1） to any major metropolises2）， binge-watching3） Gossip Girl was enough to convince me at a young age that the busy streets and fast-paced urban lifestyle was the life for me. Determined to live amongst the bright lights of the city， I spent the majority of my high school career counting down the days until I could leave my Ohio town behind for good4）.

By the time college application season finally rolled around5）， I was more than ready. I had prepared a thoughtful， detailed list of my dream schools and unsurprisingly， city-based campuses were at the very top.

I sent in my applications one by one， keeping my sights set on liberal arts universities in extremely urban settings. I didn't want to attend just any school in any city； I wanted to be in the absolute center of action. If my future campus wasn't surrounded by skyscrapers6） and culture， it wasn't the "true" big city college experience I was looking for.

When my first acceptance later came in the mail， I was very excited. One look at the college's colorful "Welcome to New York！" packet7） and I was sold8）. I wholeheartedly believed I held the ticket to my big city dream right in my hands.

After boarding a plane and moving into my residence hall9）， it didn't take me much time to realize that attending school in NYC was nowhere close to the "typical" college experience. Dorms10） were skyscrapers and academic buildings were high rises11）. Central Park was right down the block. From the eclectic12） art scenes to New York Fashion Week， the diversity and creativity of the city opened my eyes to many different， interesting people and places.

I loved being a college girl in the city.

That is， until I caught up with my friends back home. Seeing Facebook pictures of tailgates13）， hearing about exciting campus experiences and getting the dirt14） on that crazy house party15） all sent me into a place of doubt. Although Manhattan is an amazing place， my college experience just felt like it was missing something.

I knew deep down that I only had a few short years to get the quintessential16） college experience. After a serious mental debate， I decided my future in NYC would have to wait. As the start of sophomore year approached， I sent in my transfer application to Ohio University.

Uprooting17） myself from the city was difficult. Not only was I walking away from what I once considered my dream， I also had to tearfully say goodbye to the friends and classmates I had gotten to know and love. Telling the roommate that had become my very best friend was the most difficult part of the transfer process.

"I'm not leaving because of anything you did or didn't do！ I have to do this for me，" I explained， fearful she wouldn't understand the reasoning behind my transfer.

But there was no turning back. I sold my Metrocard18） and headed back to Ohio.

Even though I grew up in the same state， there's no denying that my first few days at my new school was a culture shock of its own. My university is located in the heart of Appalachia， one of the poorest sections of the country. With just a little more than 20，000 residents in the entire county， my college town is located in an area that is the polar19） opposite of NYC.

But ask any student who attends a school in "the middle of nowhere" and you'll quickly find that the college town vibe20） is magical. Things are cheap， student sections are loud and campus pride is everywhere.

Leaving the city also meant leaving city prices. Instead of shelling out21） a quarter of a million dollars for my private NYC-based education， I'm now paying in-state tuition.

I am in a town that feels like home and studying what I love. For the first time， I can honestly say I feel satisfied.

Though I love the city and cannot wait to start my working life there after graduation， I'm grateful that I am able to have the traditional college experience. My heart still belongs in Manhattan and I seek out internships in NYC every chance I get， but finishing my undergraduate studies outside of the city was the best decision I ever made—financially， academically and emotionally.

從小到大，我曾一心向往著在大城市里生活。

雖然在我最終大膽地踏入重要的大都市之前我都十好幾歲了，但追電視劇《緋聞女孩》的經(jīng)歷足以讓我從很小就相信，繁忙的街道和快節(jié)奏的都市生活方式才是我想要的生活。我一心想要生活在都市明亮的燈光之中，于是中學(xué)生活的大部分時光就都在倒數(shù)日子中度過，直到我能永遠(yuǎn)離開俄亥俄州的那個小鎮(zhèn)。

等到大學(xué)申請季終于到來時，我已經(jīng)做好了充分的準(zhǔn)備。經(jīng)過深思熟慮，我準(zhǔn)備了一個詳細(xì)的夢想學(xué)校清單，毫無疑問，那些位于城市的學(xué)校都在我的清單最前列。

我逐一提交了申請函，把目標(biāo)定位在都市氛圍濃厚的文科大學(xué)上。我不想隨便去一座城市，隨便上一所大學(xué)；我想身處活動的絕對中心。如果我未來的大學(xué)校園不是置身高樓大廈之中，沒有文化氣息，那它就不是我一直在尋覓的“真正的”都市大學(xué)體驗。

后來，當(dāng)?shù)谝环怃浫⊥ㄖ獣]寄過來時，我非常興奮。一看到學(xué)校信封上鮮艷的幾個大字“紐約歡迎你！”，我就喜歡上了它。我由衷地相信，去往夢想大都市的通行證就在我的手中。

登上飛機，住進學(xué)生宿舍樓之后沒過多久，我便意識到，在紐約上大學(xué)與那種“典型的”大學(xué)體驗相差甚遠(yuǎn)。宿舍樓是摩天大樓，教學(xué)樓也是高層建筑。中央公園就在下一個街區(qū)。從折中主義藝術(shù)景觀到紐約時裝周，這個城市的多樣性和創(chuàng)造性開闊了我的視野，讓我看到了許多不同而有趣的人和地方。

我愛上了在這座城市里上大學(xué)。

我一直這樣覺得，直到我了解到家鄉(xiāng)朋友們的最新動態(tài)。看到他們在Facebook上發(fā)布的旅行車后門的照片，聽聞那些令人興奮的校園經(jīng)歷，聽到各種關(guān)于那次瘋狂的家庭聚餐的流言蜚語，這一切使我開始懷疑。盡管曼哈頓是一個神奇的地方，可我還是覺得我的大學(xué)體驗少了點什么。

我深知我只有短短幾年時間來體驗典型的大學(xué)生活。經(jīng)過激烈的思想斗爭，我決定我未來要待在紐約的想法得再等一等。在大二快要開學(xué)時，我遞交了轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)到俄亥俄大學(xué)的申請。

離開這座城市對我來說很難。我不僅要離開曾經(jīng)的夢想，而且還要揮淚告別我結(jié)識并愛著的那些朋友和同學(xué)。我的室友已經(jīng)成了我最好的朋友，告訴她這件事是轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)過程中最困難的一部分。

“我離開不是因為你做了什么或者沒有做什么！為了我自己，我必須轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)?！蔽蚁蛩忉專ε滤焕斫馕肄D(zhuǎn)學(xué)背后的原因。

然而，開弓沒有回頭箭。我賣掉了我的捷運卡，回到了俄亥俄州。

盡管我在這個州長大，但不可否認(rèn)，在新學(xué)校的頭幾天里我也經(jīng)受了其特有的文化沖擊。我的大學(xué)位于阿巴拉契亞地區(qū)的中心，它是全美最貧窮的地區(qū)之一。我的大學(xué)城坐落在一個與紐約正好相反的地方，整個縣城的居民也就兩萬剛出頭。

但是，如果問任何一個在“偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)”上學(xué)的學(xué)生，你很快會發(fā)現(xiàn)大學(xué)城的氛圍非常神奇。這里物價低廉，校啦啦隊人聲鼎沸，對校園的自豪感無處不在。

離開城市也意味著離開城市的高物價。我現(xiàn)在不用交紐約私立大學(xué)高達25萬美元的學(xué)費，反而享受本州的學(xué)費（譯注：美國學(xué)生上本州的大學(xué)，學(xué)費會比較便宜）。

我身處像家鄉(xiāng)一樣的一個小鎮(zhèn)，學(xué)著我喜歡的東西。老實說，我第一次感到了滿足。

盡管我熱愛城市，也迫不及待地想在畢業(yè)后去城市開始我的職業(yè)生涯，但我對能夠體驗傳統(tǒng)的大學(xué)生活心存感激。我的心依然屬于曼哈頓，我一有機會就尋求紐約的實習(xí)機會，但不管是從經(jīng)濟、學(xué)術(shù)方面還是從情感方面而言，在這座城市之外完成我的大學(xué)教育是我做過的最好的決定。

6. skyscraper [?ska?skre?p?（r）] n. 摩天大樓

7. packet [?p?k?t] n. （郵政）小件包裹

8. sell [sel] vt. 使接受；使極其感興趣

9. residence hall： 學(xué)生宿舍樓

10. dorm [d??m] n. （學(xué)院或大學(xué)的）學(xué)生宿舍樓

11. high rise： 高層建筑

12. eclectic [??klekt?k] adj. 折中主義的；博采眾長的；兼收并蓄的

13. tailgate [?te?lɡe?t] n. （旅行車向上翻拉的）倉門式后門

14. dirt [d??t] n. 流言蜚語

15. house party： （通常于周末在鄉(xiāng)村別墅舉行并留來客小住的）家宴

16. quintessential [?kw?nt??sen?l] adj. 典型的；精髓的；本質(zhì)的

17. uproot [??p?ru?t] vt. 使離開家園；使遷徙他處居住

18. Metrocard： 捷運卡，是一種交通卡，可以搭乘紐約的公交和地鐵。

19. polar [?p??l?（r）] adj. （在性質(zhì)、種類等方面）正好相反的，兩極化的

20. vibe [va?b] n. （一地的）氣氛；環(huán)境

21. shell out： （并不情愿地）掏腰包；付一大筆錢