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I was 17 years old. 那时我17岁。 Along with a dozen other boys 与十几个男孩子一道 I had made a long trip to Iowa 我们长途旅行到了爱荷华州 in order to see a college 想去瞻仰一下那里的一所大学 that I was thinking of attending. 那时我正考虑报考这所学校 While the trip had been fun for the most part, 旅行的大部分时间都十分愉快 now that I was there I was feeling depressed, alone, and isolated . 后来，我忽然感到有些消沉，觉得自己茕茕孑立，孤立无援。 I was missing my family 我开始想念亲人 and was realizing that 并且开始意识到 I wouldn't be seeing them very much if I went to school here. 如果我来这里读书，就不能时常与家人见面了 I was also missing the Appalachian mountains of my home. 我还十分想念环绕家乡的阿巴拉契亚山脉 I loved walking in their forests 我喜爱在山上的密林间散步， of Maple, Oak, Beech, Birch, and Hickory trees. 那里树木丛生，有槭枫树，橡树，山毛榉，还有山胡桃。 I loved how the leaves turned a thousand shades of green in the Spring 我喜爱看着那些树叶在春天变幻出上千种不同的绿色 | 
