我回家了

Peace ， like charity， begins at home.

和平，就像慈善一樣，從家開始。

You know how some people say that they never realized how much they loved their childhood until after they grew up? Well， I always knew that I was having a great childhood while it was happening. It wasn't until later on， when things weren't going so well， that I clung to the memories of that happiness and used them to find a way back home.

你知道一些人是怎么說的嗎？直到長大了他們才明白他們有多愛自己的童年。嗯，我總是在當時就知道我有一個棒極了的童年。直到后來，當事情進展得不那么順利的時候，我才依靠那些幸福的回憶來找到一條回家的路。

I grew up on a farm with a huge family. There was lots of love， lots of space and lots to do. From gardening to cutting hay， from working the horses to doing household chores， the word “bored” never found its way into my vocabularyI loved it all and none of it seemed like work to me. Peer pressure was nonexistent， since the only \"gang\" I ran around with was the gang of animals on the ranch. My family and I were very close， and living so far out in the country kept us all at home most nights. After supper， my brothers and sisters and I would play games or tell stories， laughing and having fun until it was time to go to bed. Falling asleep was never a problem for me. I just listened to the sounds of chirping crickets and dreamed of another day in the farm. This was my life， and I knew I was lucky.

我在農場的一個大家庭里長大。那里有很多愛、很多空間和很多要做的事。從園藝到刈干草，從放馬到做家務，“無聊”這個詞從來不會出現在我的字典里——我愛我所有的工作。同齡人的壓力是不存在的，因為和我玩耍的伙伴是農場上的一群動物。我的家人和我非常親密，住在如此偏遠的鄉村使我們大多數晚上都得待在家里。晚飯后，我和兄弟姐妹們會玩游戲或講故事，笑著玩得很開心直到睡覺。入睡對我來說從不是問題。我聽著蟋蟀的翅鳴聲，在夢鄉里想象農場里新的一天。這就是我的生活，我知道我很幸運。

When I was 12， something tragic happened that would change my life forever. My father suffered a severe heart attack and underwent a triple bypass. He was diagnosed with hereditary heart disease， and it became a terrifying time for all of us. The doctors informed my dad that he would need to drastically change his lifestyle， which meant no more horse training， no more tractor driving…Realizing that we couldn't keep up the place without him， we were forced to sell our home and move west， leaving behind family and friends and the only life that I knew.

當我12歲的時候，一些可能會永遠改變我生活的悲劇發生了。我的父親患上了嚴重的心臟病并且禍不單行，他被診斷出患有遺傳性的心臟病，于是那段日子成了我們所有人的噩夢。醫生告訴我爸爸他需要徹底改變他的生活方式，這意味著不能再騎馬，不能再開拖拉機……考慮到沒有他我們不可能再維持這塊地方，我們被迫賣掉我們的家園向西遷移，拋下了家人、朋友和我所知的所有生活。

The dry Arizona air was healing for my father， and I was adjusting to a new school， new friends and a new way of living. Suddenly I was going on dates，“cruising the mall”and dealing with the pressures of being a teenager. While things were different and strange， they were also exciting and fun. I learned that change， even when it is unexpected， can be a good thing. Little did I know that my life would be changing again， and in a very big way.

亞利桑那干燥的空氣對我的父親有治療作用，我得適應一所新的學校、新的朋友和新的生活方式。突然我開始約會、逛商場和處理來自青春期的壓力。當事情變得不同和陌生時，它們同時也充滿了刺激和樂趣。我明白了變化——即使是不期而至的，也可以是一件好事。我對我的生活會再次發生變化，巨大的變化，一無所知。

I was approached by a personal manager from Los Angeles who asked me if I had ever thought about acting. The idea had never crossed my mind， but now that it did， my interest was sparked. After giving it some thought and talking it over with my mom and dad， we decided that my mother and I would move to L.A. for a while. I had no idea what I was getting myself into!

一個來自洛杉磯的私人經紀人問我是否考慮過表演。我從來沒想過，但既然機會來了，我的興趣也被點燃了。再三思考并和我的父母討論過后，我們決定媽媽和我搬去洛杉磯一陣子。我不知道我會面臨怎樣的局面。

Thank goodness my mother was right by my side from the very start. Together， we approached it like an adventure. By the time that Beverly Hills had become successful， my mom and I both decided that it was time for her to return to Arizona and the rest of the family. The little girl from the farm was disappearing and being replaced by the grown-up woman in the big city.

謝天謝地我媽媽從一開始就在我的身邊。我們一起像經歷了一場冒險。在貝弗莉·希爾斯取得成功的時候，媽媽和我都認為該是她回到亞利桑那和家人團聚的時候了。來自農場的小女孩消失了，取而代之的是一個大城市里的成熟女人。

I truly loved my job and my success was more than I could have ever dreamed of. And yet something was missing. Slowly a dark void found its way into my heart and began to eat away at my happiness.

我真的熱愛我的工作，而且我的成功比我夢想的還要大。然而一些東西消失了。慢慢地，一片黑色的空洞占據了我的心靈，并且開始吞噬我的幸福。

I tried to figure out what was missing. I tried working harder， then working less. I made new friends and lost touch with old ones. Nothing I did seemed to fill the void. I realized that I wasn't going to find the solution to the problem while going to clubs and endless parties. I tried to remember when I was happiest， when the things in my life mattered most. I asked myself what was important to me. Finally， I had the answer. I knew what I had to do to be happy. Once again， my life was about to change.

我試著尋找我所失去的。我試著更努力地工作，但事倍功半。我結交新朋友卻和老朋友失去了聯系。所有我做的都不能填補心靈的空虛。我意識到當我去俱樂部和無休止聚會的時候，其實我并不是想找到解決問題的辦法。我試著記起我最快樂的時候，那是我生活中至關重要的。我問自己什么對我才是重要的。最后，我有了答案。我知道我該怎么做。再一次，我的生活即將改變。

I called my mom and dad and said， \"I miss you too much. I need my parents back. I'm buying a place out here and I want you to move to California.\" My father wasn't too keen on the idea of being back in the rat race， but I assured him that this time， it would be nothing like that. So we began looking for a place outside of the city-a place complete with animals running all around and a garden full of vegetables just waiting to be picked for the supper table， a place that could be the family home where everyone could visit， a gathering place for the holidays， a haven， safe from the outside world， a place just like I remember growing up in.

我給我父母打電話說：“我太想你們了。我需要你們回來。我打算在這買個地方，我想你們搬來加利福尼亞。”我的父親對搬回這個滿街老鼠跑的地方不太熱心，但我向他保證現在已經不是那樣了。于是我們開始在城外物色一塊場地——一個動物到處奔跑、有著種滿可以隨意采摘作為晚餐蔬菜的花園的地方，一個人人都可以參觀的家園，一個假日的采集場，一個與世隔絕的避風港，一個恰如我記得的成長之地。

Then one day we found it： the perfect ranch， nestledin a warm andsunnyvalley. My dream hadbecomereality. Thedarkvoidinsideme begantofade ，andasenseof balanceand serenityreturned to my soul. I was home.

終于有一天我們找到它了：偎依在溫暖和充滿陽光的峽谷中的完美農場。我的美夢終于成真了。我心中的黑暗空洞開始慢慢消退，一種平衡和寧靜回到了我的靈魂里。我回家了

◆編輯：譚添夏