我離開相戀10年的男朋友獨自旅行

Thirteen months to be exact, that's how long I went without seeing my boyfriend. I saw him on a screen every day but not once did I get to hold his hand or wedge my face into that cozy space of his shoulder. Leaving Josh wasn't easy. We had met in high school, fallen in love and have been together ever since. Josh and I were the sickly cute couple, building ginger bread houses at Christmas and carving pumpkins on Halloween.

準確說來，我離開了13個月，這段時間我都沒有見過我的男朋友。我們每天都視頻聊天，但我卻不能握着他的手，或者把我的臉依靠在他舒適的肩上。離開喬西並不容易，我們自高中相識、相愛，自那以後就形影不離。我和喬西臭味相投、是一對可愛的組合，我們會在聖誕節搭造薑餅屋、在萬聖節的時候自己雕刻南瓜。

We took road trips around America, tie-dyed t-shirts on weekends and left love notes on each other's cars. We got our first apartment together, adopted two kittens and backpacked around Europe as a duo.

我們公路旅行了美國各地、在週末扎染T恤、在彼此的車上留下愛的便籤。我們一起有了第一個公寓、領養了兩隻貓咪、兩人一起揹包環遊了歐洲。

Our lives were deeply intertwined and after 9 years together, I left him to follow my dreams. Teaching English abroad was one of those ideas I'd read about in a book and couldn't get off my mind. As I spent my nights waitressing, being yelled at for not bringing ketchup fast enough, the idea was seeming more appealing.

我們的生活密切地交織在一起，九年後，我離開了他追尋自己的夢想。我在一本書上看到了去國外教英語的想法，自那以後這個想法就揮之不去。晚上做服務員、因爲拿番茄醬的速度不夠快而被客人吼的時候，這個想法就變得更吸引人了。

Traveling the world was my dream and actually living abroad felt like a sure way to make it happen. I did some research, worked on a teaching certification online and started to apply for jobs. Aside from anxiously waiting for replies, I spent my days staring at maps, fantasizing about weekends spent on the Great Wall and vacations to South Korea and Japan.

環遊世界是我的夢想，事實上，似乎去國外生活肯定能實現這一夢想。我做了一些攻略，努力在網上學習考教師資格證、開始申請工作。除了焦慮的等待回覆之外，我開始看地圖，想象着自己週末爬長城、去韓國和日本度假的日子。

The day I received the email was one I'm unlikely to forget. "Congratulations, we would like to offer you a teaching position………" I didn't even finish reading it. I nearly threw my laptop on the floor, screaming and running around the house; doing one of those [silly] victory dances.

我忘不了收到郵件的那一天。"祝賀你，我們願意給你提供一份教師工作……"我甚至都沒有讀完郵件。差一點兒把筆記本電腦摔在了地上，我尖叫着、在房子裏四處奔跑，傻傻的跳着勝利之舞。

"I got it!", I squealed. I looked to Josh to celebrate my victory and was met with a face sporting a supportive smile but eyes showing disappointment and pain. It was happening, I was leaving him behind to pursue a career and my travel dreams.

"我成功了！"我尖叫着。我看向喬西，慶祝着我的勝利，但看到的卻是一張面露微笑支持我、眼裏卻滿是失望和痛苦的臉蛋。是的，事情發生了，我要離開他了，追求我的職業和旅遊之夢。