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This is so beautifully said, Dr. Harrison. Your experience of Mars is something most of us will never get to share in. I love that you were living and breathing Mars for so long and then "came back down to Earth" to study our own planet. It makes me think of stories of people who spend their whole childhoods in the same small town without ever appreciating it. The trope of the smalltowner leaving home on their 18th birthday for the Big City. And then, years later, after creating new lives and experiences in the City, they long for nothing more than their hometown. They are able now to see it with new eyes. In a lot of American literature, the Big City means New York or Los Angeles; for you it was literally another planet. This was a very inspiring piece. Thank you for sharing.

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Amanda (Jessy) Olsyn

Jessy Olsyn is an author of non-fiction, poetry, and short fiction. She lives in the American Southwest with her two children and their beloved hamster.