When I first walked back into a lecture hall after studying abroad, I expected everything to feel familiar. The same buildings, the same coffee shops, the same routine. And it was. But it also felt different. After months of navigating a new country, meeting people from all over the world, and building a life that felt completely separate from campus, being “back to normal” felt more strange than I expected.
Before going abroad, everyone warned me about how hard it would be to leave. I found, though, that no one really prepared me for how complicated it would feel to come back. I thought I would fall right back into my routine, but instead I found myself missing the life I built in Greece.
One of the strangest parts of returning is realizing that while campus feels the same, you do not. Studying abroad pushed me out of my comfort zone in ways I did not fully notice until I got home. I came back more confident talking to new people, more independent, and more willing to say yes to things that might have scared me before. Even something as simple as walking to class feels different after learning how to make a home in a place that once felt so unfamiliar.
There is also a quiet kind of loneliness that comes with coming back. You are excited to see your friends, but it can be hard to explain how much the experience meant to you without feeling like you are talking too much about it or not saying enough. Sometimes it feels like you are carrying around a whole other world that only exists in your memories and in your camera roll. For a while, I kept wishing I could go back. It wasn’t because I was unhappy to be home, but because that version of my life felt so full and exciting. Over time, I realized I do not have to choose between who I was abroad and who I am on campus. I get to bring that confidence and independence into this next chapter of my life.
If you are struggling with readjusting after studying abroad, you are not alone and you are not ungrateful for feeling this way. Let yourself miss it. Talk about it with people who understand. Find small ways to bring pieces of that experience into your everyday life, whether that means cooking meals you loved or keeping in touch with friends you made.
Coming back is not about going backward. You are not returning to who you were before. You are moving forward as someone who took a risk and learned how capable they really are. And that version of you deserves just as much excitement and possibility as the one who boarded the plane in the first place.