My study abroad program in Sevilla has officially ended and I am now back home in St. Louis, Missouri. Choosing to study abroad in Sevilla was the greatest decision I have ever made in my life. From all the places I have now been to all of the confidence I have gained to the deep and lasting relationships I have forged, studying abroad has profoundly changed me. The version of myself hugging my parents goodbye at the St. Louis airport, shaking with nerves and excitement, could have never imagined the new, more self-assured, empowered version of myself that stepped off the plane to come home a few weeks ago. That being said, saying goodbye to some of my now closest friends and people who have come to be my family was a truly heart-wrenching experience. Of course, the heart ache that comes with hard goodbyes is accompanied with an absolute gratitude that I found people, now so deeply woven into my life that saying goodbye was as difficult as it was. Nevertheless, missing the friends and family I found and the place that became a second home has proven to be quite the challenge.

So, some advice to anyone else struggling with readjusting to life back in the States would be to lean on the friends and family surrounding you at home and spend time with them. Keep in touch with the friends and family you found abroad: schedule a monthly video call with friends, create group chats, write letters, text and call your host family, send daily selfies, whatever it may be to keep you connected. Try implementing some of your favorite parts of your study abroad life into daily life back home. For example, I am trying to slow down at meal times and go on long walks around my neighborhood just like I did in Sevilla. Finally, remember that it is okay and completely normal to have a lot of emotions about coming back home from being abroad and oftentimes, you will experience conflicting emotions too and it is perfectly natural for both to exist at once. The readjustment period after study abroad can be filled with sadness, uncertainty, joy, gratitude and countless other feelings all at once. It can feel a bit like an emotional rollercoaster at times, but I have found that it helps to remind myself that these feelings will ease over time and that it’s best to just go one day at a time.

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