Arcadia Australia

Bittersweet Goodbyes and finding a new high

So you did it!  You chose to cross to the other side of the world and study in a completely different hemisphere.  The choice to study abroad might have been easy or a real push - but no doubt the experience was far beyond your wildest dreams and you are now about to go home, or you’ve just arrived back.

This wonderful time is really special as you’ve been missing friends and family, wishing for hugs and chats with the people who know you best and finally tasting that food you were craving for months away.  The first few weeks are like a Hollywood reunion – everyone wants a piece of you, to see you in the flesh and chat about your adventures.  But a few weeks go by and you find yourself feeling a little off balance.  Everything goes back to the old routines, same local haunts, same foods, same people. 

But inside – you may feel like a completely different person – more independent, more open, more awake, you’ve grown in ways you didn’t even realise, learnt so many things about how you think, act and feel has changed.  You have new dreams, you might be seeking and seeing new opportunities, or want to branch out completely and climb onto a limb and risk something bigger.  You love the comfort and familiarity of home but suddenly your feet are itchy to explore again – get outside that comfort zone where you learnt so much. Blissing out reminiscing on all the memories that left you with incredible euphoria and a whole lot of epic tingles is making being at home feel a little or a lot harder than you thought.

Sometimes it’s harder to come home than it is to leave. 

So what to do? Wherever you are – be grateful and open to new opportunities, this is the time to make new choices while you’re still full of this amazing expansion.  Talk to strangers, travel in your own backyard, see your town, city, state with fresh eyes, make plans to get outside that comfort zone again and again.  Dream big, Climb high: You might want to go it alone but you might just inspire your friends to join you too – you’re now the one with the best travel knowledge, experience in dealing with a plethora of different situations and a thirst for more! Time to start again – with a whole new perspective, put what you’ve learnt to the test and climb out on that limb – who knows where it will take you. The World is still your oyster…the possibilities are endless.