Meg Goes Global

Everyone talks about how hard it is leaving home, but the same conversation is not had for how difficult it is to come back again. When you feel like you have changed and grown beyond the limits of your home town, but you return to things being practically the same, it’s a weird feeling. I always found it especially hard feeling like this because there is an added level of guilt to it. You don’t want family and friends to think you are unhappy to be back spending time with them again. You also want to be grateful that you had the opportunity to leave and have the amazing experiences in the first place, which many don’t get to have. But the underlying confusion and feeling slightly lost is hard to ignore.

I struggled returning after being away for a year in Australia as my first experience of travel. And all my friends had gone off to university, which I was originally intending to do. I felt like I had grown so much as a person and experienced so many new things that people from home couldn’t relate to. It almost felt like one big dream with only pictures to look back on. I soon realised many of my friends didn’t understand what I was doing and viewed it just as one big extended holiday of sorts; and that I would eventually come back to reality. But this wasn’t how it felt to me.

Moving back home with parents was really difficult, even though I am lucky enough to be close to my family. The change from being entirely independent and not having to explain anything to anyone, to feeling like a child at home again. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have people to look after you again but I can imagine it being especially difficult if you have a complicated relationship with your parents.

Dealing with the change of pace may be the biggest part of it. From travelling, staying in hostels, always moving around and meeting hundreds of people, to suddenly being stagnant took a lot of getting used to. Settling back into routine takes it’s time and if you’re anything like me and find routine to get boring very quickly, this can be a struggle in itself.

how to overcome it

Practice gratitude and enjoy the telling stories of things you have done. This might be talking to your friends or journaling, but I think actually voicing or writing your gratitude helps shift your outlook on what is happening. It’s important to embrace the change of pace and try to enjoy the small things at home. Romanticise your life, seek out the things you enjoy at home and spend time with people you love. For me it was getting back to the gym and eating well, catch ups with all my friends and family I hadn’t seen in ages, and just really living in the moment back at home. I think its super important to not dwell or stress about the future especially in the first couple weeks back, as it’s really easy to drift into this head space and feel unhappy in the uncertainty.

With saying this, looking to the future helps a lot in the form of setting goals. It might be that you are coming back to go to uni, developing your career further, or maybe you fell in love with travel and aren’t yet finished with it. No matter what it is, set yourself some goals even if they’re as small as finding a new job to earn and get back out there. Focusing your energy helps massively, maybe in the form of thinking about and planning your next trip as it gives you something to work towards. Don’t rush it, just embrace it as some added motivation.

Use what you have learnt over your time away in your life at home. However big or small it is I KNOW you have learnt something new on your trip. Whether it’s a new skill you want to continue developing at home like a language or hobby, or a new habit to implement in your life. Don’t let these things go to waste and see what you can achieve.