Top 10 Things You Will Notice After Studying Abroad

So it's been a couple months (or a little over 2 years) since coming back from England. Even though it's essentially so far away now, my study abroad experience still lives with me. So here is my mini-list of the top 10 changes you'll consistantly notice after returning.

1. Reverse homesickness! This is a concept where you miss the friends and connections you made overseas and upon your return, you'll feel alienated by losing one network and being The New One once again.

2. If you know someone under the age of 14 that has not hit puberty yet, they are guaranteed to hit puberty by the time you come back. 

3. Your Facebook feed will change! Due to Facebook's constantly customizing stalker data on you, changing your location will rotate your feed to people you most interact with that more likely happen to be close to you.

4. You'll have friends that graduated or finally transferred from community college. And then it'll be weird seeing friends that only 2-3 years ago were graduating high school seniors with you, now become grad students, working professionals, or a different major program.

5. No matter how close you used to be, when any family member moves out for college and comes back, things are guaranteed to be awkward.

6. You miss being independent and the fun of traveling, but also glad you get a good ol' break.

7. Developed a crush or relationship overseas? Time and time again, long distance relationships are proven to not work in the long run. My advice if you fell hard without planning beforehand, avoid their social media and take your time healing.

8. Sometimes people are lucky that their original goals when they return are going to be achieved. If you're in the unlucky batch... well...

9. Although you did literally spend one or more years literally independently by yourself, it's time to tackle on the working adult aspects of the society you once lived in... like taxes.

10. You'll continue to have memorable flashbacks, a lot of times they may be painful, but in the long run, remember that it was an important experience and life-changing even in the smallest of ways.