Homesickness, Guilt, & Gratitude

Everyone feels some ounce of homesickness while abroad. It is so normal, yet I think it is also common among students that feel homesickness to also feel some guilt along with it. That can make the experience isolating, but it doesn’t have to be. There shouldn’t be a stigma around admitting that you miss home, but there is a little bit. And I think it’s important to highlight that two things can be true at once: you can miss home and still enjoy studying abroad.

The homesickness that you are currently feeling or may feel when you’re abroad is normal. Originally I felt as though I was being ungrateful for the amazing experience that I get to live here in Milan. But I shouldn’t feel guilty because that is not the case. Being homesick means you are lucky enough to have something to go back to that you miss. Studying abroad makes you realize all of the things you took for granted when they were a part of your everyday life. Being abroad makes you appreciate your home life so much more. Normal things that I took for granted are now things that I am looking forward to so much. I know the same will be said when I return home from Milan. I know that no matter where I am, there will be something to miss about a place that I have been, but I am really starting to understand the beauty in that. 

Of course I miss my family, my friends, etc., but let me tell you what I have been missing the most. My car. Sometimes I don’t want to walk to the metro. Sometimes I don’t want to wait for the tram. When I’m at home, my car is so easy to access that I never even considered how much I love her and need her and rely on her until I was here and my car was no longer with me. 

I am an American so of course I miss fast food. I can’t wait to get in my car and go through a drive through, that sounds like a dream right now. There are so many casual everyday life experiences that I am so excited to have again when I get back to the U.S., but that is not to say that I am not enjoying my time abroad. I’m having fun, I’ve made friends, I’m traveling and shopping and doing all of the things. I have acquired this new sense of independence that I have never felt before and it feels really good. But both can be true at once, and I don’t think that’s talked about enough. I can say that I am enjoying my semester abroad and say that I miss home and mean both of them equally. These things don’t negate each other, and there is beauty in that. There is beauty in the duality of emotions you will feel when studying abroad. And the gratitude you feel for all of these things is so immense as well. 

Revel in all of your abroad emotions. You will never get an experience like this ever again, so feel all of it. Miss home, enjoy your time abroad, and appreciate that you are able to do both at once.