I’ve been back in the U.S. for about a week now. I think people underestimate how much your mental and physical health is impacted by the transition you experience when coming home from study abroad. Even though it makes sense to think that your transition when moving to a country outside of the U.S. would be more difficult than coming back, that is far from the truth, at least in my case.

When my Spring semester classes ended, I felt like I had all the time in the world to prepare for my summer abroad. The past couple of weeks have flown by, and now my flight to Barcelona is in only two days. Thankfully, I started the planning and packing process as soon as possible so that I was not left with a million tasks the night before I leave.

Back in April, I had a realization: I was less than two months away from studying abroad in France. The time that I’ll spend in Paris would be the same as the time from then to when I leave. Half of me hoped it would feel like a long time. The last month or so of school always goes by at a snail’s pace. The weather goes from pleasant to disgustingly hot (at least where I come from). There are exams, papers, and last-minute arrangements for next year. If this period feels like a long time, wouldn’t that mean a longer time in France?

I can’t believe I’m posting about my final day in Nantes, France. People always told me study abroad flies by, but it’s hard to comprehend that until you personally experience it. I wanted to document my final day for all of you because I spent it with some amazing friends, doing things I love in Nantes. I had to say goodbye to the IES Abroad building, which was harder than I thought. I spent every day in that building for four months, so it became a huge comfort place for me. Nantes really did become home.

While studying abroad provides so many opportunities to travel and experience new cultures, there is still studying to do. Especially around midterms and finals, you'll find me holed up with my notes and a coffee. However, France doesn't have quite the same "work in a coffee shop" culture as the U.S. In France, and especially in Southern France, cafés are meant to enjoy your coffee and take time away from work.

In just a couple of days, I will be officially living and working in Milan. I can’t wait for the opportunity to travel the world, learn a new language, and intern for a fashion company in a fashion capital. Despite what that may sound like, there is also a lot of fear in going abroad. Fear of a new place, new people, everything that is unfamiliar. But honestly for me, those fears are not what scare me the most about being abroad.

After 15 weeks in Dublin and 3 more weeks traveling around, I am officially saying goodbye to Europe as I return home. The whole semester feels a bit surreal and like a fever dream, really. It’s a bit of a crazy feeling when a week ago I was climbing the steps up to the Prague castle and now I’m sitting in my childhood bedroom.

I am officially back in the United States. It’s been almost two weeks since I said goodbye to France and even less time since I left Europe as a whole. After our last day of exams, our IES Abroad center threw a farewell party for us students. While it was a small group of us in attendance, it was still nice to get to say goodbye to everyone who came. Plenty of snacks were provided and I got to try a few other desserts I hadn’t gotten around to yet.

When choosing a place to go abroad, I was looking to go to a place that was out of the ordinary. I wanted to be thrown into an environment that was new to me with all new people, new food, culture, everything. I ended up deciding that Australia was the best suited abroad location for me to go to. I wanted to be far from home and everyone I knew and truly have a unique experience.

A beautiful aspect to abroad is being able to fly to other countries with ease and exploring them on the weekends. Something that I wasn’t fully expecting was the multitude of trips that I would be taking. With the inexpensive flights at your fingertips, it's easy to travel anywhere your heart desires. So when a 20 euro flight to Rome presents itself, it’s hard not to take that opportunity.