Dealing with Homesickness (A break from the adventures)

The strangest thing about studying abroad, I think, is this feeling of living a double life. There's everything going on back home–friends and family and concerts and plans for summer and fall–then there's the experiences I'm having here. I feel split down the middle a lot lately, isolated from the goings-on at home while trying to pack as much as I can into this semester. If anything, being here has taught me how much I love home (both Birmingham and WWC). It's constantly in the back of my mind.

I've never really experienced homesickness like this before. Leaving Birmingham for Asheville was an easy transition...I missed home sometimes, but it was never for long. Here, the homesickness is coupled with a large amount of guilt, the knowledge that this part of my life is a short one, and I need to fully engage with it and not take it for granted. I don't want to wish it away, this extraordinary opportunity to learn and experience an entirely different life. However, sometimes it's a struggle to be fully present in this place, in this moment.

It's one of the realities of living and studying abroad, giving up some things in order to experience others. I want to look back at this time without regret, without feeling that I missed out on anything or that I should have done it differently. The bottom line is that I am living and growing and seeing so much this semester, and I only have 8 more weeks to do it. I need to acknowledge the fact that I miss home, miss it, and then let those feelings go so I can enjoy where I am, right now.

So, this is my bit of homesickness for the day, and now I'm off to be productive and make the most of the time I have left in this beautiful country.