My photo journal was inspired by Abby Talkington’s Memorandums in the 2017 issue of Neither Here Nor There, using excerpts from the journal that I kept while I was in Europe.
I created the Sense of Satisfaction graph to illustrate how quick and easy it was for me to integrate abroad compared to how long it took for me to reintegrate back home. Everywhere I went, I immersed myself and adopted new routines that became my norms, especially in Amsterdam, where I studied. I felt nothing but free, fearless, and present.
After returning home, going back to school and work, and reuniting with my friends and family, I found myself experiencing reverse culture shock for months. I constantly felt nostalgic, sad, and displaced. I had made so many different homes abroad that my definition of home changed—I changed—but my home in Seattle didn’t necessarily change all that much. I wanted to go back for the longest time until I finally reacclimated to my once-familiar surroundings.
Everyone always talks about travelling. Where they are going and all the things they are going to see and do. But no one ever talks about hardest part: coming back home.
Resident and lover of the world. Currently in: Seattle, Washington.
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