So, you just came back home from an amazing experience and now you have to ask yourself the scary question: What’s next?!

If possible, try and schedule time for yourself when you get back home. Living in a society and culture that is constantly pushing productivity all the time, it can be hard to justify rest. However, depending on where you are coming from, jet lag can take a serious toll on your body. For example, I had an 8 hour time difference between my field school location and home. Even though I wanted to get back to normal life as soon as I got back, I was really struggling because of how tired I was. Therefore instead of fighting it, I just took it easy and scheduled short naps to get me throughout the day. It took about a week for my circadian rhythm to adjust back to my time zone here in California where I live. This is not going to be the case for everyone. However, even if you are not dealing with time zone changes, field school itself takes a lot of energy out of you. Therefore, making sure that you have time to recover from the travel and hard work is crucial. 

When I came back from field school, I found myself experiencing some mental blocks in addition to being tired. My mind didn’t feel clear and it felt weird being back home. Things may not feel the same when you get back because, well, YOU may not be the same. And that’s okay! Field school can be a life changing experience for anyone. I know that for me, traveling across the world and having new experiences made me grow as an individual. Coming back home, I felt the need to revert back into the person I was before I left home. However, you should know that it’s okay to show the new sides of yourself that you’ve discovered. Something that really helped me adjust is meeting up with my friends and sharing the crazy adventure with them. Surrounding yourself with close family and friends can be really helpful during this time of transition. 

Facing life again after any big trip can feel overwhelming. However, as hard as it may be, try not to be too hard on yourself. I think that one of the best ways to overcome change is to take one day at a time, listen to how your body is feeling, and know that you are not alone.