Reality bites. Coming back home from living abroad is a confusing time period. I think people are used to having a clear life direction at least here in America. People expect you have a path, to know what’s next or where you will live. Truthfully, I didn’t have an idea. The transition for me, was difficult at first. When I came home, I think I was mentally prepared of my family and friends’ expectations. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise when the first questions they asked was what do I plan to do next? Do I get a job? Where are you going to live? Sadly, I didn’t have an answer. I thought the best answer was ‘I don’t know’ followed by ‘wherever I find a job then, I’ll move’. Of course, people reacted with a questionable look from my response and I’d be lying if I wasn’t worried about finding a job. However, I know what I’m capable of and I’m in one of the most booming job industries in the world. It’s not a matter of finding a job because there’s always opportunities in my industry but, it’s a matter of how much the company is willing to pay for my service.
The other big difference I noticed when I arrived home was the food. Sorry, I liked the food in Italy and whatever ingredients they put in their food, it’s very tasty. There’s nobody like the Italians who can cook a good meal.
On the latter, there’s nobody who can compare to the service in America. The minute I walked in through immigration upon my arrival at the airport, I immediately felt secured and privileged in having access to services that doesn’t exist in some parts of the world. Also, having things to work again (i.e. my cell phone) made me feel right at home.

Finally arriving home and reuniting with friends and family was one of the best things about coming back. I’ve kept in touched with some of my friends while I was living abroad and having a conversation with them in person showed how much both of us have grown up. The sense of familiarity of being with them helped ease the transition of being back home tremendously.
The only downside about coming back is having to deal with administrative work such as renewing health insurance, car insurance, etc. It’s taken me at least 2-5 full days to get these completed. Che palle!

Also, remembering to tip and add tax to my bill has been an adjustment. Somehow, I forget to do it. 
The biggest adjustment of all is finding a job and an apartment. There’s no way around it but, to deal with it head on. The good news is I’m not alone because most of the students I graduated with are also in the same boat. It truly helped that I stayed in touched with my friends abroad because they’re also going through the same things. Having their support made a huge difference in ‘transitioning’ well into my new life.