Post-Italy Blues: Embracing Adulting Again
Returning to responsibilities in the US after a healing winter in Italy
As I sit in the busy airport, surrounded by people coming and going, I'm filled with mixed emotions. Part of me is excited to return home and move forward building my life and career after two glorious months in Italy. But a bigger part already deeply misses the leisurely days filled with simple pleasures - long lunches savoring flavors, meandering walks along ancient cobblestone, stopping to appreciate whatever beauty caught my eye.
Now, as I watch others jet off to vacations with carefree smiles, I relate to those returning home with lingering tans and wistful looks, hearts heavy with missing the escape they left. The airport is an in-between, a purgatory of sorts - both lifting our spirits with excitement and letting us down with goodbye.
In this space, time moves unpredictably - rushing when we worry about missing flights yet crawling as we loiter before departure. Caught in the blur of transitions, I reflect on how this trip shifted me. Did I leave part of my heart there? For now I hold onto the calm I found, carrying it home as I take the next step forward.
Coming back after two glorious months in Italy is harder than I expected. I'm filled with resistance towards resuming "adulting" and building my future. Part of me longs to remain in my beachside paradise, spending relaxed days in simple enjoyment under the warm sun.
But I know pressing forward is for the best in the long run. This era of my 20s feels make-or-break. Sacrificing present pleasure for future fulfillment is difficult, especially after tasting such sweet escape.
My goal is to someday merge rewarding work and a chilled-out coastal lifestyle. For now, I hold dear my memories of Sardegna's sanctuary. Although continually moving on from people and places I love to lay the foundations of my dreams isn't easy, I trust this path.
My 20s can be both beautiful and brutally tough. Returning to real life highlights how scary and hard adulthood is. But each goodbye brings me closer to the life I envision. I pray embracing this discomfort will prove worth it in retrospect.
For now, I focus on gratitude for the support around me as I take the next step. Even when it feels like climbing a mountain, inch by inch I'm elevating my view of the horizon ahead.
Saying arrivederci to that season of wonder is bittersweet. But ahead waits the reward of cultivating an everyday life just as nurturing of my spirit. All the beauty Italy awakened in me, I'll now create anew.
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Love and light,
Gabi 🤍✨