Living Abroad Didn’t Make Me a Happier Person
But it gave me the tools I needed to get there
Before I moved to China, I wasn’t a happy person. I hated that I’d done everything I was supposed to do but was still stuck in my hometown. I graduated high school, went to college, and left with a bachelor’s, but my mood didn’t change.
On my worst days, I was so inconsolably bitter. Nothing anyone could say or do could bring me out of my funk. I stayed away from everyone on those days. Alas, when I got the opportunity to move to China, I jumped at the chance. Finally! It’s my turn to be happy! Being away is going to help me!
And for most of my time in China, I was happier. I found myself in a new place, making new friends, and living new experiences. I could travel to other countries for the first time in my life. It was finally time to live the life of travel I’d always dreamed about living!
And then I stopped feeling happy.
I don’t know when it first happened, but things stopped being fun and exciting. By the time I left China, I wasn’t out exploring the world anymore. I stayed in front of my computer, watching YouTube videos until I fell asleep.
Now, I’m back in the US, and I’m an hour away from my hometown. I’m not traveling the way I used to, but I’m as…
