You out grow friends for dozens of reasons.  Interests change, people move away, they get married, have kids, priorities shift…  Friendships are like any relationship, they thrive when both people feel valued, and are getting what they need.  Good friends bring out the best in one another.

It can be hard to let go of childhood friends, all those shared memories, the sense that they know you best, but sometimes you out grow them.  Sometimes your childhood friends only know and accept who you WERE—they don’t allow you to grow and change as a person.

ESL Study Abroad Can Change You Friendships At Home

 ESL study abroad exposed you to a new culture, and a wealth of diversity.  Experience of another culture widens your worldview, and makes you more tolerant of others.  That’s a good thing.  But, maybe your friends back home don’t think so.  Maybe you never heard how exclusionary their views were because you were always part of the group.

When you return home after time away you won’t just see your country and culture with new eyes, but you’ll also hear everything with fresh ears.  Some of what you hear will warm your heart, and make you feel grateful to be back home in your native country, but some other things you hear… maybe not so much.

English language study in the US put an ocean between you and your childhood friends in your native country.  Yet, when you return from study abroad that literal ocean can become a figurative one—you may have a hard time reconnecting, and feel as though you no longer have anything in common.  Give yourself some time to get used to being home; maybe it’s just reverse culture shock messing with your emotions. But if your friends no longer make you feel valued, or bring out the best in you remember the end of a friendship isn’t the end of the world, though it can feel that way. Sometimes you just out grow your friends.