People look at specks of my life through social media and "ooh and ahh" about it. More than once, I have heard statements such as: "You're so lucky!" or "You're living the dream!". And, yes, I am extremely fortunate to have this opportunity to live and work abroad. Yes, I am living out my dream of being immersed in a foreign country. But life has its ups and downs no matter the circumstances.
There are always going to be good days and bad days. And I will admit that I don't talk about the not-so-great aspects of living in Europe and being 4,000 miles away from home. Those things typically aren't discussed over social media for a number of reasons. First of all, we don't want others to see us as that "whiny, annoying" person on their newsfeed . We all know someone who posts depressing things on their social media in order to receive some attention. Secondly, it's just not the norm to talk about the not-so-amazing aspects of our lives on social media. Most of the time, we seek gratification from our friends and peers through our posts raving about our accomplishments and our seemingly "perfect" lives. We rant and rave about the cool things we've seen and the places that we've been. We often gush about our lives...posting pictures that scream, "Look at how great my life is!". And to peoples' credit, sometimes it's not meant to make others jealous. For example whenever I visit a new place, I feel so much happiness that I want to share that feeling with my friends and family. But, as I'm sure you know, there is plenty of content floating around social media that's main purpose is to make other people envious.
Honestly, I have days here where I don't even want to go out of my flat because I'm feeling like shit that day and don't want to be bothered. Sometimes a girl just wants to go to the store without makeup on wearing yoga pants without feeling judged. Let's just say that living in the center of a capital city makes that quite difficult. There are days where it's so frustrating to not know the native language that something as simple as ordering food can majorly stress you out. There are days where the very thought of my family brings me to tears because I remember how long it's been since I've seen them and how hard it is to get to them.
I know, I know what you're thinking...I sound like a stuck-up brat complaining about my "hard" European life. But just hear me out. This post isn't meant to complain about my life. Honestly, the life that I'm living is pretty grand. I am happier here in Prague than I have been anywhere else. I just want everyone to know that my life (much like anyone else's) is not a constant dream. We all have our good and bad days. Life can be a bitch no matter where you are or what you are doing. So next time you're feeling jealous while scrolling through your newsfeed, remember that there is much more to someone's life than the rosy picture they paint on social media.
