Changed by Experience

So I’m confused about something.  They say that every experience changes a person and I think I can believe that.  What I’m confused about is the expression or manifestation of the change.  Reason I was thinking of all this was spring break.  People traveled to many different places, which is a new experience and would change them, yet we all came back and went back to our daily routines.  Where is the change?  How is it expressed? 

Yeah a lot of people went here

When I talked to the study abroad lady, she said one of the greatest struggles for a returning student is the problem that they have so much to say but nobody to listen to them.  I understand that completely because I felt the same way after coming back from visiting India during high school.  I went from being surrounded by so many people to being by myself in my room and I really wanted to tell people about my experience, but since others did not go through the experience how can they care?

Nobody to tell things too!

So back to people after spring break.  They traveled, they came back.  Do they not have stories about their experience they are dying to tell?  Do they not want to explain how they have changed?  I doubt every experience has a drastic change on a person but it could just be a minor change.  Without vocalizing it, it can be easily forgotten or ignored.

This all may just be a stupid thought.  “Why so expectant of a change; they only wanted to relax for a few days and that’s all.” My friend once told me that we don’t reflect on our lives during the happy times because we are in the moment, so why do I expect people to react any differently in this situation?  Maybe I just have a different view of experiences.

Is this really all we do during break...

Stuff like travel or any experience.  Is it just to do something different, something that is out of our normal day?  There is the grime that gathers by doing the same thing all the time.  It is a film on our eyes so that we can’t really see ourselves.  Just having a different experience allows us to take a good look at ourselves.  Maybe something is different out there, maybe through new people or interesting surroundings, but in the end it all reflects back to us.  Does that difference make us recognize something about ourselves and what does it mean for the future?

I don’t know if others think this way about experiences but I don’t feel that we can or should stay put after having one.  Maybe I’m just an open person who likes to talk, but I want to share my experiences with others, both for me to solidify my transformations and for others to understand alongside me .