Feeling trapped after returning home from studying abroad
Hey guys,
I’m a 22-year-old man from Afghanistan. Four years ago, I was someone who knew almost nothing about the world. I stayed at home, followed whatever my family did, and never really thought about my own future.
In 2020, I got a scholarship in Pakistan, and it completely changed my life. I learned English, experienced a different environment, and completed my degree. But now I’m back here, and I feel stuck.
My family cannot financially support me to pursue a master’s degree abroad. Recently they told me, “We regret letting you study there. Now you are no longer in our hands.” Those words really broke me.
The main problem is that I’m slowly destroying myself here. I waste hours on Instagram, masturbate multiple times a day, and avoid doing the things I know I should be doing. I know I should focus on scholarships, applications, and building my future, but instead I keep escaping into social media.
When I see people around my age building their lives, moving forward, and achieving things, I feel worthless. I know self-pity won’t solve anything, but I genuinely feel lost right now.
In my country, I don’t really see many educated people around me. After studying abroad, my mindset changed a lot, and sometimes I feel disconnected from my own environment, even my family. I know hatred isn’t healthy, but I’ve been feeling a lot of frustration and distance lately.
In the past four years, I’ve also noticed that many people I know from Afghanistan seem to come from families that are more educated or have clearer plans for them. I often felt like I was the only one who didn’t really know where my life was going. Now many of them are also studying abroad, and I’m still here feeling stuck behind them. I feel guilty even saying this, but it’s an honest feeling.
I’m posting this because I want honest advice from people who have been stuck before and managed to rebuild themselves. How do you actually stop wasting your life and start moving forward again?