If you've just returned from studying abroad, how are you? No, really. How are you doing?

What happens when we step outside the culture we were raised in? Between Worlds: Reflections on Culture, Identity, and Living Abroad is a five-part series exploring how life abroad reshapes our sense of self, belonging, and how we relate to others.

There's a day it happens. You ride your bike to work and realize, with a sudden, stinging shock, that you needed gloves. You find yourself pulling on jackets and closing windows, knowing you won't feel the sun on your bare arms for another six months.

Let's be honest about New Year's resolutions: most of them fail. They get a bad rap for a good reason — we make bold, ambitious plans on January 1st, only to watch them fizzle out by February, leaving us feeling disappointed in ourselves.

Jingle bells, jingle hell... Christmas is a mess.

Introduction: A Cinema Fan's Dilemma

You're in the final stretch. Your time studying in Paris — whether it's been months or a year — is coming to an end. It's a strange, chaotic limbo of finishing exams, packing boxes, and navigating a complex swirl of feelings… or perhaps, a kind of numbness.

The first moment I can remember thinking like a conspiracist, I was seven years old. I was watching The X-Files.

This one's for the video game fans, or perhaps more broadly, anyone who's ever been captivated by something so deeply it shaped the course of their life.