Content creator Jigeesha Gupta has shared an emotional reflection on her return to India, five years after moving to London. In an Instagram post, she described leaving home as a teenager as a period that left her “barely knowing who I was,” and returning now as “a woman with fire in her soul.”
“After 5 years in London, I’m home. Five years. 1,825 days. A lifetime of growth compressed into what feels like both forever and a blink of an eye. I left India at 19, barely knowing who I was, carrying dreams bigger than my suitcase. London didn’t just welcome me, it raised me,” Gupta wrote.
Challenges, Growth, and the Gifts of London
Gupta opened up about the highs and lows of her life abroad. “Through the loneliness of those first winter nights, the joy of finding my tribe, the heartbreak that taught me resilience, and the victories that felt impossible just years ago. I’ve cried on the tube, danced in tiny flats, worked jobs that broke me and others that built me. I’ve been homesick and home-found all at once.”
She said her time in London gave her confidence, new perspectives, and friendships spanning continents. “The version of me that could dream fearlessly, love deeply, and stand tall through any storm,” she added, “was born there.”
Returning Home and Reflecting on Two Worlds
Despite her excitement, returning to India has been emotionally complex. “Now as I step back onto Indian soil, I’m not the same person who left. I’m carrying pieces of two worlds, two cultures, two versions of home,” she reflected. Gupta also shared that it took her a month to process the shift before posting online. “This isn’t goodbye to London—it’s hello to the next chapter,” she wrote.
Her heartfelt words resonated with followers, many of whom shared their own experiences. “Hey! Have same story as yours.. left India when I was 17, lived in UK for 5 years moved back home. I feel each work of yours.. lots of love, growth and happiness,” wrote one user.
Another commented, “Sailing the same boat except for freedom, cleanliness and higher pay…. I think India has everything that we missed in the UK.” A third said, “It’s been 3 months, I’m still can’t accept the reality , but yeh you took the words right out of my mouth.”