By Verona Mahilet
For real, I believe we all experience student life differently. It can follow a certain pattern, but it’s never quite the same for everyone. In general, we all deal with going to class, coming back home, or maybe heading straight to work and so one. When it comes to our concerns, we all share the same goal: finding a way to pass our classes, dealing with some stress, and I believe a bit more than that.
As for me, being an international student occupies a central place in my life. Obviously, I wouldn’t have left my country for another just to study if I didn’t deeply care about my education. Putting aside all the reasoning behind that decision, because too long to explain, you must understand that taking such a step is both exciting and frightening. For my studies, I left basically everything, my home, my family, my friends, the environment I grew up in, and I had to embrace a new culture, find a new balance, allow myself to have an open minded while keeping the chore of my beliefs and values try to stick with important habits while changing some to adjust to this new world I’m now part of. Of course, every international student’s experience is unique, I can only speak to myself, but at the same time I believe this is a sort of a generality
I’ve been lucky to experience college life in two different countries, first in my home country and now here. And to be honest, it’s not that different. It’s the same kind of experience, just in a new environment. At this point, I am pretty sure you are asking yourself a ton of questions! But hold on, Let’s say that it’s more about me than the experience itself. Because while the environment has changed, my personality and goals haven’t. I’ve kept my desire to be a great student and to grow personally. In fact, that desire has become even stronger now, and as a result, I’m more active and engaged in my academic journey than when I used to be back home
.I’m taking on more responsibilities and stepping out of my comfort zone to build new skills and gain experience. This transition is not as smooth as it might seem. And I think you figured it yourself; a flu of emotions often comes along with it. Making you become more self-aware, and with that awareness comes more stress.
My social life has also changed as well. I don’t talk to my friends back home as often as I used to, and I don’t experience social life here exactly how I’d like to. Don’t get me wrong, I still have friends, and I still spend time with them, but the amount of time that I am giving them has drastically decreased. As for my family, I call them at least once a week and try to stay in touch as much as I can.
So yes, my student life is quite a bit standard, not too much to talk about, and maybe even a little boring, but I believe it’s shaping me into the person I’ve always envisioned to become. Hopefully, along this way, I’ll find a better balance between my student life, my social life, and my professional life in the future; we cross our fingers!
