Kritika Sodhi - 2 Min Read
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A page from my initial days as an international student.
Blog – 3 September 2019, when I was beginning to write a new chapter in my life. 21/09/2019 when I left my home, I had no clue what the next three years of my life could look like. I imagined a life full of rainbows and unicorns. Who imagines dark stormy days? I was excited to unfold the next three years of my university life. I did not realize what I was leaving behind. My dad accompanied me for the initial ten days in the UK. It was easy to settle in a new city but only till dad was around. After ten days, I felt I had to start from square one to adjust to the not so familiar place. I was clearly figuring out life in a completely new way. That is when I realized my imagination was far from reality. When I used to picture about moving to a new country to study, I always thought about how fun it would be to live independently, away from family, making your own decisions, partying, and everything (who does not imagine that). Soon when I stepped into that time, where I lived on my own, took my own decisions, lived away from my family I realized the harsh truth. The thought of moving to a new country felt good when I thought about it sitting in my comfort zone, my home, with my parents. It no more looked like what I had envisioned. I was not prepared for the responsibilities that came along. I was moving forward in life, making mistakes, making irrational choices, falling repeatedly. That is when I realized, what I had left behind.
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First year was not easy, it was full of ups and downs. Living all by myself was a challenge I had to face and get used to. Waking up by myself, cooking for myself, cleaning the room, making the bed, washing dishes, doing laundry everything came on me as a sudden jolt. Initially, there were many hindrances, but slowly I learnt everything, trust me thanks to video calls, (I used to video call my mum every second minute to learn chores). With days passing I was getting to know the place better; I did not even realize when I started calling my small room ‘home.’ Getting to know Leeds (The city I was living in) was a bit tough but understanding university initially was tougher. The content delivery for my modules by my teachers was the complete opposite of what I was accustomed to. I remember on the first day of my lecture I sat there like a clueless person who barely knew she had to come prepped beforehand for the lecture. I sat there as a scared child with the fear of being called upon. “What if the professor asked me a question?!” It was a different environment, I had to get familiar with staying up to date with my university work. However, I figured out my ways with it, learnt the new way and it all made sense then.
While University life was well on the path, another challenge was about to be embarked. Looking for a part-time job. Oh god! It’s so hard to find work. It is difficult, trust me. After lengthy periods of job hunting, I found a job in the hospitality sector. The first day at my work when I thought nothing more could go wrong (a story for another day), gave me a realization that working while studying is not going to be a cakewalk. While working, having long shifts, sometimes being underpaid it changed me, changed me a lot! Someone who never looked at the price tag before buying, to someone who thought twice before spending money, I knew I was learning, I was growing, and I was valuing things that I took for granted at some point. Some days were harder than others, there were days where all I wanted to do was to run back to India, missing family, missing home; these were not easy to deal with. But then friends helped! I made a large group of friends which turned into a family even before I could realize. Being with them made those difficult days a bit easy!
Today as I type this blog and reflect back on my initial days, trust me I feel it was the best decision to move abroad. In a couple of months, I would be graduating, but the learnings, the lessons that I got outside of the university, I would always be grateful for them. For that shaped me, made me stronger and prepared me for life that is waiting for me ahead!
Do share your views about the blog. Share your university experiences in the comment section!
