By: Lindsay Wong
My past three years as an international student in Australia has been a whirlwind of challenging but fulfilling experiences. At the start of 2018, I embarked on a journey by myself for the first time as I started living by myself in Melbourne, fresh out of high school. The pandemic this year made me reflect on my life as an international student as I had more time to think about my life so far in Australia. In the last three years, as I completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, I feel like I matured a lot as I had to live fully independent for the first time in a brand new country, while studying and working. I’ve had to learn how to deal with new challenges – but it has been worthwhile.
Studying by myself did not pose as big a challenge as working or “adulting” because I was used to being independent at home. For the first time, I could study subjects that I was genuinely interested in. Attending university – going to lectures, socializing, attending tutorials, studying at libraries past midnight – is definitely something I have missed since the pandemic started. I loved the atmosphere of university; I always felt so trapped in high school. Changing classes every semester and interacting with new people while reconnecting with old friends has been enlightening as I always have the chance to chat with more than just the same few people. I also loved not having a strict schedule that I had to abide by. I could decide when to eat on my own time and I could test out my time management skills. I felt safe and comfortable in the “uni bubble,” when I didn’t have to think about jobs and my biggest stress was making sure I had enough research for my next assignment. As an international student, I enjoyed meeting people from around the world and finding out about different cultures through interactions. Getting involved in student media and clubs exposed me to new experiences in my passions, where I met like-minded people and formed life-long experiences. It’s a shame that I missed out on almost a full year of these kinds of experiences because of COVID-19, but I’m very thankful that I had such a fun time at uni in my first and second years.
During my degree, I worked one casual job and had an internship and I developed new skills that I am ready to apply to my future roles. I enjoyed my experiences of working overseas as I feel like the work culture is more laid-back here. In my roles, I felt like I was under pressure less as I was more comfortable asking for help from my supervisors in Australia. My roles allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills as I interacted with Australians and other international students. This year, I am particularly proud of myself for managing to balance a part-time internship, full-time university, a social life and time for myself to relax. Doing an internship as I was studying was valuable because I was forced to manage my time well, so that I could complete all my assignments and tasks on time. And at the end, I felt satisfied once I had a paycheck and more experience to add to my CV.
One of the most rewarding experiences by far is learning to “adult” while living alone in a foreign country. In my first year, I stayed at a residential college and made friends while still living among a close-knit community. I decided to move out with my three closest friends to our own apartment in my second year. It was my first time really living alone – I will never forget the stress we went through when moving into our new apartment and buying all our essential needs. I had to learn to cook for myself and do all my chores without anyone monitoring me. I had grown up relatively pampered by my family, so this was a totally different experience for me. While it was challenging at first, I started to treasure this feeling of maturity and independence. As an international student, I also had to deal with homesickness, which heightened during the pandemic. Luckily, social media is so effective in helping people stay connected across oceans. I can proudly say that I survived a global pandemic by myself as I lived apart from family, who have always been my greatest source of comfort. I’m confident that I can get through any difficult obstacle in life now.
As I enter the next stage of my life post-graduation, I sometimes think about whether I regret my decision to study abroad. There is a myth that employers favor local graduates and maybe I would have more friends back at home. However, if I had not chosen to study overseas, I would not have had the opportunity to live alone for a long time, since it is normal for people to live with family unless they get married. Ultimately, I really value my independence and my experiences as an international student are like no other.
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