Leaving home for university was a culture shock. As a girl who had never been away from home. I was happy and terrified; my family escorted me to the bus stop. Were you surprised? It’s because I was the first to leave home for university. There were both happy and terrified. It was like a dream come true for them and me as well, but the thought of leaving all the love and care from them left me worried. The most worrying part of it all was the thought of living with a total stranger with different kinds of behavior.
I cried when the bus started moving, but what kept me going were the dreams I had to fulfil, the assignment I had, the promise I made to them, and the advice I usually received from my mother that life is a journey, not a destination, but I called it the journey of the unknown.
When I reach the next bus stop that will take me to the university, I am super surprised to see other children on the same journey with me; some were shocked and surprised like me, but being a very shy and introverted girl, I never cared to ask.
The journey lasted for three hours; upon reaching the school gate, I felt like entering a whole new world. At first, I thought that the university would be like college, but before me was a new and strange environment.
Inside the University
On settling into my dorm room, starting to attend classes, making an impact and making a few friends, and facing challenges, I discovered that this journey is not alone about my academics but my life as well; it’s about the lessons, the change, the growth and the impossibilities becoming possible.
Did I talk about the matriculation day? I was very happy as I put on the matriculation gown. Yes, yes, my family came around, but that was not the main part of the journey.
The journey begins after the matriculation day as I realize that that growth was not just a piece of fabric but the dreams, struggles, and unexpected twists that lie along the way. I lost myself, and I discovered a person I never knew is within me.
Words cannot explain the challenges and struggles I faced to overcome my old ways of thinking, my old self, my old lifestyle, my weakness to a strength, a person, a thinking within me that I never knew existed.
It wasn’t easy, so a time I felt lost, alone and overwhelmed, but each obstacle grows me to be more determined, more resilient, and more open to opportunities and experiences.
When I look back from the start, I realized that family is not just physical people, but a sense of belonging found in the unlikeliest people. Still with the memories of my family, but with the capacity of embracing the unknown world little by little.