As I write this, its 14:15 on a rather sunny yet chilly Sunday afternoon in Kingston upon Thames, London. Hello Autumn! Today, September 16,2018 is exactly one year since I landed in the UK. I knew that I wanted to do such a post for a while yet I chose to write it today – I don’t know; maybe the words would be more organic as the feelings would be in the present.
This past week has been extremely eye opening as I remembered what I was doing during my last week in St. Lucia. From the going away party and dinners, to the late nights on the steps of one of my dearest friend’s residence, it was the perfect send-off. I’m sitting on my bed covered in a throw surrounded by some other bits and bobs needed for planning my (rather exciting) upcoming week, and I cannot fathom how crazy the past 12 months of my life have been.
Leaving my FAMILIAR environment to moving somewhere I had never been before, and frankly a lot of people have never heard before was not short of terrifying. At the end of the day, it was a necessary evil for my personal and professional growth and it happened at the best time in my life !
I’m trying not to bore you with my feelings but what I will say is that everything happens at the right time. I remember a conversation under an almond tree with one of my friends a few days after my best friend had left for uni that I’ll never forget. (I always refer to this conversation anytime I speak to someone about trusting the process and God’s timing).
You see I have two female best friends (D & T) who mean the world to me. D left for uni immediately after college and T left one year later in 2016. Knowing how close we were and that I was now the only part of the trio still in St. Lucia he asked me how I felt about it. To be quite honest, I was not envious because as I told him, IT WAS NOT MY TIME. And I was right. If I had left for uni before 2017 life would have been completely different. I won’t know for sure how different, but what is happening in my life at this moment is nothing sort of phenomenal. I plan to write a post on my 2018 in December where I will go into all of the great things that happened.
This trusting the process and God's timing thing… wow
Being an international student is kind of a big thing to most home students. Your classmates see it as “woahh… how can you be here with no family?” (or in my case no family in London) – “you came here all by yourself?! *gasp*” – “I respect you so much. I don’t know how you do it”. Anytime anyone makes such a comment I smile and say to them “its really not that hard”. Sure there are days when I wish I could sit in my aunt’s balcony in the village and watch the passers-by, or beg my mother to do my laundry because I’m exhausted. But because that’s not happening, I just have to bring myself back to my reality.
Leaving your home to live in a new country (which is FIVE HOURS AHEAD might I add), with no family close by, literally no friends or anyone you know in close proximity can be a lot on one’s psyche. There’s the little voice in your head trying to think about all the things that can go wrong; you may get lost your first time going to the supermarket alone; you are scared you missed your stop because you’re the only one left on the train after midnight. The first few months are alot !
Here’s how I dealt with it all, and came out on top.
First of all, I came with an open mind and heart. I had never been to the UK before, far less Kingston ! It would have done me absolutely no good to come with expectations as tall as Big Ben and be crushed if they flopped. Trying to adapt is taxing enough !
Secondly, getting involved in university life and also finding a church have been two other reasons I’ve found my adjustment going so smoothly. I’ve met so many AMZE BALLS people at school and church. It’s as though they were all brought into my life for the right reasons. My journey in the UK has been 100% easier.
Lastly and I think what’s most important of the three is my mindset. Maybe its because I took a gap year after college which made me more 'mature' or maybe it was because I came here with an open mind. Having a positive outlook on my journey in the UK has truly made the past 12 months amazing. I am so excited for what the future holds !
To any of my readers who may have recently moved to a new city or country for university or otherwise, I’m wishing you the very best in your journey. Be patient with your adjustment and enjoy it by having an open mind. Don’t rob yourself of the pretty amazing small things because they were not on your expectations list.
Enjoy AND trust the process !
PPS: This week is my last week of summer vacation before I start my second year at uni. For Thursday's post I will be sharing one of my favourite experiences (second to my Paris holiday) of the summer ! It filled my cup so much, I cannot wait to share with you and with some other very important people ! Remember in the ‘what?’ of The Unicorn Project I said I would be talking about education? Well this is it; my first education focused post.
See you then
-Your favourite Unicorn
This time, one year ago [outside my halls-luggage setup when I arrived]
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