For 17 years of my life, I lived in the same, small town of Ahmedabad, in the west of India. During that time, my life was consistent: same surroundings, same friends, and the same routine. However, this path of my life took a sharp turn when I got accepted into Boston University in the spring of 2016. As soon as I received my acceptance, all I could think about for five months were the opportunities and experiences I was going to have in the city of Boston. My excitement at starting college trumped the sadness of leaving home and everything I have ever known. As September came along, I was already encountering new people and experiences. From orientation to finals week, I made friends from all over the world and learned subjects ranging from Art History to International Relations. The four months of college flew by with a constant busy schedule and an urge to find my place in a foreign country. With each passing day, I was either engrossed in homework and keeping up with classes or strengthening bonds with my newfound friends. In this never-ending regimen, I was completely oblivious about one thing: I was 7,372 miles away from home. The intensity of the distance between my home and college was profoundly reduced through texting, video-calling and care packages.
Soon enough, finals week approached, then ended, and it was already time to go home. From finding my way to classes, taking my finals, making new friends each day, finding life-long companions, setting up my dorm, and flying back home, it was baffling how quickly the first semester of college had gone by. As Christmas Eve approached, I packed my bags and prepared myself for the 13 hour-long flight from Boston to Ahmedabad. After a day of travelling, flying across oceans and shifting time zones, the tiresome journey came to an end as I set foot in my (literally) warm home with a temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit. As I looked around my house, I noticed that everything was still the same. I was welcomed with a tight hug from my family and stuffed with home-cooked food. I observed that, from the photo frame hanging above the dining table to the easel in my bedroom, absolutely nothing had changed.
During my time at home, as I sat down with my family and told them all about my experiences at college, I realized how truly different my life was in both Boston and Ahmedabad. From the food to the weather, I started comparing my life in each city. In Boston, my life constituted of dining hall meals with a variety of food items, intriguing classes with hundreds of people, temperamental weather, meeting new friends, and talking about our life stories. On the other hand, in Ahmedabad, my life constituted of the same homemade meals, the same weather, and reliving the same old stories with my childhood friends.
Throughout the start of college, I had spent four months in Boston and a month in Ahmedabad. After winter break, one thing was certain: I was truly lucky to call these two drastically different, yet beautiful places, my home. My time at and away from home not only taught me to always welcome new experiences, but to always keep the old and gold memories in my mind. It taught me not only to make new friends and listen to their stories, but also to always remember the ones who have always been there. It not only taught me to try different cuisines, but also made me realize that there is a special sentiment of love in your mother’s homemade dishes. Overall, it taught me that there would always be a safe haven for me in my hometown. But life will only begin at the end of my comfort zone.
The shift in my comfort zone was that, back home, I was in a protected environment with everything available to me at the tip of my hands. It is safe to say that, along with the excitement to begin college, a part of me was always afraid to live by myself, so far away from home. The one thing that helped me get through it all were my mother’s candid words. I still remember her words on my move-in day: “Everything is going to change for you and it is not always going to be easy. The things you need to focus on are your aspirations and finding the right friends in college.”
She was right. Through the excitement and experiences, there were difficult times. When you ask people how their first year at college was, they never tell you about the times it was hard, simply because the good times always trump the difficult ones. They never tell you that it takes a while to get used to the different temperature, new food, and divergent people at first. The most interesting part about going to college in a foreign country is that each person has a completely different experience from each other. However, in those distinct experiences, somewhere in the middle, you will find similarities with each other. No matter where you come from, soon enough you will find a home in college.
After learning and enduring it all, I learned that attending college in Boston brings me a step closer to my goals and fills my life with valuable experiences and people from around the world. Living life as an international student helped me to find my home away from home and today, I would not want it any other way.