Do you know your challenges? - Blog Post 2

I was extremely nervous, I was extremely anxious. I was not sure if everything I had planned would ever work out in my favour. I knew no one when I landed in UK. I was going to make a brand new beginning all by myself in a foreign land. I had nothing, except for a student visa, a few hundred sterling pounds to cover my one or two month’s living expenses, a university course and a shared accommodation.

I had one other thing - determination. No matter how tough it was going to be, I was not going to give up.

From buying my own grocery items to cooking my own meals, from cleaning my own kitchen pots to cleaning my own toilet room, from spending my father’s money generously in India to learning to spend my money sparingly in UK - everything was a new experience. I learnt it all the hard way.

I struggled on my first day at the university. I struggled not because I did not understand what was being taught, but I struggled because I did not know how to socialise with foreign students. Being pampered and brought up in a protective environment I never really took an effort to socialise when in India. Even during my engineering college days I would hang around with only a few handful of friends - something that I deeply regret even today.

It took me quite a while to get adjusted to the teaching style and course lay out. In India the education system is such that you are mostly spoon fed. Here in UK, you have to strain your brain a little to apply logical thinking when working on assignments. You have to be mindful about submitting your assignments containing any Google inputs or same materials as that of your fellow student, otherwise you will be caught for plagiarism.

It was a tough life having to balance studies, part-time job and house hold chores.

How difficult was it to earn my part-time job?