Everybody -- well, most people -- like to travel and explore new places. It is easy to get on a plane and travel to a completely different place, but what lies ahead of us is the real challenge. Most people leave their beloved hometown and travel to new place to pursue higher education and also have a little fun while away from home. But the last thing we have by being away from home is fun. Here are some points on how difficult it is to be away from home
1. Homesickness (well, obvious!)
As a young kids, you always wanted to run away from those boring family parties where all of your relatives cared about was how high we scored on your exam. You never appreciate the things your family did for you. You just wanted to be alone in a big house with ice cream and no homework ("Home Alone" feels!!).
On the first day of being away from home, you feel nothing but excitement. Homesickness hits you slowly, and it hits you hard because suddenly you start to miss the old boring conversation you had during family gatherings. You miss the food and all the times your family stood by your side in bad and good times. At these times you feel like your heart is drowning in a sea of sorrows. Missing people is hard.
2. Responsibilities (when you got to pay your bills)
Everything seemed easy back home when you did not have to worry about the bills, didn't it? But being away from home also meant new challenges and responsibilities. You have to pay your own bills and actually save money, which is hard, like really hard, when you want to buy everything you see online. Oh! How you miss those good old days.
3. Culture shock
It is hard to adapt to new places and their way of life. When coming from a developing country to a country fully materialized, it is hard not to get culture shock. The way people talk, dress, and behave is so different that you actually have to think if you are really on Earth or Mars. For example, in my country we always have to wear our national dress to class, and wearing a completely casual dress in the classroom was weird on the first day of college.
4. Mean/racist people alert
If you have small eyes and speak English with some accent, you are from Asia. And in the States, Asia means China and Japan. *Rolls eyes* When you are just walking, people will say hi and ask you to help them with math, or greet you with "Ni hao!" They will talk in their local language and you sit there wanting Siri to translate whatever they are saying. How much can technology do? Or you just ignore your classmates and sit there listening to loud music to avoid some bad Asian joke. Well, ignorance is bliss.
5. Too much freedom
Being away from home means freedom. You send your family a picture of yourself doing homework when actually you are drinking in some bar singing along to a song you never heard. It is very easy to drift away from the actual reason you decided to leave home. For example, you must have time left to study, but since there is no mom to call you every second and no dad to actually see what you are doing at the moment, you get split not knowing what to do with the immense freedom. Have fun but don't spoil yourself. Work hard, play hard!
So pretty much all of this happens, but remember your goals and why you are away from home. Nothing is permanent, so things like adjusting to a new place will be hard, but the human mind is incredibly adaptable. You just need to chill and give yourself some time.
