Written by Keerthana Suresh, an aspiring Communications Professional.

How many of us dream of studying in a well acclaimed institution in a new country? I’m sure most of us do!! But I did not in my wildest dreams plan on living the life of an international student, so when life gave me the chance to be one, I grabbed it at the first chance.

Living the life of an international student, not for a day did I find it hard and twisted. I was challenged in all the right places and opportunities to learn from were abundant. Of late I have only seen many people write about the hardships international students face and there are talks and news circulating about how international students are misrepresented and mistreated. So here I thought “Let me tell the world the good side and perks of being an international student”.

I had the best one year all thanks to my fellow classmates and my wonderful supportive lecturers. Adding to the culture of the college I studied in, the course I was enrolled in gave me an enriching experience. For the first time ever in my time of being a student, I had the freedom to be myself and express what I was absorbing, in my own words while being an international student.

There was this liberal vibe to put forth each of our individual ideologies and value systems that we carried from own countries in the classrooms and it was welcomed with acceptance and curiosity. I was lucky to be in a class full of people who were all from different parts of the world. The scope of learning increased drastically and there were many perception changes that we all went through while learning from one another.

There was no shaming anyone, no crossing boundaries, no disrespecting of anyone’s opinions. Every student was given a chance and each of us had roles to play be it inside the classrooms or in our group projects and assignments.

Although it is true that the deadlines and assignment were nerve cracking and kept us on our toes, it was a taste of what our professional lives would look like. This prepared us immensely to take on the world and drive our career in a desired pace.

Oh and how can I ever not mention all the wonderful sessions and insights our lecturers imparted us with! Being an international student made me see that the relationships with our professors go above and beyond college premises. For me personally, most of my professors stood by me and are still supporting me in my journey post graduating. For they understand what the journey for international students feel like.

With such support systems and classmates who become friends, being an international student only gives you a lot of exposure to life as a bigger picture and you learn much more than what are there in the textbooks.

So the next time you hear anyone point out the hard parts of living life abroad as an international student, remember there are a million other things to look forward to as well!!

Meet more about Keerthana Suresh, author of this blog.

Keerthana lives in Toronto. She is an aspiring Communications Professional. She’s currently doing a lot of contract jobs and right now she’s working at the Toronto International Film Festival for the Tiff 2023.

She likes to call herself a writer and she is also an active blogger. If you meet her, you’d always see her carrying a book around. Books are her world.

Adding to her beautiful world is her husband and her almost 3 year old daughter. She loves telling stories to her daughter and she also occasionally writes children’s stories. She’s a people person and she loves to listen to the interesting experiences people have to share. She’s hoping to soon start an active career in Public Relations and Communications.