Have you ever wondered what it means to be an international student? Studying in an international setting taught me that school is not the only educational tool. I knew no English, despite my five years of studying at home, and I raised myself as if I were my own parent.

Throughout my two and a half years as an international student at EMU, I saw little to no interaction between the foreign students and the American citizen. I cannot attribute this situation to only one factor, but the most evident one is the language change.

Many international students study English until they reach a satisfactory level. In some cases, they pass a certain legal and state-required exam to gain permission to study in the United States. I had studied English five years prior to coming to the States. However, I was unable to speak or understand at least 60 percent of what American citizens were sharing. Blame it on the culture shock? I still don’t know.

Despite the five years filled with sleepless nights, grammar exams, and English essays, it took me two months to actually speak up and be proud of my accent. My advice to the international students or the ones acquiring a foreign language? Own it and be proud of your accent! It all means you are learning a new culture and way of expressing yourself.

Traditionally, we learned that school will give us the knowledge to persevere while we explore future options. This is true, but not completely. I learned how to read, write, and calculate at school, yet it was from my interaction with foreigners that I learned the value of communication. Differences in language and personalities taught me how to think outside the box. Scattered schedules taught me how to control and be responsible with my time. I also lived in the dorms the first couple of years of my undergraduate studies. Living in the dorms taught me the importance of compromise and respect. If I wanted to sleep at 10 p.m., I had to be understanding of my roommates who wanted to sleep at 3 a.m. If I wanted to blow dry my hair in the morning, I had to do that in a lounge so there was little noise for my roommates. Was I scared of their reaction? No, I was just considerate of the needs of my living companions. The experience was priceless and I learned how to appreciate living on my own.

Finally, most of us left home at an age of seventeen or eighteen years old. Some of us had to grow through most of the experiences we had abroad. The majority of us come here from another side of the world with only a suitcase of clothes and a bigger suitcase of dreams. We arrive here hoping for a better life; to work in a place where our efforts are recognized, to improve ourselves so that the old self has someone to look up to. I recall when I got sick for the first time, and my mother was not there anymore to tell me what to eat and what medicine to get. Life gets more challenging when in our journey we encounter the loss of loved ones and family members. You know why life gets complicated for us? Because we are far from all we truly and authentically know; we are limited to the physical factors we see! Yet we go to classes, to work, and accept our daily responsibilities with a smile so we can keep our spirit up and goals in mind! If you know an international student, but never developed a friendship with them, give them at least a compliment of their courage: they left everything they had and everything they knew, for a future which may not even be promised to them!