Sehar:
I was lining up outside my anatomy class in the the fourth or fifth week, and I saw Daenah and thought to myself 'she has really pretty hair' and I really liked her outfit. She also had great jewellery. I said to her 'I love your piercings', as I actually have quite a lot of piercings myself. And she said 'I love your piercings'. (Later we got pierced together. I got a belly one and Daenah got her septum done).
Until then my experience with interacting with people in class was that it was quite clicky because a lot of people already knew each other. I was a bit unsettled at that time as I had just come to a new country from my home in India. And then I saw Daenah and we started talking, and we sat together in class that day.
Initially, Daenah and I would meet up a lot. She introduced me to her other friends and we sort of formed a group that is very supportive to this day. We met a lot at the library that first year, mainly to cry together over chemistry!
It's different for me than other international students because I am living at home with my mum who is here in Sydney with me. I felt a little alienated in that sense. I'm not a full domestic student but I am not having the same experience as other international students either who might be living on campus or with friends.
So that's why I really liked meeting Daenah who has a similar experience, shared interests and shared struggles. It's been very comforting to me.
One of the problems for international students I think is that you tend to romanticize uni, and you have this vision that everything's going to be perfect. You think these are going to be the best years of my life and I that is a lot of pressure to put on yourself. It would be good to go back in time so I could tell myself that it does get better.
It's important to put yourself out there with different people, especially in this atmosphere where there are people from all over the globe right in front of you. You might even befriend different types of peple that you didn't think you would. And even if all the new friendships don't work out, that's completely okay.
Daenah:
To be honest I was also feeling quite defeated about making friends. Like Sehar said, everybody already knew each other by the time we both started at Macquarie in session two. It seemed as though everyone had already made their friends in first session. None of my high school friends came to Macquarie, most people did apprecenticeships or starting working right off the bat. I felt alone. So Sehar and I just stuck together.
When we met that first day, Sehar had blue dyed hair and I thought to myself 'wow, that's cool'. Our connection was very natural. We actually did all four of the same units that first year and so that was another thing that we clicked over. We would do study groups in the library, or we would get lunch together. Even after first year when we were in different classes and didn't get to meet up all the time, we would still be texting each other.
I come from a Filipino background so I did join the Filipino Student Society as well. I was born in New Zealand, and raised in Australia, but rest of my family were born in the Philippines. I felt out of touch with my culture and I wanted to reconnect. I made more friends through that society. Sehar and I both joined the Medical Science Student Society and that also helped us network and find more friends.
Honestly, it's just about taking the first step. You don't realise that everyone is thinking the same thoughts as you. You just need to say 'hi' or 'I love your outfit' or 'can you give me some help?'
I'm speechless over how much Sehar and I have matured together. We have grown from the age where you don't really know what you want to do, you go to parties and you get drinks together. Now we are talking about our future.
